Mililani senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Saint Louis senior defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele were named the Honolulu Star-Advertiser All-State offensive and defensive players of the year on Sunday.
You can read the Star-Advertiser feature story with a list of first, second and third teams and honorable mention by clicking here.
Waipahu’s Bryson Carvalho was voted coach of the year after leading the Marauders to the OIA Division I title and their first state championship ever in football.
Gabriel is the third consecutive quarterback to win player of the year honors on offense, following Saint Louis’ Tua Tagovailoa (2016) and Chevan Cordeiro (2017).
Gabriel led the Trojans to an OIA Open championship and set the state’s career passing record mark of 9,848 yards. His 105 touchdown passes are second all-time to Timmy Chang.
For the year, Mililani averaged 35.1 points per game. The only teams to limit the Trojans to fewer than 20 points were St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and Saint Louis, who are Nos. 3 and 14 in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.
Tuitele is the first defensive player of the year from Saint Louis since Wilson Afoa in 2002 and is one of nine Crusaders named to the All-State first team.
The others are linebackers Jordan Botelho and Nick Herbig, defensive end Gino Quinones, defensive backs Kamo‘i Latu and Korvin Feagins, offensive linemen Ben Scott and Arasi Mose and receiver Roman Wilson.
Herbig and Botelho give Saint Louis two linebackers on the first-team All-State list for the first time since Noa Purcell and Dylan Toilolo did it in 2016. Other standout linebacker pairs from the school include Timo Paepule and Taualai Fonoti in 2001, Joseph Lobendahn and Ikaika Curnan in 2000, Joe Siofele and Fabian Manumaleuna in 1997, James Sunia and Fabian Fonoti in 1996, Kelii Kaanoi and Jacob Yoro in 1995, Kalei Kaanoi and Eric Lono in 1989 and John Correia and Garriss Akiona in 1987.
Waipahu defensive backs Deacon Kapea and Zeondre Benjamin made the All-State first team, giving the Marauders two defenders on the team for the first time since Gary Page and Michael Moody in 1978. They are the first defensive backs from the school honored since Falaniko Vitale in 1991.
Other notes
>> Sama Paama is Kaimuki’s first member of the All-State first team since Chester Sua in 2010 and the first defensive player from the school on the list since Daniel Tautofi in 2002.
>> Kupono Blake is the first Kamehameha defensive end to make first-team All-State since Mika Tafua in 2014.
>> Tausili Fiatoa gives Kahuku at least one defensive player on the Star-Advertiser’s All-State first team for the fifth straight year and gives the school a defensive end on the list for the second straight year after Samson Reed repped the school last year.
>> Darius Muasau is the first linebacker from Mililani to make first-team All-State since Jacob Afele and Dayton Furuta in 2013. Other linebackers to make the list include Josh Andrews in 2006 and Mikhail Mabry in 2003.
They should have made separate All State Teams for D1-Open & D1.
Lol, good job Gabriel.
Lol, good job Coach C. (Carvalho).
Congratulations to all these great athletes. That being said there should be separate all state teams for the divisions since the competition faced by each was clearly not the same. Especially since you are using stats as the basis.
Open and not open should be separate. For real.
Separate the division all-state teams like the mainland does so the kids get more exposure.
A kid looks much better as a college recruit by making an all-state Open, DI or DII team instead of an honorable mention on only one state team.
Same as rankings, separate it. Iolani won 6, 7, 8 DII titles in a row but you NEVER heard of them as a USA/MaxPreps Top 25 team!! “Reality”.
Sensitivity aside, there are OPEN players that are not on this list that are BETTER than the non-open players that made this team selection.
1 kahuku player
3 waipahu players
C’mon fam.
NO D2 or D1 should be in the same category as the Open athletes.
The RBS that made ALlL State are good but they wouldn’t be nearly as dominant in the OPEN.
Yup. Redo
Yup, those kids in the lower division would never have those stats in the open! The Open is the Best Of the Best teams and so the kids should be rewarded accordingly!! Look every time a lower division team wins their division, they start thinking they could’ve beaten the upper division Champs!!!😂😂😂😂wrong , it’s been proven year after year!! For example Waipahu, congratulations on winning their division and they’ve done it in the pass, but when they moved up with the Big Boys, they cannot hang!!!! That’s why they created divisions!! Competition is Totally Different and there is a Big difference. So 🤷🏽♂️ Not make their own division All State Team!!!
BUILD A DAMN WALL AROUND KAUAI!!!!!!!
Waipahu spanked Waianae who is in the open division… So to say the lower division teams cant compete or wouldn’t put up numbers that is far from it. People say Waipahu cant win when moved up… Well they went from D2 to D1 and ended up winning the D1 championship. Give kids props regardless of levels. Some in public school don’t have the opportunity to go to a private school, and some in private school (sitting on the bench) would make a D1 program legit. Aloha forward and stop hating
Looks like this years Waipahu team is the victim of doubt. Lol, other than St Louis, this years waipahu team wouldve given any open div team a run for their money. How you know waipahu cannot hang? They were once competing in the Old OIA west!! Cmon lol!! Moreover Year in and year out, its teams like waipahu who lose their talent to private schools.
Looks like this years Waipahu team is the victim of doubt. Other than St Louis, this years waipahu team wouldve given any open div team a run for their money. How you know waipahu cannot hang? Werent they a part of the Old OIA west! Moreover Year in and year out, its teams like waipahu who lose their talent to private schools.
they should take ILH players off the all-state list. the ILH all star list is good enough for them. they can decide who’s the best among the recruited. we only interested in who’s rooted