Waianae's Joey Nuuanu-Kuhiiki (40) recorded two sacks and was awarded the Ke Koa Onipaa Award for most outstanding big man for team Legacy. Peter Caldwell | SL

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KEAAU, Hawaii — At first Joey Nuuanu-Kuhiiki was uncertain if he even wanted to participate in the Life Champion Senior Bowl, but by the end of Saturday night the Waianae defensive lineman was glad he did.

Nuuanu-Kuhiiki, who is 6 feet, 3 inches and weights 240 pounds, had two sacks for a total loss of 11 yards as a member of the winning Team Alpha.

"This game basically was just a big opportunity for me," Nuuanu-Kuhiiki said. "When I got the letter at first I wasn't going to come, but my mom them pushed me and pushed me and then I finally realized that this was an opportunity for me. I haven't gotten that many offers so when I got here the coaches have offered me a lot, opened up a lot of opportunities and it was a great experience."

Nuuanu-Kuhiiki was part of a Searider defense that allowed 23.7 points and 260.1 yards per game. Waianae went 9-4 overall and 6-1 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Red conference. He was named a second team all-league selection.

His first sack went for a four-yard loss on Radford quarterback Quintin Iriarte on a second-down play in the second quarter that eventually led to a punt for Team Alpha two plays later. Nuuanu-Kuhiiki dropped Castle's Willie Ewaliko for a seven-yard sack in the fourth quarter that led to an interception by Team Legacy teammate Ace Faumui two plays later.

Nuuanu-Kuhiiki said he grew a new-found appreciation for his teammates over the course of the week.

"Some of the boys, like Kahuku boys, I thought they were real mean, stuck up people but when I finally got to meet them it's a different person underneath the shoulder pads and helmets so it was really great playing against them and being on the same team," Nuuanu-Kuhiiki said.

Nuuanu-Kuhiiki was one of 15 award recipients after the game.

A complete list of award winners follows:

Ke Koolani (team player)—Legacy: John Wendell Nisa/Kaimuki. Alpha: Aaron Tapusoa/Kahuku.
Kekuhaupio (most outstanding skill player)—Legacy: Blaise Manabe/Radford. Alpha: Willie Ewaliko/Castle.
Pukaua Ku Kilakila (leadership award): Kekoa Sasaoka/Kahuku.
Ke Koa Onipaa (most outstanding big man)—Legacy: Joey Nuuanu-Kuhiiki/Waianae. Alpha: Laakea Look/Punahou.
Malama Kaiaula (community service award): Brendan Namba/Roosevelt.
Ka Lamaku Pio Ole (academic award): Jarin Manuel/Damien,
Ihe (contributor to prep football): Reggie Torres, Brian Derby, Vince Passas.
Shawn Lauvao Award (Offensive Player of the Game): Cameron Howes/Konawaena.
Tyson Alualu Award (Defensive Player of the Game): Alema Kapoi/Kamehameha.
Marcus Mariota Award (Most Valuable Player): Noah Auld/Kailua.

TALENT IMPRESSED COACHES
The two head coaches of the teams — Yuba College's Ted Hoal and Graceland University's Jeff Douglas — both gushed over the product on the field Saturday night.

"When I looked at the skill and the size and the speed and the athleticism and watching those guys, that was as close to watching college football players as I've seen in a long time," said Hoal, who led the Team Legacy to a 27-16 win over Team Alpha. "We're both college coaches and watching those kids move, that's a very, very impressive thing out there to watch these kids flying around."

While it was the second annual all-star game, it was the first time participating in the event for both Hoal and Douglas.

"These kids can really play," Douglas said. "It was the first time that I've been to the islands and to watch the talent that we had here this week, we're going to keep coming back because there's some kids that can play and we can use as many of them as we can get."

Both coaches said that despite the difficulties of preparing their respective teams with just four days of practice, the players put on a quality show.

"It wasn't easy, but the good thing about a lot of these kids and the people that are running all of this, there's this sense of family or community and stuff like that and these kids were pulling for each other all week long, helping each other out," Hoal said. "There wasn't any selfishness, they were willing to do whatever you asked them to do so it made it really easy for both of us."

Douglas echoed the sentiment of his counterpart.

"These kids put on a good performance and although having only four days to put stuff together, it's a compliment to them that the game was played out the way it was," Douglas said. "I just went with the defense that I thought they could pick up the fastest and the kids had it in two practices so the rest of the time we just worked on fundamental skills within the defense."

RAM STRONG
Radford running back Ace Faumui proved to be a valuable commodity for the Rams offensively this year. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Faumui rushed for a Division-II best 1,344 yards and 18 touchdowns to his.

For all of his accolades — and helping Radford to its first state title this season — Faumui was named ScoringLive All-Hawaii Division II Offensive Player of the Year Saturday.

"The competition is way better so I had to step up my game," Faumui said. "I trained before I came down here and I guess everything worked out well."

Faumui showcased his skills on the other side of the ball during the Life Champion Senior Bowl while playing strong safety on Team Legacy. He had four tackles, including one for loss, intercepted a pass late in the first half and also forced and recovered a fumble that halted a eight-play Alpha drive in the third quarter.

"I guess everybody just broke it down to it being our last game, thinking that this was our last game for high school and we just came out strong and kept working."

BUSY NIGHT FOR SASAOKA
Kahuku kicker/punter Kekoa Sasaoka had a busy night. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder made two of his three field goals attempted and averaged 42.7 yards on three punts on the night.

"It was good," Sasaoka said. "I just wanted to kind of bounce back from the state championship. I didn't have such a good game,"

Sasaoka first field goal try came from 53 yards out in the middle of the second quarter but was a few yards short. He made a 22-yard field goal to cap a nine-play, 69-yard drive early in the third quarter and converted a 30-yard field goal on Team Legacy's next drive. He had a 66-yard punt late in the game.

"It was fun," Sasaoka said. "I got to hang out with a bunch of kids and even became good friends with the Saint Louis boys."

RIVALS NO LONGER
Just over two weeks ago, Saitaua Lefau and LeRod Tongi were on opposing teams vying for the Division I state championship at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

Fast forward to Saturday night and the duo found themselves on the same sideline for Team Alpha.

Lefau, a running back/wide receiver for Saint Louis, and Tongi, a fullback for Kahuku, were backfield teammates Saturday night.

"It's a great experience to share with him," Tongi said of Lefau. "He's a cool guy. He's awesome to play with, he's very humble and he's a great player on the field."

Tongi, who is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds, carried six times for five yards and caught two passes for 21 yards. Lefau, who is 5 feet, 10 inches and weighs 189 pounds, had four carries for one yard and caught three passes for 10 yards.

EIGHT VS. ELEVEN
Among the 104 players were three from 8-man teams: Pahoa quarterback Lava Benn, Molokai offensive lineman Kuikamoku Han and St. Anthony defensive back Sam Wyner.

Benn, who is 6 foot 1 and weights 230 pounds, threw just one pass for Team Alpha — which was incomplete — in the fourth quarter. Han, who is 5 foot 10 and weighs 260 pounds, was also on Alpha while Wyner, who is 5 foot 11 and 160 pounds, had two tackles and a pass break-up for Team Legacy.

"It was definitely different," Wyner said of playing in his first 11-man game. "To tell you the truth, I had never played zone in my life before as a corner. It was really good getting to learn this week and I thought I did pretty well at it."

Wyner said he appreciated the camaraderie built between players over the week.

"Especially between me and (Han), we talked a lot," Wyner said. "We come from the same league — it's a small league — and it was really nice to just talk to somebody from another team like that."

CARRYING THE TORCH
For the second straight year the island of Guam was represented in the Life Champion Senior Bowl.

Radford quarterback Quintin Iriarte transferred over from Guam for his senior season while defensive back Keith Chauret III finished out his prep career at Guam High. Both players were starters for their respective teams in the showcase.

"I played against him while I was on Guam," Iriarte said on Chauret. "I didn't know him personally, but we got to know each other when I found out he was getting some college looks."

However, Chauret's time in the game was short lived as he suffered a broken left arm on the game's opening drive and was taken off the field in an ambulance. In Chauret's absence, Iriarte did his best to represent the island of Guam and threw for 199 yards and one touchdown on 11-for-20 passing.

"The island of Guam is always my home," he said. "We don't have much athletes out there that come out and get exposed. I was just hoping to make a name for them and get them on the map hopefully."

Iriarte's name in Hawaii quickly grew throughout the season as Radford defeated every opponent it faced and captured the school's first state title.

"I knew if I wanted to chase my dream I couldn't stay on Guam," said Iriarte. "Lately God has blessed me with the opportunity to play in this event as an example — and we also won the state championship. I'm just grateful to be here."

HOMECOMING FOR VARTIC
Former Konawaena defensive back Luca Varitc got to play one last game on the Big Island Saturday night.

Vartic, who was a 2014 All-Hawaii Division II first team selection as a Wildcat, transferred over to Saint Louis in the offseason and was part of a team that ended Punahou's reign as Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships and was the Division I state runner-up.

"It feels good to be back here," said Vartic, who had two tackles and one pass breakup. "Even though I transferred to Saint Louis, I'm still from the Big Island. I'm very proud of my roots."

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound defensive back said that having the Life Champion Senior Bowl was a great way to showcase the talent in the state.

"It's a special thing to be a part of," he said. "Just because someone's team didn't do successful, they still can come out here and play one last game. There's a reason why they were selected to be in this game. There's a lot of people that go unnoticed and they get a chance to get looked at by college coaches here."