Noah Alefosio Bartley is the same ballcarrier he has always been, but when your Kamehameha squad is No. 1 in the state, all eyes are on you.
The efficiency is always there in Bartley, a north-south runner who punishes weak tacklers. Any defender coming at him head down ends up grasping at air as he jukes by. Then, there are the scrums. Lord, there is hardly a running back in Hawaii high school football history who moved a mountain of would-be tacklers the way Bartley does.
When three, four, six, seven tacklers are unable to bring him down, he powers forward for an extra yard, 2 yards, 5 yards, 10 yards.
“I like his running style. It is pretty unique. He’s a no-nonsense, violent runner who is also slippery and has great balance,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said.
“He reminds me of former Farrington running back Matt Bell, not only because of his ability to be a receiving threat out of the backfield, but because of his physical running ability.”
Rod York has also seen running backs of acclaim for decades.
“Just watching him on tape, he is a mixture of power and speed. His skill set includes running between the tackles, running outside zones, blocking and pass catching. He is a truly complete back. He will make the first man miss. Feet never stop, and he continually drives three or four guys for extra yards during the entire game, especially in the fourth quarter,” York said. “He reminds me of (former Tampa Bay running back) Mike Alstott. Bartley is a beast, the root of Kamehameha’s success, along with their improved defense.”
Kamehameha will meet Kahuku for a scrimmage Saturday.
“He runs with power and purpose. Sets up his runs and blockers to gain additional yards. Has great vision and balance,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. “He reminds me of Zealand Matagi. Hard for any one player to bring him down. He runs through arm tackles, has the balance and power to keep his legs moving and finish runs.”
Kamehameha coach Abu Ma‘afala has a team built on the principles he embraces most: tough defense and a physical ground-and-pound attack on offense. Ma‘afala graduated from Kamehameha, played at Cal and Hawaii, and coached at the college level.
“He’s a complete package. He is a Division I (college) running back. It wasn’t a shock to us that he was going to do so well. Our offensive line clears the way for him. I’m excited to see what he continues to do,” Ma‘afala said. “He has this bubbly attitude, infectious energy and doesn’t take himself too seriously. He just loves being out there playing football. He was born to play running back. He has such a natural feel, has vision, he feels things that you can’t teach a back.
“He reminds me a lot of my college teammate Marshawn Lynch. Don’t take themselves too seriously and have a special way of bringing everyone together.”
Abu Ma‘afala’s first name is Alfred. Bartley’s middle name, Alefosio, is a version of his grandfather’s name, also Alfred.
Bartley does a 315-pound squat and bench-presses 225 pounds four times. The grind began long ago on the fine sands of Tumblelands with extra work on weekends. The raw power and brute strength started with his dad, Savili Bartley, literally. Dad holds the band while son Sio charges forward.
“Most of it just comes from training. Sometimes me and my dad run on the sand. Drag on the sand, he uses the bands at Tumblelands in Nanakuli. Some people just call it Maili Beach. It’s still regular, every weekend. During the week, my running backs coach (Steven Rowe) makes all the running backs do sled pulls.”
This weekend was an exception. With epic victories over Saint Louis and Punahou, plus regular Saturday morning workouts with his team, father and son took Sunday off. A day of rest for the 5-foot-9, 180-pound playmaker.
Their time together as a family is what fuels Bartley, who has a 3.2 grade-point average and dreams of playing at the next level. During the pandemic, in between the regular workouts and Pylon football, Bartley learned a new skill from Savili: cooking. He learned a wide expanse of dishes that would whet any teammate’s appetite.
“There’s one called fa‘ausi. It’s like taro caramelized in coconut milk and brown sugar. It’s like kulolo, but Samoan. My dad makes some good fried chicken, pastele stew. He cooks everything. I learned to cook a lot of food. Palusami, shoyu chicken, spare ribs. That’s about it, mostly the ones I like,” Bartley said.
In a season-opening 33-28 loss to Punahou, he rushed for 118 yards on 20 carries and caught six passes for 133 yards — 251 yards from scrimmage. His touchdowns came on a 40-yard swing pass from Kealii Ah Yat and a 31-yard burst between the tackles. That loss was more than a month ago, and Punahou coach Nate Kia was already a believer.
“Whoever the running back was, he did a very good job,” Kia said. “He’s a very good runner.”
The constant about Bartley isn’t just his yards after contact. An hour after the loss, he was already mentally charged for the next challenge. Low key, but amped up.
“Don’t underestimate us. We’re a solid team and we just want to keep grinding to get the state championship,” Bartley said that night. “I feel everyone’s ready to get back to work. After this game, we realize what we can fix, the small things we can do better as a team. If everything comes together, I feel like we can win the state championship.”
He praised his trench men up front.
“Scotty (Kealiikupono Dikilato), Denzel (Unutoa), Hiapo (Kaapana), big Micah (Cravalho-Meyers) and Marques (Hickson). Hammers right there. I love those guys,” Bartley said.
Nearly four weeks passed until the Warriors played again. They were ready in a 23-21 upset win over then-No. 1 Saint Louis, and again in a 35-28 redemption victory over No. 3 Punahou on Friday. Bartley has rushed for 349 yards and four TDs, with nine catches for 144 yards and one TD. That is 493 yards and five TDs from scrimmage against two of the top four teams in Hawaii.
NOAH BARTLEY
>> Kamehameha
>> Senior running back
>> 5-9, 180
>> Statistics through three games: 493 rushing yards on 68 carries, four TDs; nine receptions, 144 yards, TD
>> Favorite movie: “Remember the Titans” “I’ve seen this movie a million times.”
>> Also favorite movies: “The Longest Yard” and “Space Jam”
>> Favorite song: “Breezin’” by Brownzville
>> Favorite foods: Fried chicken (KJ’s Local Grindz), homemade fa‘ausi and pastele stew. “My dad makes fa‘ausi and pastele stew. He just taught me how to make it.”
>> New life skill: Cooking
