Football players test abilities at annual combine


Saint Louis sophomore-to-be Matt Sykes participates in the Pro Agility Shuttle at the Hawaii Football Combine last Saturday. Michael Lasquero | SL

About 300 student athletes tested their skills at the 16th annual Hawaii Football Combine last Saturday at Saint Louis School.

The event, which was organized by Kenny Patton for the second straight year, saw football players participate in the 40-yard dash, pro agility shuttle, vertical and broad jump.

Patton, a former University of Hawaii defensive back, estimates that about 200 of the participants were doing the combine for a consecutive year.

"It's definitely a good thing to get physically accessed periodically," said Patton. "The kids came prepared and you could definitely see that they put in work."

Among the participants that benefitted from running the drills again was sophomore-to-be Matt Sykes, who snag his first collegiate offer from Fresno State along last Thursday. The Saint Louis receiver ran the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds last weekend, which bested his former time of 4.9 seconds.

Sykes also had the best time in the pro-agility shuttle, running the drill in 4.15 seconds.

"Last year when I did the combine it was a learning experience," said Sykes. "With that experience, now I could actually get better scores."

Another Saint Louis receiver, freshman-to-be Keanu Wallace, echoed Sykes' sentiments.

"In the first year, you learn how to do everything. This year, I was a lot more comfortable and I improved from last year," said Wallace.

Wallace had the best all-around performance in the combine running the fastest 40-yard dash time in 4.59 seconds, jumping the highest at 33 inches and leaping the farthest at 9 feet and 8 1/2 inches. He also ran the pro-agility shuttle in 4.16 seconds.

While the two underclassmen boosted their already strong recruiting stock, Nanakuli senior-to-be Lynold Tuiloma was just happy to be back on the field.

Tuiloma, whose older brother Lyle is a defensive tackle for the Colorado Buffaloes, sat out his entire his junior season with a metatarsal fracture in his left foot. He is hoping that he can follow his brother's footsteps in playing on the collegiate level.

"This means a lot for me to get back on any football field. Any football player would understand especially if they were injured. Coming to this combine was a very special moment for because I can get my numbers up, I know where I stand and I can work from there."

Top results from each drill is listed below.

40-Yard Dash
1) 4.59- Keanu Wallace (Saint Louis) 
2) 4.61- Storm Sua (Mililani)
3) 4.63- Andrei Iosivas (Punahou) 
4) 4.64- Kainalu Reyes-Hackney (Saint Louis) 
5) 4.64- Kaikoa Kila (Mililani)

Pro-Agility Shuttle
1) 4.15- Matt Sykes (Saint Louis)
2) 4.16- Keanu Wallace (Saint Louis)
3) 4.19- Macky Coleman (Kamehameha)
3) 4.19- Asher Pilanca (Mililani)

5) 4.20- Tate Shimao (Iolani)

Vertical Jump
1) 33 inches- Keanu Wallace (Saint Louis)
2) 32.5 inches- Andrei Iosivas (Punahou
3) 31 inches- Matthew Latorre (Castle)

3) 31 inches- Brock Barr (Kamehameha)

Broad Jump
1) 9' 8.5"- Keanu Wallace (Saint Louis)
2) 9' 8"- Andrei Iosivas (Punahou)
3) 9' 7"- Quinten Nana (Kapolei)

4) 9' 3"- Macky Coleman (Kamehameha)




Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].