It was hyped as a battle between Leilehua quarterbacks. Hawaii’s Bryant Moniz and New Mexico State’s Andrew Manley were expected to meet at Aloha Stadium on Saturday in a rare matchup of two college QBs from the same local high school.
An unfortunate knee injury Manley suffered on the last play of the UTEP game ended his season, and any hope of squaring off against his fellow Mules alum.
Manley will still make the trip, and although he is relegated to sideline duty, there will still be plenty of isle flavor for the Aggies when they take the field for the 6 p.m. start time.
A larger-than-normal contingent of Kahuku fans is expected to be in the stands, as four of the six players from Hawaii on the NMSU team are Red Raider alums.
Three of them graduated in 2005, including standout defensive end David Niumatalolo, who enters the game second in the Western Athletic Conference and eighth in the nation with six sacks.
It’s the first time since his freshman season, exactly six years ago, that the 6-foot-2, 250-pound senior will play at Aloha Stadium.
“My last trip to Aloha Stadium, it’s definitely an exciting experience to play there one more time,” Niumatalolo said. “My favorite thing to do is get after the quarterback, and any time teams throw that many times in a game is fun.”
Niumatalolo, linebacker B.J. Adolpho and offensive lineman Maveu Heimuli were all part of the ’05 Kahuku class that played on an 0-12 Aggies team their first year.
All three eventually took LDS missions to various parts of the world and came back to a brand-new team put together by now-third-year coach DeWayne Walker.
Not only did the players have to learn systems, but they had to do so while trying to get back into playing shape.
“I saw the look on Coach’s face when I came back from Africa and I was 205 pounds,” said Niumatalolo, who was 260 when he initially left. “They were real patient with me and allowed me a couple of years to get back physically.”
Adolpho said he dropped from 230 to 200 pounds while serving his mission in the Philippines, but had little trouble getting back into football shape.
“I’ve played football my whole life,” said Adolpho, who is seventh on the team with 26 tackles. “Being on a mission for two years gave me even more drive to play football again because it’s in my blood.”
Outside of those three and Manley, the Aggies stayed away from local kids until 2010, when Jackson Kaka was recruited out of Kahuku as a tight end.
The big commit, however, was Manley, the state’s reigning two-time offensive player of the year. After leading Leilehua to a state championship in 2007 and a berth in the final the following season, the 2009 Gatorade Hawaii player of the year accepted what he said at the time was his only scholarship offer to a Division I school.
As was the case at Leilehua, it didn’t take the 6-foot-3 quarterback long to earn the starting spot.
Manley made his first appearance against in-state rival New Mexico, leading the Aggies to a field goal on their final drive for a 16-14, come-from-behind victory.
He started the final three games of his freshman year and led the Aggies to a victory at Minnesota this season before the injury, completing 62 of 109 passes for 892 yards and six touchdowns.
“He’s a big-time player and only in his second year is already a great leader,” Niumatalolo said. “He made a lot of key throws for us in the games he played and has a big-time arm.”
Kaka and Niumatalolo are expected to start, and Adolpho is listed as one of four starting linebackers, but might sit if the Aggies start an extra defensive back against UH’s run-and-shoot offense.
Heimuli is the backup at left guard, and true freshman Houston Clemente, a 6-foot-1, 285-pound offensive lineman from Saint Louis School, is expected to redshirt.
