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Na Alii prepare for states with late coach Rivers on their minds

King Kekaulike hosts Nanakuli on Saturday in 1st state tourney game since 2006

A rainbow spreads across the sky above King Kekaulike Stadium on Monday as Na Alii practiced ahead of their state tournament semifinal game, scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday in Pukalani. The Maui News / ROBERT COLLIAS photo
King Kekaulike’s Kalelepono Wong (right) celebrates his touchdown with Ahe Sumibcay during Na Alii’s win over Baldwin on Aug. 19. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
King Kekaulike coach Tyson Valle puts up a poster of late coach Clarence Rivers behind his desk Monday. The Maui News / ROBERT COLLIAS photo
Na Alii running back Tysin Zackious carries the ball on Aug. 19. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
PUKALANI -- There was a stunning rainbow at King Kekaulike High School football practice on Monday, and everyone there knew it represented a visit from a missing member of the Upcountry school's gridiron family. Clarence Rivers, who was a former head coach with the program and had been on staff for more than a quarter-century, died at the age of 74 on Oct. 6 after a long battle with an undisclosed illness. Rivers coached many of the current Na Alii players in Big Boy football in middle school. He has been a focal point for the team as it prepares to play in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA state tournament for the first time since 2006, against Nanakuli on Saturday night in a Division II semifinal. The winner will advance to the D-II state championship game on Nov. 26 at Mililani High School on Oahu. River's presence was definitely felt on Monday and in an inspirational halftime speech on Oct. 29 when Na Alii clinched their state berth with a 28-25 win over Kamehameha Maui in a Maui Interscholastic League playoff game. A poster honoring Rivers has hung somewhere in Na Alii's football locker room/coaches office area under the King Kekaulike Stadium bleachers since shortly after he died. In the MIL playoff game, Kamehameha Maui jumped to a 15-0 lead and still led 15-7 at halftime. "At halftime, River Morris, one of our offensive line/defensive line players, came into the office, he grabbed the poster of coach Clarence Rivers and took it into the locker room and gave a passionate speech about what we're playing for, how tomorrow's not promised, and how things could just come to an end," King Kekaulike coach Tyson Valle said Monday. "And, you know, they literally were looking at the end of their season and were able to turn it around." Rivers, a standout running back at the University of Northern Iowa from 1969-71, is definitely on Na Alii's minds going into Saturday's matchup. "It's something that they have been talking about and been real passionate about every practice, every halftime, every game since he passed," Valle said. "They've just been talking about it because he spent time with the kids, just kind of giving them pointers here and there about what he thinks. Not just on the field, but academically, too, on what they can do at the next level. He was real impactful for all these kids." In their only previous state trip 16 years ago, Na Alii became the first Neighbor Island state champion. A key for King Kekaulike (4-6) against Nanakuli (10-1) will be the effectiveness of Na Alii's wing T rushing attack. King Kekaulike featured three of the top five rushers in the MIL in quarterback Kalelepono Wong (88 rushes, 732 yards, 11 touchdowns in eight MIL regular-season games), Tysin Zackious (119-583, 4 TDs) and Kalani Puu (96-432, 1 TD). They were second in the MIL in total rushing yards, at 233.5 yards per game. A large part of the rushing attack is 6-foot-4, 410-pound senior guard Nui Crozier, who missed four games with a knee injury before making it back to the field for the playoff win over Kamehameha Maui. "I feel good, everything is good, ready," Crozier said Monday. "Ready to roll." Crozier remembers Rivers very well. "Coach C was my coach every year since seventh grade, when I first came to the program," Crozier said. "It kind of hit us hard. Well, it hit me hard when I found out about it and we're kind of playing the rest of the season in honor of him." Crozier then peered at the remarkable rainbow that overlooked practice on Monday. "Oh, yeah, all last week he's been here," Crozier said. "He's been here watching us. I remember he was always pushing us to do our best, but he wasn't screaming at us, he was always calm and patient with us." Crozier anticipates a capacity crowd for Saturday's game. "Hopefully a packed house, huh?" he said. "Super excited, I think everybody's going to be super excited to see this game." Wong said he can't wait for kickoff. "I'm hyped, man," he said. "I don't even know how to explain it -- it's like even at practice, I feel everybody's vibe. It needs to be picked up more and we just have to match each other's energy. I feel like we just need to sharpen a few more things and then we're there." Tight end/linebacker Jacob Poouahi said he is confident going into the game. "Honestly, I think we're ready, I think we got this, I think we got this down," he said. Rivers is also on Poouahi's mind. "Every day, every day I come on this field," he said. "He's been coaching me since I was young, very young. Sixth grade was the first time I met him -- he always had this one catch phrase, 'Come on, man.' When I found out that he passed I was kind of shook. I was, like, 'Do I believe this is or not? I can't believe this is happening.' "And then I came to practice and coach finally broke out the news to every one of us. There were a little bit of tears all over the place. We're playing for a greater purpose now. I feel like we're playing this one for him. He shows up every day, man, just like that rainbow right there." To the surprise of many, including Na Alii themselves, they are the No. 1 seed in the D-II state tournament and had a bye to the semifinals. "We're very excited, we've never been here before, but just having the season extended, having a couple more weeks to practice, not only for our seniors, but for them to get more days in before we say goodbye to them, I think that's huge," Valle said. Nanakuli hasn't lost since a 16-0 decision to Maui High on Aug. 12 at War Memorial Stadium. Allen Mahoe III leads the Golden Hawks with 621 yards rushing, while Nathan Pele-Tukumoeatu has 553 yards on the ground, and Christian Asinsin has 499. "Our eye right now is on states, that's what we're focused on," Valle said. "Nanakuli definitely has some big backs in the backfield, No. 40 (Pele-Tukumoeatu) and No. 21 (Asinsin) look pretty big, they run the ball heavy, but they also got some speed with that Mahoe kid in the back. Offensively, obviously we're planning and prepping for those guys. Defensively, they're quick to get to the ball, so we've got to make sure that we sustain our blocks, get downfield and just keep doing what we've been doing all season." Valle said his coaching staff has had Na Alii preparing for the Golden Hawks since the brackets were released nearly three weeks ago. He admits he and his staff were shocked to receive the No. 1 seed. "Honestly, right after the (Kamehameha Maui) game we were all contemplating what seed we were going to be at," Valle said. "We thought that we would have at least three more games to play, two more games before the state final, and when we got your text saying that we were the No. 1 seed, I just couldn't believe it. I called up the coaches at 12 o'clock (midnight) and said, 'Hey, we're the No. 1 seed.' That was that night. "We were pretty excited from that night and we just couldn't believe it, that we were the No. 1 seed." * Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com. ***** State Football Championships DIVISION II Saturday's Games • Semifinals No. 4 Nanakuli at No. 1 King Kekaulike, 7 p.m. No. 3 Waimea at No. 2 Honokaa, 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26 • Championship Semifinal winners at Mililani, 4 p.m. OPEN DIVISION Today's Games • Semifinals No. 1 Kahuku vs. Campbell at Mililani, 4 p.m. No. 2 Punahou at Mililani, 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25 • Championship Semifinal winners at Mililani, 7 p.m. DIVISION I Saturday's Games • Semifinals No. 4 Waipahu at No. 1 Iolani, 3 p.m. Aiea at No. 2 Konawaena, 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26 • Championship Semifinal winners at Mililani, 7 p.m. [gallery ids="1044756,1044754,1044757,1044755"]

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