"His biggest, I say defect, is his height," said his father, Louis Mansanas, who coaches the team's wide receivers. "He's 5-7, 145, 150 pounds (when) soaking wet. That's probably the one thing holding him back. Other than that, he's been playing quarterback since Pee Wee level. He's just competitive."

After starting at free safety for the O'ahu Interscholastic Association champions last year, the athletic Mansanas was moved to quarterback this season. The undermanned Knights — down to about 26 players because of suspensions and academic probations — lost their regular-season opener, 28-14, to Mililani last Friday, but the junior still picked apart the Trojans' defense for 211 yards and a touchdown.

While it wasn't a blissful night for Mansanas, the defeat was not as bleak as when he was a 2-year-old. Several children in his preschool class got sick one day, but Mansanas' illness was more severe. He spent 14 days in intensive care after being diagnosed with spinal meningitis, an inflammation of the brain's lining. It is a contagious airborne disease that can be fatal if not diagnosed early, according to the Meningitis Foundation of America Web site.

"If we hadn't taken him to the doctor that night, he probably would not have gotten up," Mansanas' father said. "He had this stuff that turned into spinal meningitis. I'm at work and my wife tells me he's in the hospital. I thought he wasn't going to make it. It was that close.

LOUIS MANSANAS JR.

Because he was so young, Mansanas said he doesn't recall what happened. As he got older, his parents briefed him on the illness.

"I know it was a big enough disease that it could've cost me my life," he said. "My friend's mom passed away from the same thing I had, but I was fortunate enough to come out just deaf."

Hearing is essential for a quarterback. Coaches want the quarterback's attention all the time because of last-minute play changes from the sidelines. Mansanas tries to be more aware.

"There are times on the field when the players or the coaches are trying to tell me something," he said. "Sometimes I don't hear them because there are so many things going on on the field. It does make things a little bit harder for me on the field. I take a little more time at the line to hear all the line calls and all the coverage calls before I call the play."

His father noted one concern. Football players rely on their hearing senses, not just to hear calls, but to hear "footsteps." A player can hear pursuing cleats pounding into the turf or hear the breathing of the defender chasing him so he anticipate a blind-side rush.

"He can't hear somebody coming from that side, so that might be a danger we all face every time," his father said. "Other than that, he's an athlete, a competitor."

Mansanas has taken his hearing loss in stride. He said at first, his teachers did not believe he had a hearing loss; he has since armed himself with a note from his doctor. And unlike some students who like to hide in the back of the classroom, Mansanas must secure a seat up front to hear his teachers' instructions. But sometimes, he goes into his selective hearing mode.

"It's something we don't like to dwell upon," his father said. "It's like sometimes, he uses it against us. We call 'Louis, Louis,' and he makes like he doesn't hear, but he hears us."

Although he might not have the physical stature to play football after high school, Mansanas said he would like to continue in college. But if he can't, he said he wants to put his senses to work to earn a living.

"I want to get into forensic science," he said. "I watch a lot of 'CSI' TV shows and that kind of got me interested in crime scene investigations."