A parade of talented football players displayed their wares at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night, putting on a show in the fourth annual Polynesian Bowl.
By night’s end, coach Steve Spurrier and Team Mauka walked away with a 20-13 victory over coach Frank Beamer and Team Makai.
The all-star game was filled with an assortment of top recruits from all over the country who are going to some of the best Division I football factories. You name it, they were here — LSU, Oregon, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Washington. The list goes on and on.
And the fans got their money’s worth on entertainment. Neither team led by more than seven points and it was tied 13-all for much of the fourth quarter.
>> PHOTOS: Team Mauka vs. Team Makai
Spurrier’s squad, wearing all white with light blue numerals, got some late pep by Hawaii boys. ‘Iolani’s Lanakila Pei intercepted his second pass of the night with 5:21 left. Then, his team went on a six-play, 21-yard drive, taking 3:33 off the clock for the winning touchdown. It was capped by quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava (BYU) on a 1-yard run around right end, making it 20-13 with 1:48 left.
“They (Team Makai) had us on the ropes, but we got some turnovers,” said a smiling Spurrier, the 1966 Heisman Trophy winner and national championship winning coach at Florida. “The defense played super in the second half. These players, there’s a winner and a loser, and we all know winning beats losing. That’s why it (winning) is important.”
As it turned out, Pei was named the Defensive MVP, and Maiava — who played two years at Kahuku before transferring to St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. — was the Offensive MVP.
“Coming in, I wasn’t the most known player,” said Pei, who added that he’s going to take an official visit to Washington later this month and might walk on there. “I didn’t have a lot of cameras on me, but everything is fine because I just came here to prove myself and prove that I can play with the best in the nation.”
Pei made two pass breakups on Makai’s last-gasp possession, and another local kid, Saint Louis’ Stanley McKenzie, blasted through for a sack to snuff out any comeback chance.
Maiava went 8-for-10 for 73 yards with one TD passing and gained another 29 yards on the ground, sharing duties with two other QBs, including DJ Uiagalelei (Clemson).
Pei finished with eight tackles, including one for loss.
Earlier, it was a back-and-forth struggle. Mauka opened with a 7-0 lead on an 11-yard scoring pass from Maiava to Demond Demas (Texas A&M), who was playing in his first high school game this season after being deemed ineligible. That case had to do with a transfer.
“It’s a blessing to be back out here and having fun,” he said. “I never thought I’d play a high school football game again. And I came out with a victory.”
At the half, Team Makai held a 13-10 lead, thanks in part to Hilo’s Kilohana Haasenritter (Hawaii), who caught a 7-yard TD pass from Parker McQuarrie (UCLA).
Early in the fourth, Owen Daffer (uncommitted) kicked his second field goal, a 28-yarder that tied it 13-all, setting the stage for the late dramatics.