Not a single one of the 18 Whitworth (Wash.) football players from Hawaii graduated from Kamehameha.

That shouldn’t keep Pirates coach Rod Sandberg from sending a thank-you note to the school that has still managed to play a big role in Whitworth’s first Northwest Conference championship in football this season.

Last year, Kamehameha partnered with Whitworth University and the Hawaii State Department of Education to create a Waianae-to-Whitworth pipeline that fully funds eight academic scholarships for Native Hawaiian students from Waianae and Nanakuli to attend the university in Spokane, Wash.

On Monday, sophomore Jaylen Gonzales was named to the All-NWC first team and made it pretty clear how important this scholarship is.

“If it wasn’t for the scholarship, I don’t think I’d be able to afford college,” Gonzales said. “I’d probably go straight to looking for work and finding something to do.”

Instead, the 5-foot-10 linebacker, a 2017 Waianae graduate, is thriving after missing nearly all of his senior season in high school with a shoulder injury.

Gonzales is second on the team with 57 tackles and eight tackles for loss, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

The Whitworth defense is loaded with players from Hawaii. Gonzales, Shai Pulawa (Leilehua), who earned honorable mention all-conference honors, and Braiden Ayala (Waianae) have combined for six of the Pirates’ 14 interceptions. Senior defensive tackle P-Jay Solomon (Pearl City), who was named to the All-NWC second team on Monday, is second on the team with 41⁄2 sacks and defensive linemen Dayne Evangelista (Waianae) and Rudy Keopuhiwa (Waianae) have also recorded sacks.

“It’s awesome because it gives you that feel of what it’s like playing football in Hawaii in college,” Gonzales said. “There’s something different about playing up here from playing back home, but with all of those guys on the team, all of us playing together, it gives us a sense or a feeling like we’re playing back at home.”

Whitworth will host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday in the first round of the 32-team NCAA Division III tournament.

The Pirates will play a postseason game at home for the first time since 2006 after finishing an undefeated regular season for the fifth time in school history at 9-0.

Whitworth broke an 11-year losing streak against reigning conference champion Linfield (Ore.) with a 19-14 win in late September. Gonzales led the way with a team-high seven tackles.

“Everyone was pretty hyped,” Gonzales said. “We were very excited and I think at that point, we realized we had an opportunity to go really far this season.”

The on-field accomplishments are important to Gonzales, but his time off the field has been just as fun.

As soon as the season is over, Gonzales is looking forward to another sport that takes up a lot of his free time.

“Those days where all of the friends get together and finish homework and then go play basketball at the gym are the best times,” Gonzales said. “We can’t do it during season, obviously, but we’ll be at the (University Recreation Center) all spring playing ball.

“The amount of free time we have with our friends doing something together is already great. Everything (about college) has been such a fun experience.”

It’s an experience that wouldn’t have been possible without the partnership between Kamehameha and Whitworth.

In addition to funding scholarships ­— which are worth about $60,000 apiece, according to the school’s website — the partnership also covers costs for housing, food, books, miscellaneous fees and two trips home annually.

Individualized education plans are created for each student that factor in both academic and personal needs, including ohana obligations in Hawaii.

“The flights back home, to books, to even having some extra money, all of it is necessary,” Gonzales said. “I’m not here without that.”

PROFILE

Jaylen Gonzales

>> School: Whitworth (Wash.)

>> Position: Linebacker

>> Class: Sophomore

>> Height: 5 feet 10

>> Weight: 213 pounds

>> High school: Waianae (2017)

CAREER STATISTICS

YEAR GP TKL AST TOT TPG SK-YDS TFL-YDS FR-YDS INT-YDS

2017 6 3 6 9.0 1.5 — 1-2 — —

2018 9 29 28 57.0 6.3 0.5-1 8-25 1-9 2-34

TOT. 15 32 34 66.0 4.4 0.5-1 9-27 1-9 2-34

WHITWORTH PLAYERS FROM HAWAII:

Player (High School) Ht. Wt. Cl. Pos.

Isain Wong-Lonzanida (Nanakuli ‘16) 5-7 167 Jr. WR

Noah Alejado (Saint Louis ‘17) 5-9 193 So. WR

Jaylen Gonzales (Waianae ‘17) 5-10 213 So. LB

Jarin Manuel (Damien ‘16) 5-10 175 Jr. DB

Braiden Ayala (Waianae ‘18) 5-5 161 Fr. DB

Jerusalem To’oto’o (Waianae ‘17) 6-0 166 So. WR

Austinn Nagao (Leilehua ‘16) 5-9 174 So. RB

Rip Pahukoa (Seabury Hall ‘15) 5-10 236 Jr. LB

Randy Hatori (Kealakehe ‘17) 5-9 193 So. LB

Shai Pulawa (Leilehua ‘14) 5-11 193 Sr. DB

Solo Grey (Waianae ‘17) 5-9 212 So. DL

Rudy Keopuhiwa (Waianae ‘17) 5-8 246 So. DL

Seth Fukushima (Hilo ‘16) 5-10 250 Jr. OL/FB

Kekoa Kapahu (Hilo ‘18) 6-0 245 Fr. OL

Icher Pule-Annes (KS-Hawaii ‘16) 6-3 262 Jr. OL

Lynold Tuiloma (Nanakuli ‘18) 6-0 323 Fr. DT

Dayne Evangelista (Waianae ‘18) 5-11 340 Fr. DT

P-Jay Solomon (Pearl City ‘15) 6-0 264 Sr. DT

AROUND THE NATION

FOOTBALL

>> Tua Tagovailoa, Saint Louis ’17: The Alabama sophomore quarterback finished 14-for-21 for 164 yards and a touchdown and threw his second interception of the season in a 24-0 win over Mississippi State on Saturday. Tagovailoa was sacked four times.

>> McKenzie Milton, Mililani ’16: The Central Florida junior quarterback was an efficient 17-for-21 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards and a score in a 35-24 win over Navy on Saturday. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Orlando on Saturday for the Knights’ game against Cincinnati.

>> Jordan Ta’amu, Pearl City ’15: The Ole Miss senior quarterback completed 22 of 35 passes for 373 yards and a touchdown and also scored on a 1-yard run in a 38-24 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.

>> Salanoa-Alo Wily, Kahuku ’15: The UNLV senior defensive lineman made two tackles and was in on a sack in a 27-24 win over San Diego State on Saturday. The Rebels face Hawaii on Saturday at Aloha Stadium.

>> Ronley Lakalaka, Punahou ’15: The San Diego State senior linebacker made eight tackles with one tackle for loss against the Rebels.

>> Vavae Malepeai, Mililani ’16: The Southern California running back had 13 carries for 47 yards and caught a pass in a 15-14 loss to California on Saturday.

>> Jordan Iosefa, Saint Louis ’16: The USC junior linebacker assisted on three tackles with one for a loss, had two pass breakups and recovered a fumble in the loss to the Bears.

>> Makana LaBoy, ‘Iolani ‘17: The Lewis & Clark sophomore defensive back was named to the All-Northwest Conference second team on Monday. LaBoy had a career-high 31 tackles, nine pass breakups and an interception this season.

>> Maka Ah Loo, Kapaa ‘15: The Lewis & Clark senior offensive lineman earned honorable mention all-conference honors on Monday after starting six of nine games before suffering a season-ending injury on Oct. 27. He helped the Pioneers to their best rushing performance in a season since 2011.

>> Cameron Chang, ‘Iolani ‘17: The Lewis & Clark sophomore defensive lineman earned honorable mention all-conference honors on Monday a year after winning the freshman of the year award. Chang had 15 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble this season.

>> Cade Brittain, Punahou ’15: The Lake Forest senior defensive back was named to the All-Midwest Conference South Division first team on Tuesday. Brittain made 36 tackles this season, with two tackles for loss and two interceptions.

>> Ethan Takeyama, Punahou ’16: The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps junior receiver caught five passes for 70 yards in a 24-19 loss to Pomona-Pitzer to end the regular season on Saturday. Takeyama leads the Stags in receiving with 321 yards on 27 receptions and two touchdowns entering Saturday’s NCAA Division III playoff game at Whitworth (Wash.).

>> Nick Kapule, Punahou ’17: The Pomona-Pitzer sophomore quarterback-turned-receiver caught an 8-yard touchdown pass and had three receptions for 19 yards in the win over the Stags. Kapule caught 28 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns in nine games this season.

MEN’S GOLF

>> Kyle Suppa, Punahou ’16: The Southern California junior jumped seven spots on the final day of the Saint Mary’s Invitational on Nov. 7 with a 4-under 67 and finished in a tie for fourth place at 5 under.

>> Shawn Lu, Moanalua ’16: The Oregon State junior closed with a 1-under 70 to finish in a tie for 24th place at 2 over at the Saint Mary’s Invitational.

WOMEN’S GOLF

>> Mariel Galdiano, Punahou ’16: The UCLA junior closed with a second consecutive 1-under 72 to finish at even par in a tie for 12th place at the Nanea Pac-12 Preview on Nov. 7 in Kailua-Kona.

>> Malia Nam, Kaiser ’18: The Southern California freshman closed with a 1-over 74 and finished in a tie for 12th place at even par at the Nanea Pac-12 Preview.

>> Mari Nishiura, Mililani ’16: The Oregon State junior finished the Nanea Pac-12 Preview in a tie for 47th place at 12 over after closing with her best round, a 1-over 74.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

>> Kaile Halvorsen, Kaiser ’18: The Santa Clara freshman forward scored her second goal of the season in the 69th minute of a 4-1 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday. The Broncos will play N.C. State in the second round on Friday in Los Angeles.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

>> Kamalani Akeo, Kamehameha ’15: The Pittsburgh senior setter had a match-high 18 assists and three digs in a sweep of Duke on Sunday. Akeo, who has 3,827 career assists and 855 digs, will play her final home match for the 10th-ranked Panthers on Nov. 21 against Georgia Tech.

>> Taylor Takeda, Kamehameha ’14: The Butler senior libero had five digs, two assists and an ace in her final home match, a sweep of DePaul on Sunday. Takeda has recorded 1,098 digs and 231 assists in her three-year career with the Bulldogs.

>> Anna Uhr, ‘Iolani ’15: The Harvard senior finished with a team-high 22 digs in her final match, a four-set victory over Penn on Saturday. Harvard finished the season 11-12 overall and 6-8 in the Ivy League. Uhr led the team in digs with 355, averaging 3.94 per set.

>> Mia Heirakuji, Kamehameha ’15: The Temple senior libero finished with a match-high 18 digs, five assists and an ace in a sweep of Memphis on Sunday. Heirakuji needs one dig to reach 1,000 for her career.

>> Averi Salvador, Punahou ’17: The Temple sophomore had 15 digs against Memphis.

>> Silerolia Gaogao, Moanalua ’15: The Montana senior defensive specialist had a match-high 12 digs and two aces in a sweep of Eastern Washington on Friday. Gaogao, who has 516 digs, 269 kills, 58 blocks and 39 aces in her four-year career, will play her final home match on Thursday against Weber State.

>> Gabi Lau, University ’16: The Western New Mexico junior libero earned honorable mention honors in the Lone Star Conference after averaging 4.80 digs per set in her first season with the Mustangs. One of two players on the team to play all 102 sets, Lau also was third on the team with 13 aces.

>> Kaylen Higa, Punahou ’15: The Azusa Pacific senior setter closed the regular season with 15 assists, three digs, an ace and a kill in a sweep of Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday. The Cougars are 24-6 overall and won their first PacWest championship with a 20-2 record in league play. They will open the NCAA Division II volleyball tournament on Thursday against Cal Poly Pomona in the West Regional hosted by Western Washington.

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Stats compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for publication, email bhull@staradvertiser.com.