AH YOU FAMILY’S LEGENDARY LINEAGE

If you think about it long enough, it might make perfect sense for the Ah You football family on the North Shore to change their name to “And You.”

As in: Who plays football in your clan? … You and you and you and you is the answer.

The latest of the bunch to make his mark is doing it in high-flying fashion for the Kahuku Red Raiders this fall.

His name is Manulele Ah You, and the receiver and kick returner is one of the only players from the family’s legendary lineage who plays on offense.

On Sept. 3 in a back-and-forth showdown against Punahou, Ah You gave his Red Raiders a desperately needed spark by returning a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to make it a 13-13 game. That play stole some of the thunder from the Buff ’N Blue, who had just gone ahead 13-6, and it proved to be not only the turning point in the eventual 27-20 win but it also saved reigning state champion Kahuku from an unexpected bleak ending.

Amazingly, Ah You’s gallop was reminiscent of two moments from the past.

One is his uncle Tori Taulogo’s 62-yard punt return that led to the winning touchdown with 19 seconds left in Kahuku’s 27-26 victory over Saint Louis for the 2003 top-tier state championship.

“That is the sentiment we got from a lot of people,” Manulele’s dad, Kingsley Ah You, told Hawaii Sports Radio Network. “It was reminding them of his uncle’s punt return. To them, it had the same feeling.”

Kingsley, a proud father who works in the Kamehameha athletic department, was wearing Kahuku colors for the win over Punahou, a luxury that was not available to him earlier this season when he donned Kamehameha blue to watch the Red Raiders defeat the Warriors 49-0 in the season-opening game on Kahuku’s brand-new artificial turf field.

Another of Manulele’s serendipitous moments was recorded on video Aug. 15, 2014, and it is out there on social media now. In it, a younger Manulele Ah You, sprints during a workout down that same Kahuku (grass at the time) field to the end zone with his dad’s voice announcing, “At the 50, the 40, the 30, the 20, the 10, touchdown Manulele Ah You, whoo!”

Attached to the end of that clip from eight years ago is a newer clip of Ah You’s kickoff return TD, with Spectrum’s Felipe Ojastro’s voice staying with the pace, “From around the 3 … Ah You … Ah You! Gotta beat Agenhart Ellis. He cuts it back. Ah You! 97 yards, touchdown!”

Only a junior, Manulele Ah You received his first Division I, FBS college football offer from Hawaii a year ago, and there may be more of those offers on the way.

“He’s such a humble kid,” his dad said. “Many kids say, ‘I want to do this or that and voice their opinion on the field.’ He’s not made that way. But he is bred to be red. Gratefully, my parents taught us that using your God-given talents to get an education is the way to help our family be successful and to be of service.”

Big football plays by the Ah You family have been happening for a long, long time on the North Shore and elsewhere.

Basically, it starts with Junior Ah You, a star defensive end at Kahuku, in college and at the pro level in the CFL and USFL.

After that, there are almost too many football “And Yous” to keep track of, but we’re going to give it the best shot:

JUNIOR AH YOU, a much feared defensive end at Kahuku and Arizona State and then for the Montreal Alouettes, three USFL teams and on into the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, Hawaii Hall of Fame, Arizona State University Hall of Fame and Hula Bowl Hall of Fame.

JUNIOR’S BROTHER:
• Sale Ah You (also known as Charles), Kahuku’s first 1,000-yard rusher, according to Kingsley Ah You

JUNIOR’S SONS:
• Kingsley Ah You, a former Kahuku and BYU cornerback
• Harland Ah You, a former defensive lineman for Kahuku, Punahou, BYU and who won a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders in 1998
• June-Boy Ah You (also known as Miki), a Kahuku defensive end
• Joshua Ah You, a former Kahuku and Mesa linebacker
• Quin Ah You, a former Kahuku and Dixie State defensive lineman
• Manny Crawford, (hanai son), a former Kahuku player

SALE’S SONS:
• Jason Ah You, currently the assistant athletic director for football academics at BYU
• Matthew Ah You, a former BYU linebacker now a linebackers coach at Weber State
• CJ Ah You, a former defensive end at BYU and Oklahoma who went on to play for the Buffalo Bills and Saint Louis Rams and went on to coach linebacker at Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, USC and now Texas Tech

KINGSLEY’S SONS:
• Manulele Ah You, a Kahuku wide receiver and kick returner
• Quayd Ah You, a former Kahuku running back

HARLAND’S SONS:
• Ted Ah You, played high school football at Middleton, Idaho
• Payton Ah You, played high school football at Middleton, Idaho
• Miki Ah You, played high school football at Middleton, Idaho

JUNE-BOY’S SONS:
• Miki Ah You, a former Kahuku linebacker who went on to play at the University of Washington
• Zion Ah You, a former Kahuku defensive lineman
• Leonard Ah You, a Kahuku senior linebacker
• Noah Ah You, a Kahuku JV player

JOSHUA’S SONS:
• Jayden Ah You, a linebacker at Weber State

MANNY’S SON:
• Waika Crawford, a Kahuku senior quarterback

TAMARA’S (Junior’s sister) SON:
• Kingsley Suamataia, a BYU offensive lineman

KELEISE’S (Junior’s sister) SONS:
• Tauati Taulogo, a former Kahuku defensive lineman
• Tori Taulogo, a former Kahuku and Utah State cornerback

ANE’S (Junior’s sister) GRANDSONS:
• JT Mapu, a former Kahuku and University of Tennessee defensive lineman
• Daniel Mapu, a former Kahuku defensive tackle
• EJ Reid, a former Kahuku and Utah State defensive lineman
• Eldon Tuiasosopo, a former Dixie State linebacker
• Isaiah Tuiasosopo, a former Austin Peay State offensive lineman

JASON’S SON:
• Chaz Ah You, a linebacker and defensive back at BYU

IRENE’S (Sale’s daughter) SON:
• Gabe Summers, Sale’s grandson, a defensive lineman at BYU

Manulele Ah You and his father Kingsley Ah You. (Photo courtesy of Kingsley Ah You)