Like last year, the 2nd annual Life Champion Senior Bowl will be a showcase for the state’s football standouts with a wide-reaching recruiting net.
It is still the only all-star gridiron game that features over 100 seniors from the Big Island, Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Molokai.
The game will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at Kamehameha’s Paiea Stadium and will be streamed live at www.scoringlive.com, allowing college coaches from around the country to sit on their sofa and recruit the 50th state.
Life Champion Bowl executive director Keala Pule, also the president of the Hawaii Football Club, believed the game was a huge success last year.
He said there were 87 players and 50 are going to college, many on scholarships, including Hawaii’s Alex Trifonovitch, a Punahou product whose only game film was from the Senior Bowl.
Doris Sullivan, director and founder of Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance, served as a recruiting coordinator, connecting players and coaches.
“There will be 16 college coaches and maybe more,” Pule said. “This year a few of the recruiting budgets are frozen. But I don’t see any difference in interest.”
There will be 20 BIIF players, six from Division I state champion Kahuku, and seven from runner-up Saint Louis, including former Konawaena Wildcat Luca Vartic.
Perhaps the best success story was 2015 Honokaa graduate Kamaehu Richards, who landed at Pima (Ariz.) College, despite not playing in the Senior Bowl.
“Kamaehu received four scholarship offers and wasn’t able to practice or play in the game,” Pule said. “But he showed up at practices and the game, and he helped out. He had a highlight video that helped, but won over the coaches with his character and personality.”
To be eligible for the Senior Bowl, players were required to have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average, a letter of recommendation (from a principal, vice principal or counselor, or athletic director), a coach’s reference, and eight hours of community service.
Then a screening committee, composed of Brian Derby, Reggie Torres, and Vince Passas, reviewed each candidate’s athletic qualifications.
Senior-junior
exposure
For seniors and junior not participating in the Senior Bowl, there will be an exposure camp in front of college coaches at 9 a.m. Saturday at Paiea Stadium.
Registration fee is $35. The first 70 players will receive an Under Armour shirt valued at $25.
To register visit www.piaahawaii.com or be at the field at 8 a.m.
Game sponsors
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is sponsoring the Senior Bowl and has donated an autographed helmet as a fundraiser. There will be a Marcus Mariota MVP award.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Tyson Alualu is also a sponsor of the game. He and Mariota are both Saint Louis alums. There will be a Tyson Alualu Defensive Player of the Game award.
Another NFL player sponsor is Washington Redskins offensive lineman Shawn Lauvao, a Farrington graduate. There will be a Shawn Lauvao offensive player of the game award.
