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The 2012 Polynesian All-American Classic high school football game was held on February 18, 2012 at Long Beach City College, in the venerable Veterans Stadium, in Long Beach, California. The Aiga (meaning Family) Foundation organized the event, banquet and other activities as a means to showcase the athletic and academic talents of Polynesian young men in the United States. George Malauula is the Executive Director and his committee put together a program that was well run and fun to watch. Many successful professional football players and entertainers donated their time to the many events and especially the football game itself. The coaches and staff included Frank Manumaleuna, Freddy Kaiaho, Dan Saleaumua, Ray Toilolo, James Pale, Salo Faraimo, Manuia Savea, Jon Nielsen, Robert Fuiava, Mike Barragan, Sione Taufouu, Steve Fifita, Samu Falevai, Rick Gamboa, Frank Carido, and Jeremiah Masoli. In order to minimize injuries there were several changes to the rules; no rushing on extra points or on field goals and sportsmanship was preferred over film high-light hits. This made the game more interesting as the players concentrated on team coverage rather than individual statistics. The players, from around the United States, were divided into white and black shirted teams. All were seniors and some had already accepted scholarships while the rest had offers on the table or were seeking to impress a few scouts in the stands.
Due to the “quiet time” as Malauula told me, scouts were not able to approach any of the players, but they could observe the players on the field. I was impressed by the manners and respect that the players gave to their coaches and fans before and after the game. I’m sure that scouts are looking for athletic skills and the ability of the players to learn from college coaches without causing dissension on and off the field. I was invited to the game by my wife’s cousin, Adam Ah Ching, who was playing on the black team. Since I was not credentialed to represent the media, I approached George Malauula and asked him if he minded that I do a story and with that particular Polynesian hospitality and generosity he gave me permission to use the press box. I asked him about the organization that he leads. “The Aiga Foundation was established in 1997 to further the academic and athletic goals of Polynesians. Our first classic was held last year at Cathedral High School. We choose players based on academics first and then on athletic skills,” George told me. I looked up at the stadium that seats nearly 7000 fans and is a part of the Long Beach City College athletic complex and seated high up in the stands was a group of excited fans. I asked if they were there to root any one on and it turned out to be the family and friends of the starting quarterback for the Black team. Dylan Lagarde is a senior quarterback at Los Alamitos High School in Orange County and has already accepted a scholarship to Bryant University in Rhode Island. His parents, Diana and Marvin Lagarde, along with siblings Kaelin, Kobee and Trevor were waiting for the game to start. Dylan’s girlfriend, Felicia Miller, was there as well. They knew what to expect from Dylan, but I was about to see the strong-armed quarterback thread the needle on numerous pin-point passes.
The day was a typical winter day in Southern California, with wispy clouds floating by, the warm sun beaming down with the temperature in the high 60’s and just a hint of a cooling ocean breeze to make conditions ideal for winter football. In the press box high over the field I met cameramen and broadcasters from Island Beats TV, which is based out of Utah, but can be seen wherever their satellite link can be picked up. The game announcer was Paul Paopao, whose voice boomed through the stadium. Paul has a relaxed and friendly way and reacted with the crowd, mixing in Island humor with serious reporting. Richard Gonzales ran the scoreboard and Tasi Saiosi was the Timer. Any game run by Polynesians is going to have as much pomp and ceremony as actual athletic action and this game was no different. A respectful prayer was followed by a rousing and patriotic rendition of our National Anthem. Malauula announced every player and all the coaches to show a true Polynesian respect for everyone who made the effort to come and play in this game. Then the players were led by one of their own in a Siva, which is a chanted dance. Similar to the Maori Haka, but more restrained, the Siva is a sort of slap dance and the players are issuing a challenge to their opponents to come and meet them in battle. That’s exactly what you can expect when Polynesian play their sports; a real contest of will, strength and skill. The Siva is worth the price of admission all by itself.
Helping me in the press box was Shayne Naioti, who offered to spot for me and interpret the names. Shayne is a tight end on the Long Beach City College football team and was there to assist the media. Black won the toss and elected to receive. Dylan Lagarde led the black team down the field with sharp, crisp passes. The coaches for the black team preferred to pass on nearly every down. Some of the passes sailed high above the wide receivers, but as Dylan found his range his completions moved the team down to the white 15 yard line where the drive failed and the white team took over on downs. Lincoln Faletoi took over at quarterback for the white team and his coaches preferred to use the run. Again and again the backs ground out tough yardage against a solid black defense anchored by Adam Ah Ching and Nicholas Rothstein. The constant pressure led to a fumble which was recovered on the white 33 yard line by the black team. Ah Ching was a senior at Greer High School in South Carolina and Rothstein is a senior at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon. The black team was only able to gain five yards and decided on fourth down to go for a first rather than kick a field goal. The pass was just out of the reach of the receiver and white took over on downs having survived the fumble. The white team failed to get a first down and deep in their own territory punted the ball on fourth down.
Nicholas Masaniai took the punt and broke several tackles, dashing down the sidelines for a 25 yard gain, but again, deep in their own territory the white held and forced the black team to give up the ball again on downs. Masaniai played at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California and comes from a football playing family. The game was turning into a defensive battle, with an occasional electrifying rush or pass play, but things were about to change. Faletoi’s pass was deflected by one of the huge linemen, who were instructed to keep their hands up to make it harder for the quarterbacks to hit their receivers. Faletoi was lucky this time as his deflected pass fell into the hands of one of his lineman who bulled his way to a first down. Faletoi’s next pass was not so fortunate. He threw downfield hoping to stretch the black defense which had been playing up to stuff the running game. Nicholas Rothstein intercepted the pass and made a stirring broken field run down the field for a 35 yard return. A penalty against black did not stop Lagarde. A ten yard pass to Masaniai regained some of the yardage. Lagarde was not flustered by some of the dropped passes or those that he overthrew. He was beginning to find his accuracy and he hit Malau on a neat 30 yard strike. Several rushes went nowhere and then Jameel Cox took a handoff and twisted and turned, breaking three or four tackles as he made what was one of the most exciting four yard runs of the game for the touchdown. It seemed that he ran ten yards to go from the four yard line into the end zone and it brought the crowd to their feet. The extra point was good and the black team led seven to nothing.
The white team made an effort to recover and took the ensuing kick-off back 40 yards to midfield. But the next play the white team fumbled at the black 48 yard line. The black team came out fast with Fa’amao breaking several tackles for a 15 yard gain, followed by a 20 yard pass completion down to the 18 yard line. But three plays could only net 7 yards and the black team missed a 21 yard field goal. Points were going to be hard to come by in this game of fingertip misses and defensive pressure. It wasn’t just that the defenses were strong. These players had only three days to practice and offensive excellence is always the result of getting to know one’s fellow players and the playbook. Faletoi led white back, but again a pass deep downfield was intercepted by Nick Januska, from Ventura High School. Lagarde almost returned the favor as his pass was apparently picked off by Randall Goforth, but the intended receiver, Masaniai made an unbelievable recovery in mid-air and reached in and took the ball out of Goforth’s arms. This saved the day for the black team. This was also unusual for Goforth, who is a senior from Long Beach Poly High School and an exceptional athlete. Nothing seemed to deter or sap the reserve of Lagarde who shook off the near interception and proceeded to find Metuisela Unga, one of his favorite targets, on a straight as an arrow zinger for a 25 yard gain, down to the 16 yard line. Unga, from Rancho Cucamonga High School reached up over his shoulder in an apparent one handed catch to make the crowd come alive. Lagarde hit Mane Manaea on a ten yard pass and the black team looked like they were about to rout the white team. Manaea was another favorite target of Lagarde. Mane is a senior at Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington.
Yet with a first down on the six yard line the black team was unable to move the big line of the white team and lost a chance to score and the ball on downs. This wasn’t going to be an easy game for either team. Big plays were then nullified by determined and stubborn defenses. White barely moved the ball and kicked on fourth down. A fumble by Masaniai on the 40 yard line was overturned by an offside by the white team and the end of the first half left the black team in the lead by a 7 to nothing score. The officials trudged off the field after a clean first half with few penalties, no injuries and a good deal of sportsmanship being exhibited by both sides. Steve Heyman was the Referee, Mod Vega was the Umpire, Mike McDaid was the Head Linesman, John Patterson was the Line Judge and Ted Dickenson was the Back Judge. Lavase Tuinae from the University of Oregon was honored. Then the entertainment began with Dinah Jane singing a tribute song in honor of Whitney Houston and a song from her new album. When Dinah hit the high notes and carried them the crowd roared their approval. Then rapper Spawn Breezie sang some of his music for the crowd. The third quarter began and the coaches made some adjustments that would change the complexion of the game.
The white team received the kickoff out of bounds at the 30 yard line. Lincoln Faletoi shook off the poor play from the first half and came out firing. Whether this was by design or the constant pass rush by the black team made him scramble, the results were instantaneous. Flushed from the pocket where he had limited success in the first half, Faletoi scrambled all over the field, eluding sure tackles and rifling a 25 yard pass to Royce Mageo Dodd. Mageo Dodd would become a favorite target of Faletoi. Royce played football at Serra High School, in Gardena, California. Faletoi then cut and slashed his way for 6 more yards. Another favorite receiver was Dustin Nascimento who caught a 15 yard pass. Dustin played football at Menlo-Atherton High School. Then Faletoi showed the crowd and the black team’s defense just how dangerous a threat he could be. He eluded sure tackles and scrambled from one sideline to the other in a desperate effort to avoid being sacked and giving his receivers time to develop their passing routes. Several times it looked like one or two black defensive players had wrapped him up in their huge arms only to see the elusive quarterback squirm free. How Faletoi eluded the speedy linebackers from the Black team amazed the stunned crowds as they held their breath to see if he had one more escape left in him. Then in the midst of this ferocious pursuit, Faletoi saw Austin Morgan break free and rifled a pass that had no arc to it at all as Morgan caught the ball and stepped into the end zone. Morgan was a senior at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The point after sailed wide of the goal and the score was black 7, white 6.
Rothstein took a poor kickoff on the black team’s 30 yard line and outran the white team’s special defense down the sideline for a 25 yard gain. Except for a saving tackle it looked like he might have taken the kickoff all the way. Jameel Cox, from South High School in Raytown, Missouri picked up 5 hard yards. The white defense sacked Lagarde and forced the black team to hand over the ball on downs. The momentum had changed and it looked like the first half problems were over for the white team. Faletoi passed to Nascimento for 8 yards, then 7 yards to Goforth. Faletoi is flushed from the pocket and scrambles for an 11 yard gain as the black team becomes flustered by his speed and elusiveness. Another run nets 8 yards and the black team commits a personal foul, one of the few penalties in the game. Faletoi uses his big tight end, Jeremiah Valoaga for a well designed pass covering eight yards down to the 3 yard line. It takes the black team working as a group to gang-tackle the six foot five inch, 255 pound senior from Channel Islands High School, in Oxnard. With a first down the white team goes to work to try and take the lead. A rush up the middle nets one yard as the runner is stopped by a determined Adam Ah Ching. Another run into the line is again met by the desperate black defense for no gain. Faletoi is not going to be thwarted and drops back to pass, rifling a pass to Goforth in the end zone for an apparent touchdown with defenders all over him. A yellow flag drew groans from the fans backing the white team and now Faletoi must work his magic from the 8 yard line, but the rejuvenated black defense, led by Ah Ching blasted through and sacked him for a loss. The black team holds and takes over on downs and the turning point of the game has been reached, though we don’t know it yet, and the momentum shifts back to the black team.
It always seems that a turnover or a goal line stand saps the spirit of the offensive team and this is what happened during this game changing goal line stand. Lagarde took over and let the black team on a crushing march covering 86 yards. Two passes to Manaea move the ball out of danger and then Lagarde threw a perfect pass to Tanner Lauvai for 45 yards that put the black team in good field position. Tanner is a senior at Centennial High School in Corona, California. Tino Miles, from Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco rushed for 8 yards. The white defense rose up to sack Lagarde for a 3 yard loss, but it was only a temporary victory as Lagarde came back to thread a perfect strike down the field to Unga for 30 yards and a highlight film touchdown between two defenders. Lagarde is hot and the coaches decide to go for the two point conversion. Lagarde hits Miles on the outside and he barely outruns the defender to the cone and into the end zone. The score is black 15 and white 6, but there is plenty of time and Faletoi has put fear into the black defense with his speed. A poor kickoff with the ball going out of bounds leaves the white team in good field position at their own 35 yard line. Siaaga Moala rushed for 5 yards. Moala is a senior at Saint Bernard High School in Los Angeles. Faletoi then finds Victor Iosefa on a successful pass for a first down. Iosefa is a senior at Silverado High School in Victorville, California. A sure 30 yard pass hits a stunned receiver right in the chest and is dropped, prompting the announcer to say, “that pass hit him in the chest, stomach, shoulder pads and helmet, but missed his hands.”
Faletoi regrouped his squad and passed to Nascimento for a first down. Then Faletoi made another one of his patented scrambles from sideline to sideline and in and out of sure tackles until he spied Morgan for a 20 yard strike. The defense was now desperate and on the next play Siliveinusi Tomasi broke through and sacked Faletoi for a loss. Tomasi is from Fremont High School in Oakland, California. On the next play the black defense breaks through to hit Faletoi from behind as he is attempting to pass and the ball squirts free. Both defenders and the offensive team lunge for the bobbling ball but it resists all efforts to be captured and wiggles out of bounds. Faletoi has another chance. This time he doesn’t waste the chance and finds a streaking Mageo Dodd over the middle with a laser-like pass and a 13 yard touchdown pass. The TD pass was made all the more satisfying by the twisting, turning, whirling and amazing scrambling of a quarterback struggling to avoid certain capture and impossible grasps by desperate tacklers. Faletoi broke numerous tackles, ran in angles and away from defenders and into more tacklers, breaking free again and again, slipped to his knees as the crowds gasped loudly, rose to his feet and continued to run. Faletoi fell to his knees again, untouched, rose and broke another tackle and then rifled that shot to Mageo Dodd who made a lunging fingertip grab as he fell into the end zone. That the extra point was again wide, and no good, did not spoil the sight of what we had seen. Had the game ended there with black leading white 15 to 12 we would have had our money’s worth and concluded that this was one of the most exciting games of football that we had ever seen. But there was still time on the clock.
We were now deep into the fourth quarter and the white coaches knew that Lagarde was capable of adding points, so they called for an on-side kick. Black recovered the desperate gamble at their 47 yard line and Lagarde went to work. Lagarde sent a perfectly thrown spiral down the field to Manaea for a 37 yard gain. The ball arced high and floated softly down as Manaea ran under it. Lagarde then hit Manaea again. The white defense pushed back, causing losses of yards on running and some passing plays. Then Lagarde hit Unga on a beautiful pass that threaded through three white defensive backs on a play where any one of the defenders had a shot at batting down the pass. Rothstein then took a handoff from the quarterback and headed around left end on a run that covered at least 20 yards on the play that began at the white 4 yard line and using his speed just barely got into the end zone. A penalty was called on the extra point, moving the ball back to the 8 yard line. The black team decided to try for the two point conversion anyway and Lagarde’s pass into the end zone was batted away on an excellent defensive action at the last second. The score now stood at 21 for the black team and 12 for the white team with a little over four minutes to play. Enough time for Faletoi to lead a comeback with a little luck.
Goforth took the kickoff and returned it to the 40 yard line where a saving tackle by Adam Ah Ching kept the speedy runner from adding more yardage in a dangerous open field. Inexplicably the white team sends Jamaal Cox into the line and then Iosefa, eating up valuable time and allowing Ah Ching and the linebackers to stop them for short gains. Faletoi makes a desperate heave downfield which was almost intercepted by Masaniai. Brandon Brody-Heim rushed for a first down giving Faletoi four more downs to do something with a clock winding down. Brandon is from Union High School in Vancouver, Washington. The rushing game comes too late as Cox rushes for 8 more yards and almost breaks a long run, except for a nice tackle by Ah Ching. With two yards to go the coaches opt for a run, but Iosefa only gets one yard and the black defense has held and the ball goes over to the black team on downs. Lagarde takes two knees and the final seconds tick off with the black team winning 21 to 12 in a hard fought game that could have gone either way. The white team’s running game developed in the second half and that opened up their passing game. Faletoi also began to scramble and give his ends a chance to break away from the suffocating black defenders. But in the end the white team had no answer for Lagarde, who kept drive and drive going, eating up the clock and putting just enough points on the board to keep the white team confused. But for a penalty in the third quarter and better use of the passing game for the white team in the first half, the score could have turned out much differently.
As the whistle blew and the game ended, the two teams came together in a display of great brotherhood and sportsmanship and P. J. Taeao, the 315 pound defensive lineman from Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada led a final Siva. The two teams merged together and Taeao started the chanting and the players followed him. A great roar came from the two teams as they sang traditional Polynesian war chants and pounded their chests, arms and thighs with ferocious slaps. The crowd, which was almost all of Polynesian descent, listened to their sons and friends keep their traditional singing alive for all to see. Then the Siva ended and the student athletes left the field and joined their parents. As I talked to these mild mannered and polite young men they answered me with “sir,” and spoke with a gentle voice. The 2nd Annual Polynesian All-American Classic football game was in the books and I can’t wait for next year’s game to be played. Besides Island Beats TV, mention should be given to PowerAde, a division of Coca-Cola, K. C. Jensen and D. J. Jordan who took photographs for this article. Jordan is a physical trainer and one of his athletes is Adam Ah Ching, who plays linebacker for Greer High School, in Greer, South Carolina.
Gone Racin’ is at [email protected].
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