Like father, like son

Heather Cory

Bishop Gorman assistant football coach Lonnie Palelei, left, stands with son Evan, a junior linebacker for the Gaels. Lonnie Palelei, who played eight years in the NFL, has helped coach at Gorman since 2002.

By Christopher Drexel (contact)

Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 | 2 a.m.

To Lonnie Palelei, it seems like yesterday when his eldest son, Evan, was running around the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room in diapers. Lonnie Palelei was an offensive lineman for the Steelers, the first of three teams he played for during an eight-year NFL career.

Evan Palelei was a toddler, fooling around with his father’s teammates that he referred to as his “uncles.”

Some 15 years later, father is still watching son play — only now he does it with football pads instead of diapers.

And instead of fooling around, Evan Palelei is blocking and tackling for Bishop Gorman, for which is entering his junior year at linebacker and guard. Lonnie Palelei has seen his son’s transformation first-hand as he enters his sixth season as the Gaels offensive line coach.

Gorman’s home opener is Aug. 29 at the Fertitta Field against Service High from Anchorage, Alaska, as father and son will surely create more memories.

“I’ve played in hundreds of games myself but being a part of his games out here is the best thing I’ve ever done,” Lonnie Palelei said. “I get to have a front row seat to see him develop.

“Now, after all those guys I played with that saw him in the locker room, he has a pretty big following of guys that knew him when he was a little baby.”

Heather Cory

Bishop Gorman linebacker Evan Palelei, son of former NFL lineman Lonnie Palelei, goes through defensive drills at a preseason practice last year. Palelei has verbally committed to Stanford.

The elder Palelei began coaching with Gorman at the request of former Gaels head coach Dave White, his former teammate at UNLV. The two ran into each other at a reunion six years ago and White invited Palelei onto his staff.

“Coaching was the farthest thing from my mind at the time but White was saying ‘Where is Evan going to play? We need to build a program for him to play in, right?’” Palelei recalls. “He lured me into it like that. But I’m so glad he brought me in and we got this thing going.”

As soon as his dad joined the Gaels, Evan Palelei tagged along. As a seventh and eighth grader, he volunteered as one of the team’s water boys.

As a freshman, he made the varsity team and saw time as a tight end and defensive end while playing alongside his cousin, Pou Palelei, a senior lineman at the time who earned a scholarship to Arizona State.

Last year, Evan Palelei started at both guard and outside linebacker for a team that went 14-0 and won the state championship. He returned a fumble 84 yards for a touchdown in the title game.

Evan Palelei said the only drawback is having everyone know he is the son of a former professional player.

“It’s made for some big expectations for me, but it’s never bothered me,” Evan Palelei said. “It’s always inspired me to do better. I’ve had every advantage being around my father and my cousin. I’ve had every lesson there is in football taught to me.”

The expectations on Evan Palelei appear to be growing along with his frame. Standing 6 feet, 3 inches, he weighs close to 240 pounds, up from the 215 last season. He already has scholarship offers from Colorado and UNLV.

Lonnie Palelei said his son will be getting even more offers after his junior season, but is careful not to add any extra pressure on him.

“I just try to guide him because it’s big shoes to fill with your dad playing in the NFL so I just want to eliminate the pressure and focus on his development,” Lonnie Palelei said. “All that other stuff is gravy for me.

Christopher Drexel is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-8929 or christopher.drexel@hbcpub.com..