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The options were plenty enough for Blazen Lono-Wong.
The 6-foot-5, 242-pound Kailua defensive end opted for Arizona State, signing with the Sun Devils during a ceremony at Kailua High School on Wednesday morning. He is one of a handful of local prospects who signed with FBS football programs Wednesday. A large majority of football players signed their national letters of intent on the early signing day in December.
Lono-Wong turned down offers from Hawaii and Boise State.
“I really enjoy the coaching staff. They all make me feel comfortable. I trust they can get me to the next level, the NFL,” Lono-Wong said. “I’m excited, truly blessed to be given this opportunity.”
Other local prospects putting pen to paper on Wednesday were Saint Louis quarterback AJ Bianco, a former University of Hawaii commit who elected to sign with Nevada. Kapaa offensive lineman Kawika Rogers signed with Oregon.
ASU assistant coach Shaun Aguano, a Kapaa graduate, continues to work the pipeline to the islands. He played a role in getting Lono-Wong to sign and is also responsible for the Sun Devils being the first FBS program to make a scholarship offer to Kapaa junior standout Solomone Malafu.
Lono-Wong also had a conversation with ASU head coach Herm Edwards.
“It was really awesome talking to him. He’s a down-to-earth guy. That’s what I love about him. He makes you feel welcome. He’s all about family. He always says it’s family first,” Lono-Wong said. “That’s what I appreciate about him.”
Family is where he built his values and priorities. It is also where he got his frame. As a freshman, he was 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds.
“My dad’s side has some pretty big guys. My mom’s side is pretty tall, so it’s from both sides,” he said.
There are no special protein shakes for Lono-Wong. He’s just hungry all the time.
“Just eating choke spam and rice, vienna sausage, eggs,” he said.
There will possibly be a rice cooker and hot plate with a stack of Spam in his dorm room this fall in Tempe. The chance to remain in a comfort zone was a serious consideration. The pluses were many if he had chosen UH.
“Staying home and having family here already, giving them the opportunity to actually come see me in person, representing the name on the back of my plate. It’s cheaper and easier to see me if I stayed home,” he said.
While dozens of high school student-athletes signed their national letters of intent in a variety of sports early Wednesday morning, Blaine Hipa was zipping along on the H-3 Freeway.
Hipa was Campbell’s quarterback as a sophomore, launching bombs to future UCF and current UCLA wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala regularly. He lost his junior season when the state of Hawaii canceled fall and winter sports in 2020-21. Hipa transferred to Chandler (Ariz.) in March of ’21, beat out three other quarterbacks for the starting position, and helped the program reach the Open Division championship game.
An 11-2 season helped Hipa get noticed by Princeton. All the while, his previous offers from Hawaii and Tennessee as a sophomore dissipated as new coaching staffs settled in. Even Princeton didn’t quite have an opening for Hipa until a prospect decommitted in December.
That’s when the bond between Hipa and Princeton quarterbacks coach Mark Rosenbaum grew stronger.
“He liked my film, broke it down and we talked about it. He said my grades and everything else, they like. They were super interested in me and who I played under. That’s how it started and we kept talking from there,” Hipa said while driving to school.
Hipa, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, returned to Hawaii after the second quarter and re-enrolled at Campbell. Since he departed for Arizona last year, coach Darren Johnson continued to be a big fan and supporter of Hipa. There was no way to know whether a ’21 fall season would happen, Johnson said then.
Chandler’s offense has similarities to the system run at Princeton, Hipa said.
“When I was on my visit, we broke down the offense and they’re an even run and pass team. They pass a lot, a lot of no huddle,” Hipa said.
In the Ivy League, there are no athletic scholarships. Hipa is close to being officially accepted at Princeton and will receive a substantial financial aid package.
“I’m pretty close. I just have to do a few more things (paper work) and I’m good,” he said.
There is, naturally, some disappointment lingering after the early offers from UH and Tennessee, but Hipa has learned to move forward.
“Ever since Timmy Chang got hired I never got re-offered. Tennessee changed coaches. I didn’t get re-offered. It’s something I can’t control so I’ll do what I can control,” Hipa said. “I kind of feel relieved that I have a spot now, going to a place that’s really good, a prestigious opportunity.”
Sixteen student-athletes participated in Wednesday’s NLI Signing Day event hosted by Education 1st via Zoom. Kamehameha held a ceremony for its 14 student-athletes who were honored in a ceremony. Here’s a list of players who participated in ceremonies on Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY’S SIGNEES
BASEBALL
>> Taven Hathaway, Moanalua (Oklahoma Christian Univ.)
>> Dacen Keahi Hirashima, Kamehameha-Hawaii (Skagit Valley College)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
>> Kylee Kamauoha-Phillips, Kamehameha (College of Saint Mary’s)
MEN’S BOWLING
>> Noah Akiona, Kamehameha (Newman Univ.)
>> Shaine Fujii, Pearl City (Midland Univ.)
FOOTBALL
>> AJ Bianco, Saint Louis (Nevada)
>> Blazen Lono-Wong, Kailua (Arizona State)
>> Levi Maafala, Kamehameha (Olivet Nazarene Univ.)
>> Kawika Rogers, Kapaa (Oregon)
MEN’S SOCCER
>> Kala’i Pagente, Kamehameha (Western Oregon)
>> Dylan Panui, Kamehameha (Western Oregon)
>> Max Scott, Mililani (Cal Lutheran Univ.)
>> Seth Uson, Mililani (Cal Poly Humboldt)
WOMEN’S SOCCER
>> Lainey Honma, Pearl City (Lewis & Clark College)*
>> Sienna Inouye, Kamehameha (Webster Univ.)
>> Leila Kahoano, Kamehameha (Univ. of San Diego)
>> Raine Komata, Mililani (Air Force)
>> Danie Nishiyama, Punahou (Wheaton College)
>> Alohi Ramos, Kamehameha (South Dakota State)
>> Kamryn Shigemoto, Mililani (Sonoma State)
>> Jeslyn-Brooke Vallesteros, Moanalua (D’Youville College)
>> Megan Yanagi, Punahou (Lewis & Clark College)*
SOFTBALL
>> Rylee Gaudia, Kamehameha (Saint Martin’s Univ.)
>> Lainey Honma, Pearl City (Lewis & Clark College)*
>> Makanalei Lapera, Punahou (Adams State)
>> Destiny Lum, Kamehameha (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
>> Colby McClinton, Kamehameha (Biola Univ.)
>> Madison Rabe, Kamehameha (Georgian Court Univ.)
>> Megan Yanagi, Punahou (Lewis & Clark College)*
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
>> Joseph Akeo, Kamehameha (Cumberland Univ.)
>> Dylan Friedl, Kamehameha (Concordia Univ.-Irvine)
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
>> Kaitlyn Sato, Punahou (New York Univ.)
>> Lia Yamamoto, Hawaii Baptist (Whitman College)
MEN’S WRESTLING
>> Blaze Sumiye, Moanalua (Univ. of Providence)
*Will play multiple sports
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