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Anything to represent the red and white.
Brock Fonoimoana made it last as long and as well as he could. After earning All-State honors in football, and playing key roles in basketball and track and field, he added volleyball to his schedule this spring.
Excellence on the gridiron, though, is his ticket to a free college education. The speedy quarterback-turned-defensive back received 10 scholarship offers before signing with Utah. This weekend, he is inducted into the Hawaii Hall of Honor.
“I was super stoked to hear I was elected into the Hall of Honor. With all these great student-athletes here in Hawaii, I wasn’t sure if I would get it or not, so when I got the news, I was happy,” he said.
The $2,000 scholarship will help with his next chapter: an LDS mission in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
“That will help me pay for my mission and I’ll save some to go toward dental school later on,” he said.
Representing Kahuku during the 2021 state championship football game was a lifelong dream.
“It was nuts. Winning was one thing, but seeing how happy and excited the Red Raider nation was in the stands gave me a new desire to win,” Fonoimoana said.
He will remember the ’21 OIA championship game with Mililani well.
“We were down 14-0, yet our coaches stayed calm and our captains never lost confidence. Instead of pointing fingers, we came together as a team and trusted each other. After our first touchdown, we knew it was game over,” he said of Kahuku’s 21-14 win.
Coach Sterling Carvalho recognized this group for its unique personality. Always ready to work early and hard, but generous to the maximum. The three Kahuku football players who are being inducted — Fonoimoana, Leonard Ah You and Liona Lefau — worked tirelessly year-round as coaches and players broke new ground on and off the field.
One of Fonoimoana’s favorite memories was a football clinic for special education students.
“Brock is a leader by example, oh my goodness. Of the three, he’s the quietest. You need a service project, he’ll coordinate it and make it happen,” Carvalho said. “Every year, we started our season by fasting, a blessing on our season. He made it at his house, called the boys. It was initiated by him. He will do everything, no recognition. Everyone followed because they knew.”
Fonoimoana’s ascent was different.
“We saw him play in Pop Warner,” Carvalho said. “My cousin was coaching, so we saw him go through every level from Pop Warner. The word was relentless. He was training to be a quarterback. He has an arm, he’s an athlete. He came to high school and changed positions to be a safety, a defensive back. His strength is his IQ. He sees things from the offensive side. He always had the will to win and be the best. It came from his parents. From a young age, he had the discipline and mindset, a natural. Anything we needed him to do, he could do.”
The process could have tested Fonoimoana’s patience.
“We didn’t bring him up his sophomore year. He was still developing and we had studs (on the varsity). The biggest jump came from his junior year to his senior year,” Carvalho said.
Choosing track — hurdles — over volleyball wasn’t easy.
“Coach Hawaiian (Nihoa) Pule and coach Keala (Santiago) got me into track because it would benefit me in my main sport, football. I ended up loving all of the sports,” Fonoimoana said.
Humility, he added, was a key part of his success.
“I think being humble really helped me stay focused on what I can do to help me and my team win games. It also helped me to not underestimate any opponent,” the 6-foot-1, 185-pound speedster said. “I think going out of my comfort zone was a big obstacle because I’m pretty shy.”
Fonoimoana won’t forget where he came from.
“Shout out to my parents (Victor and Rebekah Fonoimoana), who are amazing. my uncle Eric Loo, coach Sterling (Carvalho) and all my football coaches, coach Brandyn Akana and all my basketball coaches, aunty Penny (Toilolo) and all my volleyball coaches, and to coach Keala (Santiago) and aunty Anue Santiago. They made this all possible, Love you guys!”
Family is the cornerstone for Fonoimoana, who always makes sure to honor both sides of his family.
“I want to be remembered as Brock Cravens Fonoimoana,” he said. “And remembered for being a mean athlete.”
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Hall of Honor inductees
>> Milan Ah Yat of University Lab and Pac-Five
>> Leonard Ah You of Kahuku
>> Elijah Dinkel of Kamehameha-Hawaii
>> Taryn Irimata of Campbell
>> Liona Lefau of Kahuku
>> Solomone Malafu of Kapaa
>> Tatum Moku of Kamehameha
>> Keala Montgomery of Lanai
>> Raya Nakao of Punahou
>> Zola O’Donnell of Mililani
>> Marley Roe of Kamehameha
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