By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Luca Vartic, a former BIIF football player, is making up for lost time at Arizona Western, a junior college powerhouse.
The 2016 Saint Louis graduate had offers from Hawaii, UNLV, and Washington State but signed with the Matadors (9-0), ranked second in the latest Juco poll.
Vartic, who played in the secondary at Konawaena, transferred to Saint Louis for his senior season but couldn’t crack the starting lineup.
Last year, Saint Louis crushed Mililani, which had quarterback Milton McKenzie (now at Central Florida), 56-30 in the HHSAA Division I state semifinals last year.
Vartic was not listed anywhere on the defensive stat sheet.
A week later, Kahuku bounced the Crusaders 39-14, intercepting Alabama-bound QB Tua Tagovailoa three times, for the state championship. Vartic didn’t see any time on the field.
A new season and Vartic is back on the field making plays.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound defensive back has played in nine games, compiled 33 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and has one pass defended.
Vartic doesn’t have an interception for the Matadors, who finished 7-4 last season and beat No. 4 DuPage (Illinois) in the El Toro Bowl, but he has a comfort zone.
Joining him on the AWC roster are old Crusader teammates and fellow freshmen Apera’amo Augafa, an offensive lineman, and Tanielu Evaimalo, a D-end. Both started for Saint Louis.
AWC is one of the best pipelines to attract the interest of big-name brands. On the school’s website, there are more than 50 players listed who’ve signed with Division I schools.
That list includes 2010 Kamehameha graduate and center Keli‘i Kekuewa, who played at Bowling Green (2012-13).
AWC is in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, which includes Pima, home to 2015 Honokaa graduate and sophomore D-lineman Kamaehu Richards.
They already played twice and the games served as a BIIF reunion.
On Sept. 10, AWC hosted and won 20-0 and traveled to Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 22 and won again 21-9.
For the Aztecs (3-4), Richards has 39 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, 7.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
Tyler (Texas) is No. 17 in the Juco rankings, and 2015 Kamehameha graduate Pono Davis is a D-tackle for the Apache (5-3).
Garden City (Kansas) College (8-0) tops the rankings with games through Oct. 30.