Since he was quite young, Marcus Hee has written down his dreams and goals.

He always succeeded. Then came seventh-grade math. He started failing at his goal. He went in for tutoring. He almost gave up.

“Miss Smith, or now Mrs. Kinoshita at Stevenson Middle School. Every single day, I’d come to Mrs. Kinoshita’s class during recess and after school for tutoring. I really had to work hard. There’s some days I’d cry in her arms because I would not understand anything and I’d feel like a failure,” Hee recalled. “She really opened up my eyes. She made me push for that extra mile. I’m just forever grateful for her because I still hold her true to my heart to this day.”

The dream board got old, replaced by a new one that had a goal to become a great football player. The journey involved 5 a.m. wake-ups and workouts throughout the offseason.

“Three phone alarms in the morning and I play the most irritating song I know to make sure I wake up,” said Hee, who was inspired by Kobe Bryant’s offseason routine. “It gives you the mental strength. You need mental strength in life. Installing this since a young age, I feel that can help anyone succeed in life. To know how to work and get what you want.”

The reward? The versatile senior defensive back is a key part of Roosevelt’s record 12-win season (12-1) and OIA Division II title team. After a 20-7 win over Pac-Five on Saturday, the Rough Riders are in the semifinal round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA D-II State Championship.

Time to return to Roosevelt

Rewind a bit, back to the summer, and Hee was at a crossroads.

First, he left Saint Louis following his sophomore football season. Expenses were rising for his single-parent family. Having gone to Lincoln Elementary and Stevenson Middle, he was comfortable with the move.

“It was time for me to come back to Roosevelt. My sister was going off to college in Japan and Saint Louis’ tuition was kind of high. I was kind of a burden, so I figured I should come to Roosevelt for a year, ease the burden on my mom and my dad,” Hee said.

In coach Kui Kahooilihala’s second season, Roosevelt’s turnaround 2017 (4-4) was sparked by a patient, surgical ground attack and a defense stocked with athleticism and high IQ.

“I enjoyed it, made new friends and slowly started to fall in love with the culture here,” Hee said. “It was good to have a reunion with my old friends.”

Then summer arrived. Hee headed back up the hill to Kalaepohaku for summer session classes, and senior year. Then a strange thing happened, something he didn’t anticipate. His mother, Luana Alapa, couldn’t help but notice.

“It was an argument in the beginning,” she said. “But I said, ‘Remember you’re supposed to go back to Saint Louis. That’s the deal. You’re going to the next level.’ But I knew in my heart he was miserable.”

Hee admits that he loves a good debate.

“My mom and my dad really wanted me to go back to Saint Louis. I have mad love for Saint Louis. I’ll always be a Crusader at heart, but after my junior year, I didn’t want to leave Roosevelt behind. I can’t be disobedient. My family sacrificed so much for me. I went to Saint Louis for almost the whole summer, but something in my heart was telling me, ‘There’s unfinished business at Roosevelt. There’s still people you have to impact.’ So me and my family would have talks.”

Hee’s childhood friend, Chayden Sasaki-Kalamau, hadn’t heard much from him as Roosevelt’s fall camp neared. Then he saw Hee’s announcement on social media.

“We found out before our coaches did,” Sasaki-Kalamau said. “(Defensive coordinator Jon Kahooilihala) was all stoked.”

Hee’s return to Roosevelt boosted a defense that was already one of the best statewide in Division II football. Buoyed by experience and a handful of transfers from ILH schools, the Rough Riders rode a steady, senior-heavy unit to the second seed in the OIA playoffs.

Then came a 28-18 win over top-seeded Kaimuki, with Hee returning an interception for a touchdown in the late going to seal the game.

In Saturday’s Division II state quarterfinal, the Rough Riders were in lockdown mode, stifling Pac-Five 20-7 in the opening round of the D-II state tournament.

Hee can operate anywhere on field

Navigating the defense has been crucial for the Rough Riders, who are efficient offensively, but do more ball control and keep away than high-risk calls. Hee would operate anywhere on the field to create confusion for offenses.

“He was the one guy that Coach Jon was doing what he’s doing with Caine (Fitiausi-Fung) now, early on in the season,” head coach Kui Kahooilihala, Jon’s brother, said. “So Marcus plays free safety, can play some linebacker, and he’d come down and shut down quarterbacks. Against Kaimuki, Coach Jon had Marcus at outside linebacker and put him at safety. He had a game.”

Hee (listed at 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds) wasn’t and still isn’t the only standout for Roosevelt, where the community is tight. Sasaki-Kalamau had five sacks in the victory over Pac-Five. The brute force of the front seven has often made for easier work in the secondary.

Sasaki-Kalamau and Hee have known one another since their days at Lincoln Elementary.

“He came from a Japanese school. I feel like we were kind of noisy, but not too noisy,” Sasaki-Kalamau said.

Neither of the friends played football until later. Hee played during middle school. Sasaki-Kalamau didn’t put on pads until his freshman year.

“He’s my best friend. When he played for us, he was balling out, one of the biggest factors,” Sasaki-Kalamau said.

Lahainaluna, the two-time D-II state champion, will host Roosevelt in a semifinal on Saturday.

“It’s been a long time since Roosevelt has been the talk of the town,” Hee said. “Everything from the beginning to now is because of hard work and what we bring to the table.”

MARCUS HEE

>> Roosevelt football • Senior

Q&A AND FAVORITES

>> Athlete: Kobe Bryant. “Hands down. He instilled that ‘Mamba’ mentality in me. I watched him working out in the gym, shooting 1,000 free throws. I’m not a basketball player, but I applied what he does to football. In the offseason, I wake up at 5 a.m., work out, eat breakfast, then I’ll work out again. Then practice, go home and study film.

>> Team: Los Angeles Lakers. “I’ve been a Lakers game my whole life. I love them to death. I knew we were going to struggle. I knew it would be a rebuilding process.”

>> Hobby: Bodyboarding and surfing. “I grew up at Sandy Beach. I’ve been there every summer bodyboarding. It’s a time to relax and forget all my problems. That’s got to be my second home.”

>> Movie: Forrest Gump. “I’ve seen it about 100 times. I know almost every single line in that movie. The best thing about it is I learned the best things come to people who are patient and kind to everyone. Everyone always hated on Forrest because he was different, but in the end, you see how he became successful.”

>> GPA: 3.57. “Hopefully it goes up to a 3.6 this year.”

>> Scripture: Jer. 29:11. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, plans to give you hope and a future, not to harm you. “I always write that on my wrist every game. I always live by that.“