It is never easy leaving home.
Former University of Hawaii football player Taaga Tuulima gazed at the empty stands in Aloha Stadium, his cleats filled with the artificial surface’s rubber granules, his voice filled with emotion.
“Third grade, when, I guess, I was 8 years old,” Tuulima said of the first time he played at the Halawa stadium. “I played most of my life over here. This is like my second home. It all comes full circle. To play in the last game at Aloha Stadium, that means a lot to me.”
Barring a cash infusion for repairs, today’s Hula Bowl is the last scheduled football event at the 45-year-old facility. Tuulima will play for the Kai team in this all-star game.
“It’s been a great stadium,” said ‘Aina coach Mike Singletary, the Hall of Fame linebacker who played in 10 Pro Bowls in Hawaii. “It’s pretty amazing to even think that (the finale) is possible. I loved coming here for many years. I really enjoyed it. To say it’s the last game here, possibly, that’s absolutely crazy.”
The Hula Bowl, which was resurrected last year, promises some intriguing storylines. The initial plan was for twin brothers Rex Ryan, a former head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, and Rob Ryan, a longtime defensive coordinator, to serve as opposing head coaches. Two other brothers — Matt Hasselbeck and Tim Hasselbeck — were projected to serve as offensive coordinators. But Rob Ryan was scratched after landing a coaching job with the Baltimore Ravens. Matt Hasselbeck was unavailable after his son suffered an injury.
Rex Ryan then lobbied for Singletary to coach the ‘Aina. Singletary named Jim Zorn as offensive coordinator in place of Matt Hasselbeck. Zorn is a former head coach of the Washington football team and the Seattle Seahawks’ starting quarterback for the franchise’s first eight years. Rex Ryan chose Mark Sanchez, his former quarterback with the Jets, as the Kai’s offensive coordinator.
Even with head coaches with defensive backgrounds, Ryan promised an “exciting” offensive showing. Ryan said he will leave the play-calling to Sanchez, an offer he did not make when Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC title games in 2009 and 2010. Or did he?
“We called a couple,” Sanchez said. “Or you just wave off to the sideline, like you can’t hear your headset, and pretend the headset went out, and you call your own plays.”
The ‘Aina coaches, like their Kai counterparts, are offering a game plan that is rich with NFL fundamentals but uncomplicated. The teams have been limited to eight hours of meetings and eight hours of practices.
“The hard part is learning a whole vocabulary, learning different techniques, and then executing it,” Zorn said. “These guys have done a great job of adjusting and memorizing what we have to get done.”
Among the intriguing players are quarterback Brady White, who was sixth nationally in passing yards; wideout Myron Mitchell, who won the offensive Most Valuable Player award at the Tropical Bowl for pro prospects two weeks ago, and Vanderbilt long-snapper Scott Meyer.
Meyer began his career at Alabama, where he was quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s teammate when the Tide won the national title in 2018. A change in position coaches at Alabama preceded Meyer’s move to Vanderbilt — and a place in history.
In December, Meyer was the long-snapper when Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score in a power-five game. Fuller converted two extra-point kicks against Tennessee.
“We knew all week she was going to be kicking the extra points,” Meyer said. “She did the kickoff the week before. When it was her time to kick, it was amazing. It was a great time for her, and for Vanderbilt as a school, and everyone around there.”
Meyer said he was calm in launching the snap. “Big moments,” he said. “That’s what you live for. She’s awesome. She was great. She was awesome with all of us. We all took her in.”
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Hula Bowl
At Aloha Stadium
Team Kai vs. Team Aina
>> When: Today, 4:30 p.m.
>> TV: CBS Sports Network
