Blaine Hipa is due for some touchdown passes.
Hipa, Campbell’s 6-3, 190-pound quarterback, will get some action next weekend at the UC Report Underclassmen Showcase in Las Vegas.
“Yes, I’m going,” said Hipa, who has scholarship offers from Hawaii and Tennessee. “I don’t have family to stay with. My mom is going with me.”
The junior southpaw has a 3.8 grade-point average. He passed for 2,582 yards and 31 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2019.
The event will be held at All-American Park, a facility that includes five football fields.
Tevarua Tafiti of Punahou, Kaeo Akana of Roosevelt and La‘akea Kapoi and Jonah Savaiinaea of Saint Louis were also invited. Savaiinaea, who has five scholarship offers, has family in Las Vegas. He would love to travel, too.
“I’m really excited to receive an invite from UC Report Showcase,” said Savaiinaea, a 6-foot-3, 330-pound right guard. “I’m still planning on my decision due to this pandemic going on. There’s going to be a lot of talent over there and I want to compete against them and compete.”
Tafiti, a 6-3, 208-pound defensive end/linebacker has been the most heavily recruited junior in the state with 17 offers. Tafiti and Kapoi confirmed that they will not attend this event.
Hipa is revved up for an opportunity to compete. It wasn’t long ago that he was at 175 pounds on a 6-1 frame. He has been busy training during both lockdowns. He wasn’t expecting to add 15 pounds.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” he said. “I’m just lifting and eating.”
For anyone traveling out of state, a mandatory two-week quarantine will be in effect upon return. With the high school football season in Hawaii postponed to early 2021, athletes are training and waiting.
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