Four students receive 2016 San Diego Heart of a Champion Awards
From left to right: Heart of a Champion awardees Maeaeafe Alailima, Lance Leota, Evangeline Morga, Laulauga Tausaga
By Namulauulu Alapati
On Saturday, April 30, 2016 Pastor Benson Fuaautoatasi Mauga and the First Samoan Baptist Church hosted the 12th annual Heart of a Champion Sports Awards Banquet in their church in Helix, San Diego. The event was attended by many from the community as well as some special guests who were there to celebrate the achievements of some special student athletes from our San Diego area. There were many guests and visitors who attended the program including the honorable Senator from American Samoa, Afoafouvale Leulumoegafou Su'esu'e Lutu who came from American Samoa to be a part of this event. He also was one of the featured speakers of the program.
The program was a beautiful celebration of the youth. The awards presented were given to local High School and College student/athletes based on their academics and their level of competitive efforts for the last year.
The High School awards went to two deserving students. The male Student/Athlete award was given to Maeaeafe Emmanuel Alailima, a Senior from Helix High School. He had a 3.38 GPA and played through serious injury at the start of his senior year before anchoring their Defensive line and winning the San Diego City Championship. Maea received a scholarship to play football at Azusa Pacific College in Los Angeles.
The female High School recipient was Laulauga Tausaga, a senior from Mount Miguel High School. Laulauga was the City Section Champion in the Shotput last year setting a record with a throw of 48ft 3.5 inches. She is also one of the top Discus throwers in the City. Her athletic achievements have attracted alot of College recruiters including Iowa and UCLA. She decided to go with Iowa and will be a Hawkeye this coming fall.
The College Heart of a Champion award recipients were Lance Leota and Evangeline Morga. Evangeline Morga is a starting guard for the San Diego City College women's basketball team. She has been one of the team's leaders and is contributing in both scoring and assists as a Freshman. In 23 games played last season she averaged 9.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Lance Leota, arrived from Samoa, (Independent Samoa) last June with 3 other young Samoan men in pursuit of a dream to attend a US College and play football. He had played one season of organized football in American Samoa before returning to Apia where he met Richard Brown, an ex-NFL player living there who trained them for a year in preparation for this season. They enrolled at Grossmont College with the help of Pastor Benson Mauga and the rest is history. Last Season Lance became a starter on the defensive line as a Freshman. Almost immediately his play as a Defensive Tackle was solid and consistent as he continued to improve week after week. He played in 9 games last season recording 2 sacks and 27 tackles, 17 of those were solo tackles. He was a disruptive force in the middle for the Grossmont Defense creating havoc for opposing offenses.
The main award of the night for most Inspirational Athlete of the Year which was presented to Quinn Seau, the nephew of the Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau, whose older brother Savaii is Quinn's father. Quinn was unable to attend the presentation due to the family awaiting word on his cousin, Ian Seau's NFL draft day. Quinn played as starting linebacker for St. Augustine High School and his GPA was an impressive 4.33. This combined with his stand out play for the Saints in the past 3 years has been instrumental in St. Augustine winning their first CIF championship last season, since 2006. He has been eyed by many college programs including Stanford and Florida State. The Se'au legacy is alive and well.
The program was a mixture of entertainment and inspirational messages. The Featured Speaker was HON. Senator: Afoafouvale Leulumoegafou LUTU (Am Samoa-Senate, Rep. South Korean Peninsula Counsel, Law Firm, Former Am Samoa Attorney General under GOV. AP Lutali & recent GOV. Lolo Moliga). His remarks were directed at keeping humble and not taking anything for granted. He was followed by Charlie Brown, Director for Public Relations for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Native Americans, the "Heart to Heart" speaker- Mark WALCZAK -former NFL PRO TE..(IND "Colts" - BUF "Bills" - Arizona"Cardinals" & SD"Chargers") and the "Heart of SAFETY" speaker- LT. Mann Del TORO (San Diego Homicide-Vice-SD Police Dept.) One of the special guests there who also spoke to the gathered guests was the Producer of the successful Samoan Movies, the Silamanino Series. Eliza Su'a. She spoke of the dreams that are fulfilled by hard work and determination.
The First Samoan Baptist Church provided a splendid meal and all who attended were well fed. The most important thing is the community were able to come and enjoy the achievements of their youth. These are the future of Samoa and our Samoan people in the USA. There was more than just athletic talent present on this day, Singing the national anthem and final song was American Idol contestant Samuelu Fesili from Oceanside High School.
The next banquet will be held one year from April 30, 2016. Mark that date on your calendar and be sure to attend next year.
Polynesian All American Bowl played in Oceanside brings together players from all over the country and unites Polynesians in game of football
LAIGA FOUNDATION together with various groups from San Diego and Oceanside combined again to put on a well coordinated and exciting Poly Bowl. The participants and their families were treated to a game that was exciting right up to the last minute. Families filled the Oceanside High School Pirate Stadium, Home of Junior Seau, making it a festive day for sports fans and casual Polynesian Cultural observers. But the persons who benefited the most were those college scouts who came to see the top Polynesian High School Football players compete against each other.
Le Malae was able to talk to a number of High School athletes and Coaches as well as the President of Aiga Foundation, George Malauulu. George was esctatic that the game was so well attended in fact he surmised it was perhaps the most well attended event since the start of the Poly Bowl. Aiga Foundation has been at the forefront of Polynesian Football for High School athletes for over ten years.
The game itself was a hard hitting game which gave College and High School Coaches a really close up look at these young Bulls who were not afraid to make the hit and get hit. These High School kids were in many instances the size of professional Football players with behemoths well over 6'6" and 300 lbs on both sides of the ball. There were some excellent speedsters running and catching the ball, while technique and speed of the Defensive backs made life hard for the receivers and QBs. By the end of the game it was evident that many of these youth were heading to college short of academic problems, they had size, speed and high game IQ.
Several Professional athletes and former All Stars were on the side lines both cheering and coaching these young athletes. Manti Te'o of the San Diego Chargers enjoyed the game. Tenny Palepoi, his team mate also commented on how the game brought back memories and this was how Polynesians would get noticed and recruited to better colleges if they participated in games like this. Coaches were also excited by this opportunity because there was not many chances for College Coaches to see the skill and athleticism of the Polynesian Football player. This game was one of the only real opportunities for college scouts and even pro scouts to get a good look at some of the Samoan, Tongan and Hawaiian athletes.
One coach, Coach Damuni from Maui, Hawaii is Fijian and he wanted to bring more Fijians to these camps and help the world discover the talents of the Fiji islands many of whom play professional Rugby but few have yet to crack the NFL. The latest to try is Jared Haynes who converted from being a star of Rugby League in Australia to the NFL and is trying to make the San Francisco 49ers squad.
In the end it was the young men themselves who spoke the loudest both in action and through their humble but clear appreciation to play the game. There were young men from as far East as Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and further west like Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, California and Hawaii. For them the chance to meet with other Polynesians and bond over the week was the most memorable part of the Poly Bowl week. You could see it in the eyes of the parents and family members taking pictures with their sons after the game, this was definitely a memory to cherish.
Mount Miguel senior Laulauga Tausaga sets record in discus Toss of 167 feet, 3 inches breaks 30-year-old San Diego Section mark
By Steve Brand | 9:44 p.m.May 12, 2016
There is something about the Grossmont Valley League championships that brings out the best in Mount Miguel’s Laulauga Tausaga. A year ago, as a junior, she hit 156 feet, 7 inches in the discus, good for the third-best performance in San Diego Section history. As a senior, she did even better Wednesday when she sent the discus flying 167-3, eclipsing the section record by more than five feet. It was 30 years ago — in 1986 — that Ramona’s Lori Parker set the previous standard, reaching 162 feet in a stirring battle with San Diego Southwest’s Tracy Crawford, who topped out at 156-2. That record stood against all challenges, the most serious in 2011 when West Hills’ Alexa Evans moved to No. 2 on the all-time list at 158-3. Still, you sensed that all it would take is a little competition and some friendly wind, which Tausaga got competing on her home ring. Tausaga, who set the section shot put record last year at 48-3½, inched ever closer to that mark as well with a season-best 47-2¼ at the Grossmont Valley League championships to retake the section season lead. She moves on to the section prelims on May 21 at Mt. Carmel. Brand is a freelance writer.
Rugby is here to stay. Helix Highlanders battle Carlsbad Thunder as game gains momentum in San Diego.
The game is physical and tough.
The Sport of Rugby is developing in San Diego. The past weekend saw the conclusion of the Youth Rugby League in Carlsbad where the Helix Highlanders team played Carlsbad's Thunder. Carlsbad was victorious over the newly formed Helix team which was formed under the High school students and they were coached by a number of community members including Papalii Thomas Alailima.
The Helix team consisted of mostly students who were Football players looking for an off season workout or students who had never played rugby before and were interested in trying something new.
The sport of Rugby is not one that has been played for very long in San Diego, California. The majority of rugby fanatics are those playing in Club teams in various leagues formed for the benefit of the adults and there are teams such as OMBAC that have a long history in San Diego. The number of Samoans who play for these clubs is well established because they have a history of playing in the islands or New Zealand where some of these men migrated from.
The High School league for Rugby has been very active and is operated by the Southern California Youth Rugby. the champion for the 2015 season was Fallbrook HS and the runner-up was Cathedral HS. The interest in Rugby has been on the rise and the young men are coming out for the game who would normally not be playing football. It seems they are catching on to the game because of its non-stop action and the fact that it is a great way to develop strong stamina.
On the Helix team were a number of Samoans including Maea Alailima and Boaz Alailima who play football for Helix HS. Maea is a senior who will be attending Azusa Pacific in the Fall on a football scholarship. His younger brother Boaz is planning on playing for the varsity Football team for Helix in the Fall. They were quite excited to be a part of this new team and saw alot of action as members of the backline.
The team had alot of work to do in terms of understanding the game but there was no lack in effort as they were throwing their bodies into tackles and running for scores through to the final whistle. The Carlsbad team was well coached and had played together longer. They were able to break down the Helix defense in the second half and scored 4 trys versus helix's one try.
As the parents cheered and exhorted their sons to play harder, it was evident that this is a growing sport here in San Diego. The game is suited to San Diego which has mild winters and a large Polynesian community. There were Tongans and Samoans playing on the teams that were there in Carlsbad last Saturday, and that was a great thing to see. The youth are picking up this game with enthusiasm which if they continue can lead to many opportunities even professional careers. The main thing we saw was the excitement from both teams as they put on a great display of rucking, scrum play and backline play.
With the Chargers planning on leaving San Diego who knows maybe San Diego will field a professional Rugby team in time. All in due time.
Farley completes Cal’s O-line puzzle
Brian Tavita Farley of San Diego
After weeks of fiddling and reshuffling along Cal’s offensive line, the last piece to the puzzle was picking a starter at left tackle.
That became redshirt senior Brian Tavita Farley of San Diego, who officially was named to the spot last week when the Bears revealed their first fall depth chart. Farley beat our sophomore Aaron Cochran for the job.
Asked what put the 6-foot-7, 290-pounder over the top, coach Sonny Dykes said it was consistency.
“That’s what you want to see from offensive linemen. You want to see toughness and consistency,” Dykes said. “We challenged him, told him, `You’ve got to play more physical, got to compete harder.’ He did that and he’s been consistent.
“He’s always been a good athlete, who can do a lot of the things you want tackles to do. He’s stronger now and I think he’s probably more committed than he’s ever been. And I think his performance is much better as a result.”
Farley recalls the conversation when the coaching staff suggested he get a little more aggressive. But it didn’t really begin to show until last spring.
“Something just clicked after the second year with them,” he said. “I just feel bigger, a little more confident, a little more driven. More kind of a time-is-right thing.”
Farley, who grew up in San Diego, always was too big to play Pop Warner football. So after playing Little League baseball, he tried lacrosse in the seventh grade and wound up playing six years of the sport.
Now he’s ready to help the Bears’ offense go, beginning in Saturday’s opener against Grambling State. He said the team goal for Game 1 is 175 rushing yards.
“Hopefully, we’ll get to where it’s north of 175,” he said. Running back Daniel “Lasco really came into his own last year – had a monster year. We’re expecting him to just get better from there.”
Farley understands the 6-8, 340-pound Cochran remains right on his tail, but the coaching staff has given Farley the nod for now.
“We’re real confident,” Dykes said. “We expect him to play really well. We think he will.”
Brian's full name is Brian Tavita Farley and he was born May 30, 1993 to Randal and Tania Farley. He is the second-tallest player on squad at 6’7” shorter than only 6’8” Aaron Cochran, he is also a member of Cal’s club men’s lacrosse team and his Major is anthropology.