Senior bowl provides opportunity for Hawai’i student-athletes to get to the next level

Last Sunday’s prep football showcase at Waipahu High School was more than a ‘final hurrah’ for senior student-athletes from across the state.

It was just one of many events put on by the Hawai’i Chapter of the National Football Foundation (NFF) to help kids get to the collegiate level.

At least one player received an offer from the University of Hawai’i and around 10 more got offers from several NAIA schools after their performance on the field at the inaugural 808 Senior Player Recruitment Opportunity (PRO) Bowl.

Ray Ma’ae, the director of the Hawai’i Chapter of the (NFF), was thrilled at how year one of the event turned out.

“It took a lot of planning, but in the end it was really rewarding to see the support from the community and see the players give it their all on the field, maximum effort,” Ma’ae said.

Waianae’s Kingston Costales posted the news of his offer from Hawai’i on social media on Wednesday. Costales primarily played on the defensive line for the Seariders in 2024, but was able to showcase his abilities as a middle linebacker in the senior bowl.

“It really showed his skillset and he has a nose for the ball,” Ma’ae said of Costales. “I think in that game he had at least 10 tackles. Great performance by Kingston.”

Last Sunday’s event nearly ran for 12 hours with three gridiron football games scheduled between six total teams.

There also was a girls flag football exhibition game that preceded the final matchup of the night, giving fans an early preview at the new sanctioned sport coming to the prep ranks next spring.

“That was super awesome. We wanted to help lead into an introductory to the community to see the girls compete on the field for the first upcoming season,” said Ma’ae. “It also gave a chance for the officiating crew to get a jumpstart on officiating this type of platform.”

The event was just one of many initiatives taken by Ma’ae and his staff to provide exposure for Hawai’i student-athletes.

For players still needing opportunities, Ma’ae’s organization will be taking a group of seniors to the 12th annual Terry Donahue Memorial Showcase in California in February 2025. There will also be the 808 PRO Day Combine in May that saw its inaugural event take place earlier this year with financial support provided by organizations the include Alaska Airlines and the T. George and Violet Paris Foundation.

Ma’ae also made sure to shoutout the many individuals that worked tireless behind the scenes as well as the sponsors that helped make everything possible at the 808 senior PRO bowl.

At the top is Ma’ae’s wife Leilani, who was the major driver in the organization and coordinator of the event and kept everything together and moving forward.

Team mangers for the six teams included Trenda Sylva, Kylie Bagio, Nicole Kamai, Makana Valle, Iris Lau and Krystal Kaili and officials for the event were from the Oahu Football Officials Association and coordinated by Van Peterson and Matt Sumstine.

Waipahu High School and head coach Bryson Carvalho served as the site hosts with Kapolei’s Alex Lo, Waianae’s Elizabeth Tiolu and Waipahu’s Alex Gasmen serving as athletic trainers.

Equipment and game balls were provided by Santana Sports. Security was provided by HiBred Protection and MBC Athletics 808.

Financial contributors included Ironworkers Local 625, Marcus Martiota’s Motiv8 Foundation, the Hawai’i Army National Guard, Starcomm Wireless, National Football Foundation of the California Chapter (California Showcase).

The game was also live-streamed through the National Football High School Network with Gay Shinbara from ESPN events and Brian Bautista from B3Sports coordinating and setting up all the media personnel and livestream. Commentators on the stream was Rory Kim and Bryson Tsuchiyama while Joey Ma’ae was the on-field announcer.

The Ark of Safety Hawai’i church also donated meals and drinks for all the girls and coaches and had pastor Jadeen Tuinei give the opening prayer while Jena Meyers, Naleah Meyers and Breani Jeremiah sang the anthems.

Girls flag football officials were provided by XL Sports 808 and Tsuchiyama while the players were coordinated by Roosevelt’s girls flag football head coach Dawny Jones and her organization Wahine Era Athletics Hawai’i (WEAH).

Leilani Ma’ae’s company Blast Athletic Hawai’i provided team uniforms and apparel as well as the digital game day programs.

There were also fancy porta potty’s for the kupuna, wahine and keikis provided by Executive Event Services LLC.

Coaches Asai Gilman and David Tautofi also served as members of the planning committee and primary photographers for the event, practices and games were Lori McKeown and Grant Shishido.