With UH's top QB injured, senior has chance to shine

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Keiki Misipeka, a 5-foot-10, 215-pound senior running back from Pago Pago, American Samoa, impressed even the defense at yesterday's University of Hawai'i football team scrimmage. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

As a Kalaheo High senior in 1998, Withy-Allen received offers to play football at Harvard and UH. He chose Door No. 2.

"Come on, Dad, admit you thought I made the right decision," Withy-Allen said to his father, Todd Withy, after yesterday's full-contact scrimmage at UH's grass practice field.

"OK, it turned out all right," Withy said. "He received a good education and he saved me a lot of money."

Harvard, which competes in Division I-AA, does not offer athletic scholarships. At UH, Withy-Allen, a communications major, was admitted into the honors program. He has a 3.9 cumulative grade-point average, receiving four B's — two in his first semester — while acing the rest of his classes.

He also has developed into an accomplished quarterback, and appears to have locked up the No. 2 job behind injured starter Tim Chang.

In yesterday's scrimmage, Withy-Allen completed 11 of 13 passes — two were dropped — for 176 yards. The team's starting linebackers did not play, but Withy-Allen often faced the No. 1 secondary and defensive line, as well as nickel schemes.

On one play, he outraced rush end Marco Chavez to the perimeter and completed a 30-yard pass to Ryan Richards. On another, he fielded a bouncing long snap and threw to running back Keiki Misipeka in the flats.

Withy-Allen traced his success to a "lot of repetitions" in practices. The Warriors probably have a dozen pass plays, but each has more than five options.

"I've thrown to the receivers so much I know what they can do, and they know what I can do," Withy-Allen said.

Even if a receiver wore a blank jersey, Withy-Allen said, "I would know who he is by the way he runs, how fast he runs and his mannerism."

In the past, the coaches were concerned about Withy-Allen's consistency. He traced his problems to concentration lapses. After returning from spring break this week, he had difficulty during seven-on-seven drills. "I had to really focus," Withy-Allen said. "I just need to take it one play at a time."

Withy-Allen said he has received inspiration from his parents and coaches. His father competed in crew and his mother, Judy Allen, is a personal trainer and massage therapist who has Linda Hamilton biceps. "I've been blessed with good genetics," he said.

Withy-Allen does not drink alcohol, smoke, swear or date. "I'm focusing on becoming a better player," he said.

Ka-toosh!: The scrimmage's biggest hit was delivered by a running back.

Misipeka, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound senior, secured Withy-Allen's swing pass and then flattened outside linebacker Patrick Lavar Harley. The hit drew raves — and taunts — from teammates. Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa yelled that Harley needed to take nutritional supplements.

On the next play, Misipeka took a handoff, then stiff-armed Harley. This time, Tinoisamoa yelled, "You'd better go for the legs next time."

"I'm just trying to play my hardest and see what happens," Misipeka said.

Misipeka, who earned an associate degree from Palomar College in California, moved to Hawai'i last summer to be with his girlfriend, a UH student. They have two children — a 2-year-old son and a month-old daughter.

Misipeka, who is not on scholarship, receives student grants, as well as financial help from his brothers, Kelemete and Isaac. "I wouldn't be here without my family's support," he said.

Misipeka is recognized for his long, bleached hair. Misipeka and his cousins styled their hair that way in California, and "I don't want to change because (the bleached hair) reminds me of them."

Better late than never: Out of sight, Isaiah Alameda was going out of his mind while rehabilitating from shoulder surgery.

Alameda, a 2000 Kamehameha Schools graduate, underwent surgery that summer. He decided to delay enrolling at UH for a semester to focus on his recovery. Even though he served as volunteer football assistant at Kamehameha in the fall of 2000, "I was frustrated," he said. "I got fat. I got lazy. I never really did anything."

When he reported to spring practice last year, he weighed 240 — 25 pounds more than his playing weight at Kamehameha. Even worse, he said, "I wasn't comfortable. The college game is a lot quicker. I was behind everybody else. I didn't know anything."

Soon, he was doubting whether he could compete in Division I-A.

"I heard that, too, and I talked to him about that," said UH associate head coach George Lumpkin, who was Kamehameha's defensive coordinator during Alameda's junior year. "I told him, 'You need not question that. You need to play the best you can and let the coaches make that determination.' We knew he was good enough to play at this level. He's going to be a good player."

Alameda redshirted last season, and weighed 220 at the start of this spring practice. He increased his bench press to 315 pounds, and completed the shuttle run in 11.8 seconds, the third-fastest time among UH linebackers.

"I'm back into it," said Alameda, who is listed as the top backup to Tinoisamoa on the weak side.

"He's starting to get his groove back," Lumpkin said. "He's starting to look like the guy we knew in high school."