Put 350 pounds of steel on his chest and all of that image goes flying out of the gymnasium window, however.

Sato is a junior linebacker for the Maui High School football team. He is also a world record holder for the bench press in the 16-17 age group, 181-pound weight class.

He set his record of 325 pounds at a meet in Honolulu in July and he hopes to break it next week at the World Association of Benchpress and Deadlift World Nationals meet in Anaheim, Calif.

Sato will be a Face in the Crowd in Sports Illustrated magazine next week for his accomplishment over the summer. Next week, he is looking to reach 350 pounds.

He found out about his SI exposure when he was taken out of class to have his headshot taken by a professional photographer on Tuesday.

"That was pretty shocking,'' he said. "I mean when I heard it was going to be in Sports Illustrated I said, 'You guys gotta tell me when is the magazine going to come out so I can buy it.' ''

Sato opened a lot of eyes on the Kahului campus in May during spring football drills when he benched 185 pounds 25 times, a drill similar to what professional prospects do with 225 pounds at the NFL scouting combine prior to the draft.

Sato was one of the stalwarts on the Sabers' defense at middle linebacker before he suffered a high ankle sprain in a game against Baldwin a month ago. He didn't play again and watched his team finish 0-9.

"That was hard to not be able to help my team,'' Sato said. "I don't want to ever feel that way again.''

It is also a driving force for him to do well in Anaheim — he will also deadlift and hopes to break the 450-pound barrier in that discipline despite the fact that his ankle still bothers him. He set a Hawai'i state record of 453 pounds in the deadlift over the summer.

"I can't wait to compete again,'' he said. "When I lifted the 185 25 times at spring drills, I tripped out because I never did go that high before. I showed myself something. I didn't know I could do that.''

Sato lifts four days a week for two hours at a time, almost exclusively in the Maui weight room.

His father, Judd Sato Jr., the Sabers linebackers coach, saw something in his son when he was 12.

"I used to take him to the gym with me and he just loved it from the beginning,'' Sato Jr. said. "He would always ask me when the next time we were going to go to the gym. He hasn't stopped lifting since.''

After next week, Sato III will concentrate on being ready for his senior football season.

"Football is my first love in sports,'' he said. "I started playing eight or nine years ago when I played for the Kahului Keiki Aliis'' in the Maui Pop Warner Football Conference.

Sato III may be small, but he says his strength helps him on the gridiron and makes him think about college football.

"That is what I want to do and weightlifting is helping me get there,'' he smiled.

"He is like a bowling ball when he gets going and with his strength and his size — because he is already low to the ground — it is hard for a lot of offensive linemen to block him,''' Sato Jr. said. "He makes a lot of tackles because of his combination of strength, speed and size.''

Sato III doesn't turn 17 until April and he plans to run the 100-meter dash and 4x100 relay for the Maui High track team in the spring.

"He is probably the strongest kid on our football team,'' Sato Jr. said. "His strength has helped him get onto the field.''

"It is all for football,'' Sato III said. "I just want to keep getting better so we can be better as a team next year.''