Decision day goes down to the wire for Kahuku athletes

Things happened fast for Kahuku cornerback Alohi Gilman.

Navy, Air Force and UNLV offered him scholarships, and other schools were showing interest, but he went on a recruiting trip to the Naval Academy last weekend and was sold.

"I am really excited," he said Wednesday morning after signing his Letter of Intent to Navy and being recognized with 14 other athletes at an assembly in the gym in front of all students at Kahuku High and Intermediate.

"I just got back from my trip on Sunday. I fell in love with it. At first, I was hesitant about the military life, but then I learned about what they offer career-wise and it’s what I want."

"Coach (Ken) Niumatalolo told me he liked my competitiveness, my physicality and my nastiness. I will probably play corner, but could get moved to safety."

The Navy coaches also told Gilman, who is 6 feet and weighs 180 pounds, that his ideal playing weight will probably be 190.

Niumatalolo is originally from Laie and has been the coach of the Midshipmen since 2007.

The recruiting story of defensive lineman/running back Salanoa-Alo Wily and linebacker Soli Afalava was a bit more complicated.

Both originally orally committed to Hawaii, and after some uncertainty, made their final decision to go to UNLV on Tuesday. They went through with that commitment Wednesday.

"Our uncles told us that the islands will always be here and we can always come home," Wily said. "They said if we stay, it would be hard to ever leave. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either. Going to the mainland gives us more opportunities."

Wily and Afalava both said it was really difficult to tell UH recruiters that they were changing their minds.

"It was the hardest thing for me to tell (UH defensive line) coach Lewis Powell," Wily said. "He still supports me, though."

Wily is thrilled to be going to the Las Vegas campus with Afalava.

"That’s my brother," he said. "I treat him like a blood brother."

Afalava shared a similar thought about having to inform UH defensive assistant Kurt Gouveia of his decision.

"They treat you like you are their sons," said Afalava, who will play strong safety in college. "It was a very hard decision. Coach Kurt still supports me and he said I’m welcome if I ever decide to come back. By going away, I can discover what it’s like to live on my own."

Afalava picked UNLV, in part, because of defensive assistant Andy LaRussa.

"He (LaRussa) has been recruiting me since my sophomore year. He was with Colorado and switched to UNLV. He was always trying to get my name out there to coaches."

The Red Raiders’ Pena Fitisemanu, a defensive lineman/running back who will likely be moved to linebacker, decided to go with Utah, where he will be a preferred walk-on, over BYU on Tuesday.

"I was more familiar with the coaching staffs and the school program," Fitisemanu said. "I prayed about it and we (his family) thought this was the best decision. We have other family members in Salt Lake City and that’s a plus."

Wily-Matagi, a quarterback in high school, made good on his commitment to play tight end with Oregon State.

"This is a huge day," Wily-Matagi said. "I loved every minute of my visit there. It’s a nice college town, and coach (Gary) Andersen is coming over from Wisconsin. He knows how to win and the program has a very bright future."

Among the other Kahuku student-athletes who signed Letters of Intent and were honored at the assembly were: Roman Salanoa, John Ofahengaue-Farley and Malcom Macatiag to Pima (Tucson, Ariz.) football; Chance Maghanoy to San Jose City football; Vic Tualau to Garden City (Garden City, Kan.) football; Malik Haynes to Ventura (Ventura, Calif.) football; Siotame Uluave to Snow (Ephraim, Utah) football; Maila Aluli to Fort Lewis (Durango, Colo.) soccer; Mikel Sodino to Notre Dame de Namur (Belmont, Calif.) soccer; and Spencer Niutupuivaha to Weber State (Ogden, Utah) football.