Cimarron's Sagapolu will settle in with the Rebels

Standing 6-foot-4, weighing 285 pounds and with a bench press of 355 pounds, it's hard to believe that Cimarron-Memorial's Kawika Sagapolu wasn't allowed to play football until his freshman year of high school because his parents were afraid he might get hurt.

But such was the case for Sagapolu, a two-way line star who helped lead the Spartans to the state 4-A title last season.

"My uncle, Tavita Sagapolu, injured his elbow while playing football at the University of Hawaii," Kawika recalls. "That injury took his career away. He was a nose guard and a good one. He could have played in the league (NFL)."

So Kawika, who moved to Las Vegas from Hawaii at age 10, wasn't allowed to play football as a youngster.

Until ...

"One day my uncle and my family sat down and talked about letting me play football," Sagapolu said. "And they decided I should play."

It was before his ninth grade season at Cimarron. Kawika already was bigger (6-0, 225) and stronger than many players on the Spartan varsity at the time.

Now four years later, Sagapolu finds himself rated the No. 1 college football prospect in Nevada.

Sagapolu was the only player in the state to garner votes (6) in the Sun's Super 11 poll of college coaches and scouts.

Those same coaches and scouts were asked to name the top three prospects in Nevada. Sagapolu edged Cheyenne QB/DB Lawrence Turner and teammate Arnold Parker for the honor of Nevada's best prospect. The only other player to get votes was Sagapolu's cousin, Indian Springs QB/SS Andrew Faga.

"It feels good," Sagapolu said while taking a break from lifting weights. "It's an honor coming from college coaches.

"All of this (attention) is new to me," Sagapolu continued. "Nobody in my family has been through this before. You get a lot of phone calls from coaches. A lot of them call me around 10 o'clock, well after I'm in bed."

This may be Sagapolu's most eye-popping stat. Most nights, he says, he hits the sack by 8 p.m. How many high school seniors can say that?

"He's a very coachable kid who never complains and does what you ask him to do," Cimarron head coach Greg Spencer said. "He's willing to put the hours in on the practice field, in the weight room and with academics. Whoever gets him will be getting a good one."

Whoever gets him will be UNLV. Sagapolu picked the Rebels over Oregon, BYU, Arizona State and Colorado State earlier this week.

"It's like a big weight off my shoulders," Sagapolu, who will likely play defensive tackle for UNLV, said. "I'm looking forward to the chance to play for Coach (John) Robinson."

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