The distance from the left hash mark to the right sideline pylon is 40 yards.
Campbell was at the Kahuku 2-yard line with 10 seconds left in regulation. No timeouts. Tainoa Lave had just spiked the ball to stop the clock, and Kahuku asked to challenge the play, asserting that he did not spike the ball properly.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhile officials convened, Lave and the Sabers met on their sideline. They went simple. The same veer-style, read-option that Lave excelled at was the choice.
No trick plays. No Philly Special. No Statue of Liberty draw handoff.
James Tuazon at running back. Trystin Nahinu, a 6-foot-1, 260-pound defensive lineman, lined up as the H-back behind the right tackle. Tight splits up front.
Kahuku lined up with seven in the box and a free safety in close. Campbell had one wide receiver to the left, two to the right. Trailing 12-7, it was all or nothing.
It was the second pivotal play of the game at the 2-yard line. Earlier, Kahuku had fourth and 1 at the Campbell 2, trailing 7-6. Kahuku opted for a field goal, and botched it with a mistimed hold. Now leading in the final quarter, all Kahuku needed was one stop.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKahuku’s interior line made a huge push, backing up Campbell’s right guard and tackle to the 7-yard line. Lave had already begun to roll out to his right behind Nahinu and Tuazon, two hands on the ball in passing position.
The 5-8, 170-pound Tuazon helped stifle the rush, taking on one rusher, then a second. Nahinu was in downhill mode, going after a linebacker who eluded him. By then, Lave had turned on the jets, tucking the ball in, going full speed as he passed the right hash mark.
It turned into a foot race. Who wins this ?
The boys who spent the pandemic as 12-year-olds running sprints at 6 a.m. during the summer at Laie Park ? Or the one who as a 2-year-old watched entire football games for three hours and started playing flag football as a 3-year-old toddler with the 5-year-old kindergartners ?
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTwo Kahuku defenders had a slight angle on Lave, who turned just slightly upfield toward the pylon. One dove at Lave’s legs and made contact at the 1-yard line. Lave’s momentum led him past the goal line. The side judge paused for two seconds. Hands in the air. Touchdown.
Let the confetti fly. Campbell is in the Open Division state championship game. All in all, not too bad for Lave, an elite defensive back who occasionally takes the field at quarterback for the Sabers.
“We ran that offense at Kapolei Ducks. I was 10, ” Lave said. “(At Campbell ), we just put it in (one week earlier ). It’s making the D-end choose. You just got to read if he goes to you, you give up the ball. When the O-line makes big gaps to run through, it helps.”
The bizarre thing is Lave had sprained his ankle on the previous play.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was a big pile and they landed on my ankle. It went the opposite way, ” he said.
If Kahuku hadn’t asked for a replay challenge, Lave says he probably would’ve called a sneak play after the spike. Yet, he knew there was a better chance by rolling right and using the wide expanse of real estate. He looked for Shaison “Fatz ” Kupukaa.
“Fatz was battling an ankle injury, too, at the time, ” Lave said. “I told the guys before the game, my body’s on the line tonight. I’ll do anything for a championship.”
There is an equation here that doesn’t happen often. How does a young boy who is a good fit at a small private school, become a 4.0 grade-point average student in high school while being widely regarded among his peers and opposing coaches as a natural on the gridiron ? Elevated intelligence with equal doses of tenacity, physicality and speed.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCampbell coach Darren Johnson has seen it all before. His son, Kawe, was a Star-Advertiser All-State Defensive Player of the Year. He was a standout defensive back who occasionally lined up on offense as a QB running the triple-option flawlessly. Of all the defensive backs Johnson has coached over the decades, Lave might be the best combination of cerebral and physical.
Defensive backs coach Josh Costa was at Kamehameha in the late 2010s under then-head coach Abu Ma ‘afala. Their best season in that era was highlighted by two wins over Saint Louis.
“Tainoa is a mixture of all three of my safeties—Evan Rau, Hunter Ah Loo and Reyn Asato. That’ group was sort of special for me, ” Costa said. “Tainoa is the best of all three of them. He has the best traits of all three. He plays like (Arizona Cardinals safety ) Budda Baker. Has great instincts, hits hard and he’s just sort of savvy.”
The islands have a history of elite defensive backs who can almost read the minds of QBs. Blane Gaison was a super safety for UH and took the role of QB when injuries hit the position. He led the Rainbows over Air Force in a legendary performance.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlohi Gilman is the latest of island DBs to reach the NFL, now helping the Baltimore Ravens make a playoff run.
Lave is committed to San Diego State. He plans to graduate from Campbell early and enroll in college in January. The path to the next level is never easy, but he won’t stop the grind.
“It may sound very cliche, ” Costa said. “But for him, it’s God, family and football. He puts God first, does everything for his family. A very humble kid.”
Lave is the third of four children, the only son. His mother, Tania, is a former Farrington volleyball and basketball player. She met Apo Lave, two years older, through mutual friends.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I grew up in Ewa Beach, but my parents worked in town, so I went to Farrington, ” she said. “My husband wasn’t the usual kid out of KPT. His dad passed away when he was young. He had a single mom and they always at church, every day.”
Apo Lave didn’t have the grades to play football for the Governors, but he and Tania made sure their children never compromised their academics.
“My wife would always get on him about school. C’s, D’s and F’s are not allowed with mom. Even a C-plus, not allowed, ” Apo said.
Tania is grateful for one simple truth.
“Their demeanor, ” she said of Apo and Tainoa, “is very similar. Quiet. Very composed. Tainoa is not a ‘bad boy.’”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAt age 2, Tainoa became an avid watcher of football games.
“No 2-year-old has the patience to watch something that long, ” Tania said.
Apo coached him in flag football a year later. At 5, Tainoa began playing baseball, which he stopped playing after sophomore year. There was dabbling in soccer, and last year, he did some track and field in lieu of baseball.
Tainoa was 14 when Apo stopped coaching him on the football field.
“He played quarterback when he was younger, and when he got to 10, he shifted to wide receiver and defensive back. He fell in love with that position (DB ), ” Apo said.
Lave’s life doesn’t lack excitement off the field. He learned to hunt from older cousins Braxton and Brensen Yuen. Sometimes they stay on the Leeward side of the island. Other times, they go to Tantalus.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“My cousins would go every Sunday, usually 3 o’clock in the morning, ” Lave said. “Long pants, shirt, cleats so you don’t slip. We walk the dogs, and they only bark at pigs. Once we get over there, we stab them.”
When Lave was 10, he was hunting with a cousin and uncle (Keoki Oliveros ).
“The dogs screen the pig at the bottom of the mountain. Me and my cousin separated from my uncle. We scaled a little cliff by ourselves. My uncle was tumbling down the hill, but it wasn’t too bad. We got to the pig. There was a van on the road and this guy was watching, ” Lave recalled. “My uncle gutted the pig, then we came back home. Skinned the pig and froze it. He made smoked meat out of it. It’s really good.”
Another uncle, Bowe Ebding, takes the nephews fishing and hunting on his home island, Lanai.
“Eventually, after football, ” Lave said, “I want to live that country life.”
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