The customers flock in, and he keeps clearing the tables.

It’s another Sunday morning at Eggs n’ Things Ko Olina, and Deacon Kapea promptly cleans every table, takes orders from hungry diners, serves them with a smile and earns some spending money by working weekends. The busy, young life of Deacon Kapea is at its best right now, and it’s only getting better.

All the sweat and effort of the Waipahu senior and his teammates has led to the proverbial pot of gold. The Marauders planted their black flag on the pinnacle this season, overwhelming Castle 32-3 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I final.

Waipahu (8-4) is in the D-I state tournament, and the emergence of defenders like Kapea (5 feet 10, 200 pounds) and Zeondre Benjamin (6-1, 215) — each has six interceptions to rank second in the state — is a major key.

“We’re blessed. Coach Bryson (Carvalho) is a chillax guy. He can be old school sometimes,” Kapea said. “I actually work with him. He’s my manager.”

Kapea, a senior safety, is unique on and off the field.

“I don’t know if I can compare him to anyone. He’s his own guy. Hopefully, one day I can start comparing other kids to him. He’s just a special kid,” Carvalho said.

Carvalho enjoys being a coach of sorts at the restaurant.

“He needed a job and we also have what we call a personal transition plan at Waipahu High. They have to go through a mock interview as freshmen as part of their graduating credentials. He transferred in (from Damien), so he never had that opportunity,” Carvalho said. “He mentioned that he wanted to start working, but he needed a job that worked well with being an athlete and a student.”

Win, win job

Carvalho interviewed Kapea and hired him. Kapea works the weekend shift, dressed in his aloha shirt and slacks.

“It was a win-win for both of us. He’s been an awesome employee for us, and he has some spending money for his gas. He doesn’t have to rely on his mom so much,” Carvalho said. “We work with a lot of tourists from all around the world who come here and vacation, and some of them don’t speak English. It’s interesting to see how he’s able to communicate with them and provide good service. He’s definitely shining and doing what we’re about here. He’s impressive.”

Growing up playing football in Village Park, Kapea was a neighborhood athlete who also played baseball and basketball. In seventh grade, his family sent him to Damien, where he also took up wrestling. By the middle of his sophomore year, he opted to come back home, transferring to Waipahu.

“They didn’t want me to come here at first. But my mom (Danlynn) saw me, the days go by, I’m doing good. She sees my grades are steady,” Kapea said. “I always have motivation.”

Kapea had heard the chatter.

“Kids leave to go to bigger schools. People say don’t go to Waipahu, Waipahu is this and that, Waipahu has no chance, but we proved everybody wrong this year,” he said.

Moving schools

The move to Waipahu in 2016 came with a position change.

“The hard part was we knew he was a running back, and we had Alfred,” Carvalho said.

Alfred Failauga began building his career as one of the greatest ballcarriers in school history as a freshman. He was a sophomore when Kapea suited up for the blue and gold.

“We had them compete, and what hurt Deacon’s chances at really taking a spot is he went to a lot of combines on the mainland, so he missed a lot of the summer (in ’17),” Carvalho said. “Alfred spent the summer working on the new plays we installed and had the upper hand, but we definitely saw the potential Deacon had.”

In ’17, Waipahu rattled the cages in D-II, winning the OIA title — and losing at Konawaena 53-50 in the state semifinals — before being mandated into a promotion to the higher tier, setting the stage for a rare D-II/D-I back-to-back championship combo.

Staying busy has been a blessing for Kapea, who saw his parents split up nearly two years ago. He doesn’t talk much about it.

“It affected him,” Carvalho said. “I’ve seen him emotional, but he just made the best of it. He has a good attitude and he didn’t let it affect him negatively. A week later, you wouldn’t know what he was going through.”

Perseverance has paid off. Second-seeded Waipahu will host ‘Iolani on Friday in the first round of the state tourney. When they met at ‘Iolani in August, the Raiders won 55-14.

“They played fast, they played disciplined,” Kapea recalled. “We made a lot of changes after that, switching around people, finding the right spot for them on the D-line. And a lot of running. If we prepare right, we’ll win this game. We’ve been studying the tape for the past week. It would mean everything to the community. We’ve made it this far, so why not go all the way? We can keep proving our doubters wrong.”

If it all pans out, Kapea will be at a four-year school or a junior college soon enough, and Carvalho will lose an employee.

“But I’ll be happy to know,” Carvalho said, “he got experience over here with us.”

DEACON KAPEA

* Waipahu football * Senior

Q&A / FAVORITES:

>> Athlete: Bo Jackson

>> Team: Green Bay Packers

>> Part-time job: Eggs n’ Things (Ko Olina)

>> Food at home: Sausage, eggs, rice

>> Food eating out: Baby-back ribs at Outback Steakhouse

>> Hobby: Any beach with waves, working on trucks

>> Movie: “The Goonies” — “I’ve seen it about 100 times. The best scene is the truffle shuffle.”

>> TV show: “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

>> Video game: Fortnite

>> Music artist: Tupac. “My mom’s favorite song is ‘Ambitions az a Ridah.’”

>> GPA: 2.85

>> Class: Science. “My biology class (at Damien). We did a lot of experiments.”

>> What mom says: “‘Leave the girls alone.’ She knows I have goals to take care of. Football and school.”

>> What your coaches say: “Always work for what you want.” (Aaron Cox, defensive backs coach)

>> What’s the history of your name? “I’m named after Deacon Jones, the D-end for the Rams. My dad (Chris) chose the name. I watched his highlight tape.”

>> Shoutouts: “Shoutout to my mom — I love you, Mom — and my grandpa (Danny Kapea).”