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The sun begins to set over the Waianae Mountains.
Mykah Tuiolemotu sees kids enter the field at John Kauinana Stadium, all joyful and competitive, for Mililani’s Sunday night football clinic.
“I like to imagine every single one of these players could be a star in the future. If I did something to help them, oh wow, I taught him that move. I can’t wait to see this guy in high school. I’m going to feel cool five years from now when he’s a senior in high school,” said Tuiolemotu, one of the top defensive linemen in the state.
Mililani (10-2) has reached the peak. With a win over Campbell last week, the Trojans are in the title game against Saint Louis in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Open Division Football State Championship on Saturday. Two-time defending state champion, nationally ranked Saint Louis is the favorite. The unbeaten Goliath. They’ll face an overachieving, blue-collar defense, sparked by Tuiolemotu, a mild-mannered gentleman off the field.
“Mykah’s our vocal leader. He’s the guy always getting on the guys, ‘Keep pumping. Don’t give up. Keep working,’ ” Trojans coach Rod York said. “Honestly, Mykah is our Ray Lewis. What makes him special is he makes other players better.”
Mililani last won the state title in 2014, and doesn’t often match up with the Crusaders on paper. In fact, the Trojans had their share of ups and downs this season.
“It was a different route. In the beginning, we weren’t ourselves. We started too slowly against Punahou, Kamehameha. I felt like we needed that loss to Punahou. It was a wake-up call for the rest of the season, and we’ve been on a roll after that,” Tuiolemotu said. “It’s destiny. The one team we didn’t play (Saint Louis), we’re playing in states for the title.”
Transformation of game and player
Evolution in football has not been relegated to offensive schemes.
True, island coaches from Kapaa to Keaau have tinkered on the gridiron, where the turf is testing ground and necessity is truly the mother of invention.
At Mililani, York’s incubated laboratory has reaped success as the offense morphed from spread to four-wide (run and shoot) to run-pass option, incorporating elements of all he sees. But the high-possession, up-tempo game also means his defensive unit has to be in prime condition, start to finish.
Tuiolemotu decided to turn himself into a test subject. Playing effectively at 245 pounds last year, the defensive lineman wanted more. His constant study of trench master Aaron Donald, arguably the finest defensive player in the NFL, provided more than enough evidence. Flexibility, strength, technique and IQ — all matter more now than sheer bulk — especially in crunch time, when most linemen start to fatigue.
The hunger of Tuiolemotu is real. Since dropping to a lean, mean 215 pounds, he has leveled off at 225 during the season. His partner in the trenches, Ezra Save, dropped 50 pounds.
“Last season, the one reason I tried to slim down was I couldn’t catch the stinking quarterback (Saint Louis graduate Chevan Cordeiro, now at Hawaii). I got so mad. I could catch him, but only to a certain point, and he was just running all on us,” Tuiolemotu said. “Our whole defensive line slimmed down. It’s also stamina, too. That game (in 2017), I had no stamina, I couldn’t even run and I didn’t like the feeling. I kind of feel like I prepared for this very game (on Saturday).”
Save dropped 50 pounds in the offseason by cutting carbs severely and doing more aerobic training. He is listed at 235. Tuiolemotu kept the same training regimen, but reduced his portions at meal time.
Undersized but amazing
The massive size of the Saint Louis offensive line, a group that has been bone-crunching on the ground, will test Tuiolemotu, Save and defensive ends Shane Kady and John Tuiletufuga.
Tuiolemotu didn’t play tackle football until seventh grade, starting with Mill Vill in the Oahu JPS league. When the program didn’t field a team, he went to play for Halawa, switching from offensive line to defense. It was a star-is-born moment.
“Coach Steels (Malepeai) said he’s the best defensive lineman in the league,” York recalled. “When we came back for the next season, we made him a defensive lineman and the rest is history. He’s been dominating since. He’s a cool guy off the field, but on the field he’s intense.”
When Mililani’s defense shut out Campbell’s dangerous offense last week, a game the men of Troy won 24-2, it was a new color palette for the juggernaut program. A new code: great defense, good special teams and efficient offense. Scoring 50 points, taking big risks, not necessary.
“It’s just amazing some of the plays he makes. I talk to college coaches, they always say, ‘If he was 2 inches taller.’ I tell them look at the production, the quickness, the speed,” said York, who played DL at Hawaii. “I wish UH would reward guys like Mykah. Look at what Dayton Furuta and Mana Padello are doing there, what Chevan is doing, and he had only one offer. Mykah’s in the same group. He’s special.”
MYKAH TUIOLEMOTU
Mililani football • Senior
FAVORITES / Q&A
>> Athlete: Aaron Donald. “One of the coaches compared me to him. I just notice how he’s small compared to his competitors and he’s really strong, so I knew I had to get really strong.”
>> Hobby: Video games. “My favorite is Call of Duty (Black Ops 4).”
>> Movie: “Transformers.” “I like the whole series. I did have the toys, actually. My mom donated it someplace.”
>> TV show: “Friends.” Or “Spongebob Squarepants.” “My favorite character is Rachel (Jennifer Aniston).”
>> Music artist: “Bob Marley popped in my head, but The Green is my favorite. They’re a reggae band. I don’t listen to pump-up music at all.”
>> Teacher: Miss An, Kanoelani Elementary School (Waipio). “She was my sixth grade teacher. She’s like a friend. She’s more like a mom type. Tough love. She always backed us up. I felt good about it. She came to my senior night. I was so happy.”
>> GPA: 3.7
>> Current math class: Calculus. “I’ve always had to go in for help for math. I love math. I’m not good at it, but I still love it.”
>> Place to relax: Home
>> Motto/scripture: Proverbs 17:27. Iron sharpens iron.
>> What mom (Kammie) says: “ ‘Whatever you do, perfect it.’ She always says that.”
>> What dad (Sam) says: “ ‘Don’t be scared of anything.’ It’s the one thing he has always said, don’t fear anything except the Lord.”
>> What your coaches say: “ ‘Lead this team.’ I have my own vision. They have a vision. I feel like I have the same vision as my coaches, so I lead them the best way I can for us to become the state champs.”
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