Hawaii Grown

Alabama quarterback and 2016 Honolulu Star-Advertiser All-State offensive player of the year Tua Tagovailoa sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on Monday. Part of the interview was shown during halftime of ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast. A longer version will be shown on SportsCenter after the game. Tagovailoa, who has been dealing with a strained right knee for the past two games, is expected to be a full participant in practice this week head coach Nick […]

There were 51 teams in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision that won games Saturday and, in a milestone spread across multiple time zones, four of them were guided by starting quarterbacks from Hawaii high schools. Saint Louis School graduate Chevon Cordeiro, making his first appearance for the University of Hawaii in place of the injured Cole McDonald, joined already established signal callers: Mililani’s McKenzie Milton (Central Florida), Pearl City’s Jordan Ta‘amu (Mississippi) and the Crusaders’ Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) in delivering […]

UCLA junior Mariel Galdiano, a 2016 Punahou alumna, pulled off the best round of her collegiate career to win her first tournament wearing Bruins colors. Galdiano shot a 7-under 65 today to finish at 13 under and win the Golfweek Conference Challenge at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo. UCLA set a 54-hole school record finishing at 32-under 832. Galdiano led the way, shooting a 29 on the front nine. She eagled the par-4 sixth and added birdies on […]

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a career day and still sat out the entire fourth quarter. The 2017 Saint Louis alumnus threw for a career-high 387 yards and accounted for a career-best five touchdowns in the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide’s 45-23 victory over No. 22 Texas A&M today at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Tagovailoa set career highs in passing attempts (30) and completions (22) and tied his best outing of four touchdown passes. His fifth score was on a […]

Santa Clara freshman Kaile Halvorsen, the 2017 Star-Advertiser girls soccer player of the year from Kaiser, scored her first collegiate goal in the 62nd minute to beat No. 2 North Carolina 1-0 on Friday. Halvorsen, a 5-foot-6 forward, stole the ball from a defender just outside of the box and beat the keeper near post for the goal to knock off the Tar Heels. The goal gave Santa Clara a win over its highest ranked opponent since a 1-0 double […]

Including the University of Hawaii, more than 100 players who graduated from high school in Hawaii are on FBS rosters this season. But that’s not all in Division I. Another 29 kids from Hawaii are on rosters of Division I FCS schools. Southern Utah is the most popular landing spot with seven kids from Hawaii on the roster. Sophomore receiver Judd Cockett (Punahou ’17) caught a 12-yard touchdown pass in a 34-30 loss to North Alabama to start the season […]

Wednesday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser will feature a full-page section on Division I FBS football players from Hawaii who began their seasons last weekend. A total of 92 players who graduated from Hawaii high schools are on rosters of mainland D-I football teams. While the trio of big name quarterbacks (Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Central Florida’s McKenzie Milton, Ole Miss’ Jordan Ta’amu) all dominated in their first games, there were plenty of other standout players from Hawaii as well. Southern California running back […]

UCF junior quarterback McKenzie Milton threw a touchdown pass on the second play of the fourth quarter and then took a seat. The 2016 Mililani alumnus kicked off his third season with the Knights — and first under new head coach Josh Heupel — looking exactly like he did when he ended last year’s perfect season with a Peach Bowl win over Auburn. Milton threw for 346 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdown passes, and also rushed for 50 yards […]