Na Ali’i Face Some ‘Big’ Competition In DII State Tourney
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usAs Lahainaluna co-head football coach Garrett Tihada watched film on Aiea last week, Na Ali’i's defensive front was highly visible.
At 7 p.m. Friday, he and the Lunas will experience the Aiea defensive front in person when they travel to Na Ali’i's home field for their Division
II State Tournament game. The winner of the Aiea-Lahainaluna game advances to the state semifinals at Radford Nov. 27 versus top-seeded and defending DII champion Iolani.
“They’re really, really big,” said Tihada, whose team comes in with a 5-3 overall record. “We don’t face people that big on Maui usually, and they’re all good athletes in their front four.”
Aiea’s front-four rotation consists of Chad Patolo, George Noga, Max Maafala-Maiava, Leo Sio, Api Foumai and Lawrence Lagafuaina. It was the latter - No. 98 - that Tihada especially took note of.
“You always have to be aware of someone like that - we’ll have to figure out what to do against him,” Tihada said of Lagafuaina. “Next to him, you have another guy (Foumai) who is 295 (pounds). That’s one of many (matchups between units in the game), but that’s always a key. The team that takes care of the (play in the) trenches usually wins the game.”
For their part, defense has carried Lahainaluna this season, although the Lunas have been known for their offensive output most years. “Our defense has played really, really well this year,” Tihada said.“Statistics-wise, this has been one of our worst years offensively as far as scoring and yardage. We’re kind of down compared to past years, but the kids have found a way to win.”
Lahainaluna’s defensive leaders are free safety Paula Toa and middle linebacker Mitch Loewen. Toa is 6-foot-2 and covers a lot of ground, according to his coach.
“Everything about him impresses me. He’s one of our leaders out there. He’s 6-2, 200 pounds, and he has a lot of speed.
“Mitch has done a good job for us,” he added. “He plays with a lot of heart, and he’s a tall kid, too. He does what he’s told, and he goes hard all the time.”
Toa is also the punter and has given his team a big lift much of the season by changing field position to Lahainaluna’s favor. “He has a good leg. His punting has gotten us out of the hole many times. Special teams have been big for us.”
From Aiea’s perspective, it’s looking to bounce back from a hard-fought 21-7 loss to Moanalua in the DII OIA Title game Nov. 6. They also took advantage of their open date last week to restore their health.
“Everyone’s been preparing their bodies - everyone’s getting healthier now,” said Lagafuaina, who missed Aiea’s last regular-season game with an ankle sprain. “We spent all week on conditioning and mental preparation. We have to step it up now and play our game and become the team we used to be (before injury issues). We’ve had some minor mistakes here and there, but the boys have played hard.”
In Lahainaluna, the Aiea defense will face a balanced spread-option attack. Na Ali’i have faced their share of both run-oriented and pass-oriented teams already, according to Lagafuaina.
“Our pass defense has been the better of the two, but everyone just has to play their game and hit the gaps,” he said.“If we do that, we can stop them. We faced a lot of passing teams early in the year, and now we’re adjusting more to the running teams we’ve been facing.”
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