Monarchs are drawn together at The Line

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Co-head coach Dean Nakagawa gives instructions to the Damien Monarchs at The Purple Line prior to a recent practice. The Monarchs gather at the line on their way to the practice field as "a way to come together every day and say a little prayer" before practice, according to former player Chris Brown. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Damien greats The Monarchs have never won a football championship, but several former players won honors in high school, college or the pros: Chris Brown (Class of 1998): UH, first-team All-WAC linebacker Inoke Breckterfield (1995): Oregon State, third-team All-American defensive lineman, played in CFL Eddie Klaneski (1993): UH, first-team All-WAC safety Chris Truby (1992): ILH All-Star receiver, major league baseball third baseman Chad Kurashige (1985): ILH Defensive Player of the Year Todd Schmidt (1983): ILH Defensive Player of the Year Joey DeSa (1978): All-State defensive back; major league baseball first baseman Charlie Aiu (1972): UH, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman.

Eddie Klaneski and Chris Brown went from Damien to All-Western Athletic Conference careers at the University of Hawai'i, and Charlie Aiu went from UH to the NFL. Inoke Breckterfield was a third-team AP All-American at Oregon State.

Before Chris Truby and Joey DeSa became major league baseball players, they were Interscholastic League of Honolulu football All-Stars for Damien. And two Monarchs — Todd Schmidt (1982) and Chad Kurashige (1984) — were named ILH Defensive Player of the Year.

But one of the Catholic school's best football traditions is not related to honors or great games. The tradition is called The Purple Line, and it is carried on every day before practice at Damien's 80-yard field.

"The Purple Line is where we would always begin practice, it was a way for us to come together every day and say a little prayer," said Brown, who graduated from Damien in 1998. "We'd spend a few seconds at the line, and then we'd go out and play."

The Purple Line is a strip of purple paint about four inches wide on an asphalt driveway leading to the practice field at the Kalihi school. The team comes out of the locker room and stops at the line, where they receive instructions from their coach, say their prayer, make a commitment to practice, and then run out to the field.

The Line is painted by the seniors on the first day of fall practice, and players are reminded of all their predecessors who crossed the line before them.

"The idea is that no matter who plays here, they leave everything on the other side of the line," said 1966 graduate Wally Aina, who started the tradition when he took over as head coach in 1985 and continued it in his 11 years at the helm. "This is where we come into focus on the task at hand, where we leave our troubles behind the line and come to play football. We try to pass on the tradition of old-fashioned work ethic, with a blue-collar effort and never-say-die attitude. And the next day, we always come back here to where it all starts again."

Aina said with victories hard to come by at Damien, he wanted The Purple Line to help Monarch players get the most out of their football experience and appreciate it later.

"I thought it would be a good way to remember all the kids who had labored on this field before," said Aina, now the school's dean of students. "It's a way to pay respects to all the people who contributed to this program. A lot of good players practiced here, and we didn't have very many wins, but we have a lot of memories."

The magic of The Purple Line is that although it's color may fade as the season goes along, its meaning grows stronger.

"At first, we never even knew what it was," said senior defensive lineman Soane Sevelo, a third-year letterman. "The coaches asked, 'Do you know what this line means?' Some people knew, but some didn't. But now we know that it represents everybody who painted it before and walked over it throughout the years. And as seniors, it's part of you already. From not knowing what it was, to becoming a part of it — that's very special."

This year's seniors may appreciate The Purple Line as much as any in the past, having gone through an 0-8 sophomore year and a 1-7 campaign as juniors before this season's 5-5 record going into Friday's Division II state championship game against 'Aiea. As successful as this year has been, with a four-game win streak and an Advertiser Top 10 ranking, they know the bigger picture is the daily effort put forth on the other side of the line.

"Football is making us better people," said senior running back Ranson DeCosta, another three-year letterman. "It's teaching us responsibility, all the sacrifices we make to become better. And no matter if we win or lose, we're one big family at Damien. It's a brotherhood."

That's what Brown told the team during a visit earlier this season.

"That Purple Line meant a lot to us, because even though we weren't winning, it was a thing of pride," Brown said. "That's the biggest thing at Damien. We're still one family and when we were at that line, we'd go to practice hard together. That's why I was real happy when I spoke to the team, because I could see that in their eyes. A lot of guys tease Damien, but we've got great camaraderie and our teammates and schoolmates are our brothers."

Brown said he used to attend Saint Louis or Kamehameha games and see all the alumni gather for the big games.

"Now we get to do that, because Damien is playing for a state championship," Brown said. "It feels great."

Win or lose Friday, Sevelo said he definitely plans to return to The Purple Line after he graduates, and DeCosta said it's he'll do the same.

"Guarantee," DeCosta said. "It's something you can share with other people."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.