The idea was for Edward "Skippa" Diaz and Rockne Freitas, two locally bred Oregon State football stars, to be honorary game captains Saturday when OSU plays the University of Hawaii at Aloha Stadium.

"I thought it would give Skippa something to look forward to," said UH coach Norm Chow, who issued the invitation last month, mindful of Diaz’s four-year battle with stage 4 gastric adenocarcinoma.

Truth be told, it would have given the Rainbow Warriors something to look forward to as well.

The legendary Diaz, who died Saturday at age 70, remained an inspirational and influential figure to the end.

"The way he fought his illness, the way he touched so many people and lived his life, he was an absolute legend," Chow said.

Chow said he now plans a moment of silence to honor Diaz, a former Farrington, Waialua, Mililani and Kalani coach.

The tribute is less about the tales still told of Diaz busting open padlocks with his bare hands or lifting and tossing a blocking sled as if it were a trash can.

It is more about how he lifted people with his indomitable spirit and persona.

"I’ll never forget the time when I came to his school on a recruiting visit (for Brigham Young) and I saw Skippa in his classroom," Chow said. "He was teaching a special ed class that day and when it was time for the kids to leave, he stood by the door and wished the students, all of them, well on the way out the door. "It was like, ‘See you later, Jimmy. You too, John, make sure you do your homework. …’ He treated them all like they were his football stars," Chow said. "I never saw that anywhere else."

For Farrington’s 1990 OIA Championship game, Diaz taped each of his fingers as if he was preparing to go onto the field with them and assume his three-point stance. His mantra, as always, was "just bite down and go hard."

When he began chemotherapy in 2011, Diaz said, "I told myself what I used to tell my players, ‘Just bite down and go hard.’ "

Diaz always went hard on his path from Mayor Wright Housing to All-Pac-8 and a degree from OSU.

"He came up a hard road and was an example for people who thought life owed them something," Freitas said.

There was little Diaz couldn’t do when he put his mind to it. When he was turned away from Pop Warner football as a youngster because he exceeded the weight limit, Diaz took up swimming and became a prize pupil for Harry Mamizuka and Bertha Lee at Palama Settlement, setting age group records.

He set marks in track and excelled in sumo and the martial arts.

His first season at OSU, Diaz played offensive guard alongside Freitas, who was the center.

"The next year (1966) the defensive line coach told him, ‘You come play for me,’ " Freitas said.

Diaz made all-conference that year and "became one of the best in the country," Freitas said.

"He was a terrific guy to line up with," Freitas said. "And someone you didn’t want to have to play against."

Come Saturday, "I know Skippa will be there with us, in spirit," Freitas said.

"Bite down … and go hard," he would have undoubtedly told them.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.