Dozens of players contributed an uncountable number of big plays to help the University of Hawaii football team win six regular-season games last season and go to a bowl game.
Because of its timing, one made by the tallest Rainbow Warrior stands out above the rest.
If Viane Moala does not block Kody Kroening’s field-goal try with five seconds left at Fresno State in the second-to-last regular-season game, Hawaii likely does not beat the Bulldogs 14-13.
For a shot at the postseason, the Warriors still had to beat Massachusetts in the regular-season finale, which they did. But Moala’s block was the play of the year.
It meant a chance for the program’s first non-losing season in six long years, which UH took full advantage of with a 52-35 win over Middle Tennessee State in the Hawaii Bowl.
It meant the difference between an offseason of dwelling on 5-8 or 7-7.
It meant 2016 could honestly be called a turnaround season, ending with the Rainbow Warriors’ first bowl win in 10 years.
Getting his hand on that ball and keeping it from going through the goalposts turned a loss into a win and kept dreams alive.
As a freshman, the soft-spoken 6-foot-7, 270-pound defensive tackle already helped make some UH football history.
Now, as the Warriors prepare for the start of a new season in less than three weeks, the buzz is about Moala’s future.
“He’s starting to fulfill his potential and has a chance to be a star at defensive tackle,” defensive coordinator and line coach Legi Suiaunoa said. “He’s still learning the game, but he works very, very hard. He played organized football in high school, but last year was the first time where he was really immersed in it.”
Moala is from American Samoa, where football talent abounds, but the sport is not a full-time, year-round endeavor.
“The kids there go to school and then they go home and do chores. Then they play football, on the side,” Suiaunoa said. “There’s not a whole lot of evaluation. Recruiting there is faith-based.”
Perhaps that is why Moala didn’t attract more interest from other FBS programs; FCS schools Idaho State and Alcorn State and Idaho, which is transitioning to the lower level of Division I, are listed as those that recruited Moala.
Or maybe others figured UH was a lock for him. Offensive line coach Chris Naeole — a holdover from the staff before Nick Rolovich replaced Norm Chow as head coach prior to last season — had recruited him since Moala’s sophomore season of high school. Also, Moala’s parents, Siaosi and Lose, now live in Kapahulu.
Actually, the biggest recruiting battle for him was within UH. Moala’s height makes him look like a good candidate to play offensive tackle.
“Coach Chris wants me to switch, but Coach Legi won’t let me,” Moala said, smiling. “I like defense better.”
Defensive linemen, especially tackles, with his height can have problems with leverage.
“I have to work on staying low and firing off the ball,” he said.
Veteran offensive lineman Asotui Eli said Moala is already a load in practice, and will only get better.
“He’s progressed a lot. He’s learning fundamentals and techniques that are new to him, and he’s already very powerful and very long. You have to hunker down and be ready if you’re going to go up against him,” Eli said.
Moala was in on 12 tackles as he played in all 14 games as a freshman, and started the last two at defensive tackle. The blocked kick was one of two for him and it earned him Mountain West special teams player of the week honors.
“It felt great, unbelievable,” Moala said of his block that helped change the course of history for the 2016 Rainbow Warriors. “Words can’t describe it.”
Moala is a man of few of them, anyway. His low-key personality prompts Suiaunoa to say “his feet are on the ground.”
They were in the air on that last kick at Fresno State, though, and Viane Moala’s play kept UH’s bowl hopes alive.
“He’s very humble, but when it comes down to it he’s a monster on the field,” Eli said.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.
