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Vehikite Earns Respect In Kamehameha Shutout

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On the morning of Kapolei’s preseason game with Kamehameha-Hawaii recently, Simione Vehikite learned he had been selected by his teammates as one of the team captains.

Hours later, the senior transfer from Lahainaluna rewarded their confidence in him as he was nothing less than dominant in their 43-0 dissection of the Warriors.

The Hurricanes, who open their OIA Red West schedule at home against Waianae on Friday night, are understandably looking to the future, but Vehikite’s Aug. 16 outing is worth further review. In his first action at middle linebacker - he was an end on the defensive side of the ball at Lahainaluna - he posted 15 tackles, deflected two passes and forced a fumble. Offensively, he gained 90 yards on the ground on just four attempts and scored a pair of touch-downs at running back while providing his share of crushing blocks when not carrying the ball.

“He’s a fierce competitor,” said Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez. “He throws his body around, and he makes plays. He must have had four or five pancake (take-down) blocks.”

As he’ll be the first to admit, Vehikite also makes a lot of noise in the process, a characteristic that makes him ideally suited to a position of leadership.

“I’m more laid back and quiet off of the field, but when I’m on the field I go nuts, and all the players know it,” laughed Vehikite. “When I yell out the (defensive) calls, I’m super loud. Sometimes I can hear the fans call it back at me, but I like it (being a leader). I didn’t see myself as a leader, but coach told me that I could be one.”

Vehikite’s elevation to team captain (along with fellow line-backer Cyril Ontai) is especially noteworthy given his late arrival to the program. His family relocated to Makakilo only last January. He began his first semester at Kapolei shortly thereafter, but it wasn’t until spring football practice began in late May that Vehikite began to be viewed as more than a fresh face around campus.

Those among his new Kapolei teammates who chose to look further would find that Vehikite was playing late into November last year as one of the leaders of a Lahainaluna team that lost only once in 10 games en route to a place opposite Iolani in the Division II state championship game. Although the Lunas lost that game 28-21, Vehikite had a stellar game, scoring a two-point conversion and an impressive 21-yard run on offense, while posting three unassisted tackles on defense. Among those who were impressed with his play was Hernandez, who was unaware that the hard-hitting Vehikite would be wearing a Hurricane uniform this fall.

“It was kind of hard at first because I didn’t know anybody,” Vehikite said of his arrival at Kapolei, “but everyone was real nice to me, and I definitely like the program a lot. I feel comfortable here, and the fans are really supportive in Kapolei.”

After playing defensive end for two years as a starter at Lahainaluna, Vehikite made the transition to middle linebacker in the spring. While he still gets to take on linemen every play, he also gets to play more in space.

“I like it a lot better (than end),” he said of middle line-backer. “At defensive end, you cover just one side. At middle, you can go left to right - you get to go wherever the play is at, and I like to hit.”

Playing fast and physical comes naturally for Vehikite, but he thinks his years of playing rugby have only helped his football prowess. The youngest of eight children, including four brothers, he also benefited from competition within his close-knit family, he said.

“They all took good care of me,” he said, adding that several relatives fly in from Maui every weekend to watch him play football. “They’ve all supported me and kept me going ... and beat me up here and there.

“I like rugby and football the same,” added Vehikite, who packs 243 solid pounds into a 6-foot frame. “In rugby, there are no pads, and you get to play offense and defense at the same time. I’ve been playing it since I was 5 years old. I still play.”

Vehikite began playing football at age 9 for the Lahaina Chiefs Pop Warner team, but there was no direct line to stardom on the gridiron, he said. His family had just moved to Hawaii from Tonga, and learning a new sport was the least of his issues.

“I couldn’t speak English,” he recalled. “They put me at running back, tossed me the ball and I ran the wrong way, but I played every year and I improved.

“I was kind of chubby when I was younger, but when I reached high school, I realized I could do good and I tried even harder.”

Although only their first game in the Red West, Friday’s matchup with Waianae looms large on Kapolei’s schedule, nevertheless. The Seariders won last year’s meeting 28-7. The last time the teams met at Kapolei was in 2006, when the Hurricanes posted a 17-13 victory, handing the Seariders to their lone regular-season defeat that year.