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John-Keawe Sagapolutele

Punahou football  •   #16    

Appearances can be deceiving. Look no further than John-Keawe Sagapolutele, for example. 

Despite what may seem like an easy-going, laid-back demeanor on the exterior, inside of the Punahou senior quarterback lies an unwavering competitive fire. It's part of what makes Sagapolutele special, according to his coach. 

"His passion for football, his passion for his teammates and helping them as a whole unit, as a team to achieve their goals, that's what John is about," Buffanblu coach Nate Kia said. 

In addition to his passion, Sagapolutele also has a heck of a right arm. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound gun-slinger has completed 69.8 percent of his passes passed for 2,099 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. He completed 23 of his 25 pass attempts for 385 yards with three TDs and one interception to lead Punahou to its first Interscholastic League of Honolulu title in eight years with its 24-8 win over Saint Louis at Farrington's Edward ‘Skippa' Diaz Stadium Saturday night. 

"I felt like he did a great job as it was a tough game and it was a championship game," Kia said. "He led us on several strong drives throughout and not everything goes perfect, but he's had some phenomenal games this year, but it was another strong game for John."

After he missed on his first attempt, Sagapolutele completed five in a row, including a 1-yard touchdown to Iosepa Lyman on a play-action pass to open the scoring. On Punahou second scoring drive — which culminated with a 38-yard Jordan Kapisi field goal on the first play of the first half — Sagapolutele completed six of nine passes for 67 yards. 

Sagapolutele threw a couple of second-half scoring strikes to Noah Macapulay, including a 98-yard TD on a pass over the middle on third-and-12. The scoring play was an audible called by Sagapolutele at the line of scrimmage. 

But, as Kia points out, the numbers only tell part of the story of Sagapolutele's value to the Buffanblu offense, which is averaging more than 42 points and 425 yards per game.  

"His command of the offense, being able to make, for instance, that clutch audible with Macapulay for that 98-yard touchdown strike, and just helping navigate the whole team through adversity, a lot of those aspects never really show up in the statistics and yet the steady leadership throughout a championship game was key to our victory," Kia said. 

It was the fifth straight game that Sagapolutele threw at least three touchdown passes; His lone interception came on a pass that was deflected off of his receiver's hands, up into the air and into the hands of a Saint Louis defensive back. 

On third downs Saturday, Sagapolutele was 9-of-11 passing for 169 yards. 

Kia noted that despite being a starter since a few games into his freshman season, Sagapolutele hasn't had a whole lot of continuity over his prep football career. 

"We talk about his experience being a freshman, where yet that was pre-COVID, different coaching staff, different coaching systems, so I think this may be the longest period of stability in regards to systems and this is the most stable period that he's had of consistency in terms of what we want to do, which started the momentum the offseason started last year for us and knowing that he was going into his senior year, I think he's really taken that task seriously of mastering the offense to be the leader we need him to be," Kia said. 

Sagapolutele was selected as a team captain this season, although he's long been a leader for the Buffanblu. 

"I think first and foremost I would say that he's a winner and that he's a proven, battle-tested leader with exceptional arm talent and ability," Kia said. 

Just don't let Sagapolutele's outwardly easy-going nature fool you. 

"I would say that his demeanor would lend itself to that perception there. However, I do feel like he's become more comfortable with our offense, with what we're trying to implement. Again, that started in the offseason with him improving his grasp of the offense going into his senior year and now we're at the tail end here, at the final stretch and he's right where he needs to be for us to have a shot at a state title," Kia expressed. 

Along with Sagapolutele, who has given a verbal commitment to the University of Hawaii, Punahou also has another quarterback with a UH offer on its depth chart in junior backup Ty McCutcheon (693 pass yards, 70.5 comp. %, 6 TDs, 0 INTs). 

"We're blessed to have a very talented quarterback room and depth at that position is a luxury I know that other schools don't have and our opponents don't have and having them work together, train together throughout the season, in practice, I think there's great chemistry and competition from pushing each other, as great position groups do, but I think there's great camaraderie as well," Kia said. 

Punahou won all three of its meetings against Saint Louis this season after having dropped 10 consecutive matchups against the Crusaders from 2016 to 2021. 

Saturday's win for the Buffanblu snapped a string of seven straight ILH titles for Saint Louis. 

"I think it really did settle in after the bus ride back after returning to the school that for most of these guys, since the time they started playing football, Punahou hasn't won an ILH championship, so I think it set in for everybody the significance of this ILH championship," Kia said. 

Sagapolutele and the second-ranked Buffanblu (8-1) are seeded second in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Open Division State Championships and will play No. 3 Mililani (7-4) in the semifinal round on Friday, Nov. 18. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Trojans' John Kauinana Stadium and will follow the early semifinal between top-seeded Kahuku (10-2) and fourth-seeded Campbell (7-3) at 4 p.m. 

FOOTBALL

Frank Abreu, Kamehameha-Maui — Caught four passes for 117 yards in a loss to Kekaulike 

Leonard Ah You, Kahuku — Had 2 1/2 tackles, a sack and forced a fumble in a win over Mililani 

Keoki Alani, Konawaena — Threw for 192 yards and four touchdowns on 13-of-19 passing with an interception in a win over Hilo 

Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio, Konawaena — Caught two touchdown passes, broke up two passes on defense and scored on a 72-yard kickoff return in a win over Hilo

Kila Apuna, Waimea — Made 11 total tackles, including 10 solo stops, in a loss to Kapaa

Rowen Bucao, Campbell — Caught seven passes for 146 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kapolei 

Keon Cabrera, Waipahu — Intercepted two passes, broke up another and made one tackle in a win over Aiea 

Jayden Chanel, Aiea — Caught six passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Waipahu 

Waika Crawford, Kahuku — Threw for 157 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-23 passing without an interception and ran seven times for 38 yards and two TDs in a win over Mililani

Faapaia Fualema, Waipahu — Made 8 1/2 tackles and intercepted a pass in a win over Aiea 

Astin Hange, Punahou — Caught seven passes for 109 yards in a win over Saint Louis 

Kawelu Kaiawe, Konawaena — Ran 16 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Hilo 

Hiki Kim Choy-Keb-Ah Lo, Aiea — Made 2 1/2 tackles, intercepted a pass, broke up another and recovered a fumble in a loss to Waipahu 

Caleb Lauifi, Waipahu — Made three tackles, including two sacks, and forced a fumble in a win over Aiea 

Tainoa Lave, Campbell — Scored on a 28-yard fumble return in a win over Kapolei 

Noah Macapulay, Punahou — Caught seven passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Saint Louis 

Aizik Mauka, Aiea — Made six tackles, including one for a loss, forced two fumbles, recovered a fumble and broke up a pass in a loss to Waipahu 

Elijah Mendoza, Waipahu — Threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-45 passing with two interceptions in a win over Aiea 

Lester Meyers III, Nanakuli — Made 7 1/2 tackles, including four for losses and two sacks in a win over Kaiser 

Ezekiel Olie, Aiea — Threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns on 27-of-37 passing with two interceptions in a loss to Waipahu 

Maika Peralta, Nanakuli — Made five tackles, including three for losses and two sacks in a win over Kaiser

GianCarlo Rufo, Punahou — Had three sacks in a win over Saint Louis

Eric Saau, Aiea — Made 8 1/2 tackles and intercepted a pass in a loss to Waipahu 

Jaron Sagapolutele, Campbell — Threw for 457 yards and four touchdowns on 27-of-48 passing with two interceptions in a win over Kapolei 

Hansen Salausa-Kaawa, Nanakuli — Threw for 138 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-25 passing with an interception, ran six times for 60 yards and two TDs and caught a 25-yard TD pass in a win over Kaiser 

Madden Soliai, Kahuku — Blocked two punts and intercepted a pass in a win over Mililani

Elton Sue, Mililani — Had five tackles, including 2 1/2 for losses and 1 1/2 sacks in a loss to Kahuku 

Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kapolei — Threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-47 passing without an interception in a loss to Campbell 

Braeden Togafau, Waipahu — Ran 21 times for 123 yards in a win over Aiea 

Liatama Uiliata, Waipahu — Caught 16 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown in a win over Aiea 

Geronimo Ulgaran, Aiea — Caught 11 passes for 117 yards in a loss to Waipahu 

Tysin Zackious, Kekaulike — Ran 21 times for 221 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Marissa Nakata

Hawaii Baptist volleyball  •   #10    

Marisa Nakata and the Hawaii Baptist girls volleyball team rose to the occasion during last week's New City Nissan/HHSAA State Championships. 

Nakata, a sophomore outside hitter, put together four prolific matches to help fuel the Eagles to the Division II championship match, their first appearance since 2017. 

The 5-foot-7 Nakata opened the tournament with 19 kills, seven digs, four aces, one assist and a block in an opening-round sweep of Kailua Tuesday. She followed that up with 17 kills, nine digs and two solo blocks in a sweep of second-seeded Konawaena Wednesday. 

But then Nakata turned it up a couple of notches. In an epic five-set win over ILH runner-up Damien in Thursday's semifinal round, she had 36 kills and took 92 total swings, to go along with 20 digs and three blocks. 

"Just the sheer volume of swings that she took, that was pretty impressive," HBA coach Myles Shioji said. 

Shioji, however, expected Nakata — along with fellow six-rotation outside hitter Caitlin Wong — to shoulder much of the load for the Eagles at states. 

"We knew that it could be a rough road, but we minimized a lot of the swinging that the two outsides did during practice, a lot of the jumping," Shioji said. 

Wong took 64 total swings and finished with 22 kills, as well as 16 digs in the semifinal win over the Monarchs. A night later, in the title match against Le Jardin, Wong tallied 43 swings, while senior Sydney Hankey recorded 11 kills on 37 swings. Nakata hit .301 in the final with 30 kills against eight errors on 73 total swings. 

"Marisa has a very high volleyball IQ, she obviously loves the sport and she loves everything that goes with it. She's a very hard worker in practice, she takes to coaching very well and she's not just a hitter, she's a shot-maker. She sees the block in front of her and she'll go off the hands, or outside arms — she's a smart hitter and she sees the game very well," Shioji described. 

Nakata's contributions aren't just limited to the front row. She also came up with a team-high 16 digs in the five-set loss to the Bulldogs. Furthermore, Nakata was 35-of-36 on serve-receive Friday night. 

"The numbers are great but she's a total team player," Shioji said. "The senior captains (Hankey and Kylie-Shyne Rivera-Kaahanui) kept everyone together and she was right in there with them. There's no rivalry between it, they're all together in the common goal, they were all trying to do their part, which kind of sets it up that (Nakata's) going to be a leader soon, rather than further down the road."

Nakata also ripped three aces in the title match and, along with Wong, was selected to the All-Tournament Team. 

"I think (Nakata) took it to another level, but I think our entire team took it to another level. We're not physically gifted, so we have to do things a lot differently than other teams. We talked about it after we qualified for states, how ‘it's great you're all happy to be here, but now the real work begins,' and you could see in their eyes, it was like, ‘wow,' " recalled Shioji, whose team finished third in the ILH behind Le Jardin and Damien, respectively.

He continued, " ‘It's not that I'm trying to minimize what you guys did — it's great — but from experience, we're telling you what needs to happen,' and they bought in for two weeks. … Marisa took it to another level — that was a lot of attempts that she took, but it was definitely efficient — (but) I don't want to minimize what she did in the regular season because she did bring it all year."

As a freshman last season, Nakata earned Honorable Mention All-ILH. Shioji pointed to Nakata's level of maturity as the biggest difference in her this year. 

"She played a lot last year but she was more of a wide-eyed freshman," he reflected. 

Along with her maturation between the ears, Nakata has certainly taken on more of the work load for the Eagles' attackers this season — although that doesn't fully reflect her value to the team. 

"The numbers, the kills, the digs, the aces, they're all looked at as far as how you justify and quantify some things, but when you have someone who accounts for so much of the numbers but is a very, very team-oriented person, it's different," Shioji said. "She's a team girl."

Although Nakata cracked the starting lineup as a freshman, she's remained humble and a consummate teammate, Shioji pointed out. 

"She's got the respect of her teammates. She takes coaching very well, she asks questions about what she could do better on certain situations, so what makes her special is what makes kids that love the sport that they play special," he said. "I mean, they just love it and everything that goes with it, I think that's what makes her special."

Being the team player that she is, it should be no surprise that Nakata was at basketball tryouts Monday afternoon. 

"Sometimes you have seasons overlap and these athletes, especially the ones that qualify for state tournaments, it takes a lot out of them and knowing our basketball coaches, I'm sure that they told her to take some time off, but it's not Marisa; She commits to something, she'll commit to it," Shioji said. 

Although his team fell short of capturing a fifth state championship in program history, Shioji had high praise for his squad this year, which had lost five matches in a row during one stretch of ILH play. 

"I'm super proud of these girls. With the five-match losing streak, we lost our way a little bit — we were getting blown out — but this group, the response that they had for adversity in the season, it's super awesome to see that. They're definitely a bunch of hard workers and grinders," Shioji said. "Now we'll see how they react to these types of things next year." 

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Katelynn Albano, Hawaii Baptist — Had 16 digs and two assists in a three-set win over Konawaena, had 19 digs, six assists and one ace in a five-set win over Damien

Anae Asuncion, Mililani — Had 40 assists, eight digs and two kills in a four-set win over Leilehua and had 35 assists, seven digs, six kills, one block assist and an ace in a three-set win over Baldwin 

Leina Chu, Hawaii Baptist — Had 33 assists, seven digs, one kill and an ace in a three-set win over Kailua, had 56 assists, 14 digs, five kills and an ace in a five-set win over Damien and had 34 assists and 11 digs in a five-set loss to Le Jardin 

Brynn Basilio-Chun, Waialua — Had 34 assists, eight digs, three kills one block assist and an ace in a four-set loss to Maryknoll 

Kiana Cueto, Damien — Had 21 kills, 15 digs, three block assists, two aces and one assist in a five-set loss to Hawaii Baptist 

Reese Diersbock, Le Jardin — Had 15 kills and four aces in a three-set win over Hawaii Prep, had 18 kills, six digs, one solo block, a block assist and one set assist in a three-set win over Maryknoll and had 31 kills, 19 digs, two assists and one block assist in a five-set win over Hawaii Baptist 

Anniversary Fellsi, Leilehua — Had 11 kills, 10 digs, two aces, one solo block and an assist in a four-set loss to Mililani 

Hope Fine, Maryknoll — Had 15 kills, 12 digs, two assists and one solo block in a four-set win over Waialua 

Natalie Fukumoto, Moanalua — Had 31 digs, four aces and two assists in a five-set loss to Kahuku 

Kyana Gabriel, Hilo — Had 19 kills, three digs and two block assists in a four-set loss to Kapolei

Alohi Garcia, Waialua — Had 17 kills, eight digs, two block assists and one assist in a four-set loss to Maryknoll 

Kamaluhia Garcia, Moanalua — Had 13 kills, two block assists and one solo block in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Maui and had 29 kills, 13 digs, one solo block and a block assist in a five-set loss to Kahuku 

Sydney Hankey, Hawaii Baptist — Had 10 kills, 10 digs and one ace in a three-set win over Kailua 

Gennezia Hawkins, Le Jardin — Had 57 assists, seven digs, four kills and three block assists in a five-set win over Hawaii Baptist 

Eryn Hiraki, Iolani — Had 18 digs, two block assists and one kill in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Maela Honma, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 21 kills, 10 digs and one assist in a three-set win over Punahou, had 17 kills, 19 digs, one assist and an ace in a five-set win over Kahuku and had 16 digs, five kills and an ace in a three-set loss to Iolani 

Maya Imoto-Eakin, Iolani — Had 30 assists, seven digs, two kills, one ace and a block assist in a three-set win over Kapolei, had 40 assists, six digs, two kills, one ace and a block assist in a three-set win over Mililani and had 40 assists, 14 digs, two block assists, one solo block and an ace in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Kaila Kalama-Bajet, Damien — Had 22 kills, 15 digs and two block assists in a five-set loss to Hawaii Baptist 

Dani Kapu, Kahuku — Had 25 assists and 10 digs in a five-set win over Moanalua 

Kalikokupuna Kealoha, Hilo — Had 18 kills, 13 digs and three aces in a four-set loss to Kapolei 

Leisey Kelii, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 22 digs, two assists and one ace in a three-set win over Punahou, had 18 digs and two assists in a five-set win over Kahuku and had 20 digs and one assist in a three-set loss to Iolani 

Hope Kepa, Kailua — Had 12 kills, 10 digs, nine assists and two block assists in a three-set loss to Hawaii Baptist 

Kaitlin Kiko, Kapolei — Had 16 digs, two aces and one assist in a four-set win over Hilo 

Margot Lewis, Hawaii Prep — Had 13 kills, three aces and two digs in a three-set win over Lanai 

Parker Lewis, Hawaii Prep — Had 17 kills, one solo block and an ace in a three-set win over Lanai 

Madison Mamizuka, Kahuku — Had 18 digs and 18 assists in a five-set win over Moanalua 

Tehani Militante, Waialua — Had 14 digs, one ace and an assist in a four-set loss to Maryknoll 

Henua Moefu, Kapolei — Had 14 digs, seven kills, one solo block and an assist in a four-set win over Hilo 

LC Nakagawa, Mililani — Had 17 digs, four aces and one assist in a four-set win over Leilehua and had 17 digs, three aces and three assists in a three-set win over Baldwin

Brooke Naniseni, Iolani — Had 16 kills, four digs and four block assists in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Hailee Naone, Le Jardin — Had 27 digs, two assists and one ace in a five-set win over Hawaii Baptist 

Tessa Onaga, Iolani — Had 19 digs and seven assists in a three-set win over Kapolei, had 16 digs and four assists in a three-set win over Mililani and had 34 digs and one assist in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Hehea Pulotu, Kahuku — Had 24 digs, four assists and one kill in a five-set win over Moanalua, had 28 digs and four assists in a five-set loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Malinah Purcell-Telefoni, Kapolei — Had 13 kills, four solo blocks, four block assists and two digs in a four-set win over Hilo 

Erica Roberts, Mililani — Had 15 kills, three digs, one solo block and a block assist in a four-set win over Leilehua 

Senna Roberts-Navarro, Iolani — Had 15 kills, eight digs, three aces, one block assist and one set assist in a three-set win over Kapolei, had 21 kills, six digs, two block assists and one solo block in a three-set win over Mililani and had 10 kills, 13 digs and one assist in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Hawaii 

Alexis Rodriguez, Mililani — Had 18 kills, five digs and three aces in a four-set win over Leilehua and had 15 kills, eight digs, one ace and an assist in a three-set win over Baldwin 

Brooke Samura, Hawaii Prep — Had 21 assists, nine digs and two kills in a three-set loss to Konawaena 

Sarah Schubert, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 14 digs, seven kills, two block assists and one ace in a three-set win over Punahou, had 11 kills, 14 digs, one block assist and an ace in a five-set win over Kahuku and had 14 digs, eight kills, one ace and an assist in a three-set loss to Iolani 

Brooke Summers, Hawaii Prep — Had 31 assists, six digs, one kill and an ace in a three-set win over Lanai 

Mele Taumoepeau, Kahuku — Had 14 kills, 23 digs and three assists in a five-set win over Moanalua 

Melie Vaioleti, Punahou — Had 15 digs, three assists and two aces in a three-set win over Farrington 

Sydnee Walker, Le Jardin — Had 27 kills, 10 digs, two block assists, two set assists and one ace in a five-set win over Hawaii Baptist 

Victoria-Irene Wassman, Hilo — Had 28 digs, five assists and two aces in a four-set loss to Kapolei 

Kenna Wengler, Damien — Had 47 assists, 18 digs, six kills, six aces and four block assists in a five-set loss to Hawaii Baptist

Kody Wengler, Damien — Had 31 digs, two assists, one kill and an ace in a five-set loss to Hawaii Baptist 

Caitlin Wong, Hawaii Baptist — Had 22 kills, 16 digs, two block assists and one ace in a five-set win over Damien 

Eleina Young, Hilo — Had 41 assists, eight digs, two kills and two aces in a four-set loss to Kapolei