Damien’s Tonga Tuifua suffers head injury in game against ‘Iolani
· Yahoo Sports
Monarch Nation and Raider Nation are praying for Damien quarterback Tonga Tuifua.
The Damien-‘Iolani football game was suspended due to darkness at the end of the third quarter on Friday night. The Raiders, in need of a win to force a tiebreaker with the Monarchs for the ILH Division I title, were ahead 28-12.
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Before the game was called, with less than five minutes left in the third quarter, Tuifua scrambled out of the pocket and ran toward the sideline.
He was pushed out of bounds and stayed down on the track just beyond the grass. He was face down and motionless, and athletic trainers tended to him until paramedics arrived nearly 15 minutes later. Both teams gathered near Tuifua and took a collective knee before he was transported to a hospital.
“He hit the back of his head on the track. He was out for a couple of minutes, then he was able to feel, touch everything,” Damien coach Anthony Tuitele said. “These are the cards we’re dealt. We can’t make any excuses. That’s part of football.”
Both teams were shell-shocked.
“It looked like he was knocked out. A head injury for sure,” Damien wide receiver Wyatt Ho-Williams said. “Me and my boys prayed for him. All praise to God. Hopefully, he’ll be back soon. Pray for Tonga, man.”
‘Iolani coach Patrick Samsonas has known Tuifua since Tuifua’s childhood years playing football in Waimanalo.
“It was a little scary. His eyes were kind of going in and out. My son plays in Waimanalo with all the Tuifuas.” he said. “We were trying to keep him up, keep his eyes open, keep him talking, keep him squeezing. Prayers to him. He seems strong. I talked to his brothers, so they’re going to give me an update tonight or tomorrow morning.”
The game will resume at 10 a.m. today. If ‘Iolani (5-2, 1-1 ILH D-I) wins, a tiebreaker matchup will be played next Friday at Radford. If Damien (3-3, 2-0 ILH D-I) finds a way to rally and win, they seal the ILH title.
In the final four minutes before darkness, Damien shifted Ho-Williams to QB. The speedy senior had nine receptions for 102 yards but was predictably rusty with his passing touch.
‘Iolani played, arguably, its best game in all three phases. Running back Jadon Anzai rushed for 92 yards on 16 carries before darkness. Ayden Teranishi, a key part of the offense as receiver and rusher, was ejected in the third quarter for kicking a defender after the Damien player was on the ground and grabbed Teranishi’s knee. It was the knee that was injured earlier in the year, causing him to sit out until Friday’s game.
“We’re going to try and contest it. I’m going to look at the video. If it’s sendable, I’m going to send it,” Samsonas said. “The referee said he saw the (Damien player) holding his leg, but that’s not a penalty. It was a Twilight Zone game. We had a lot of things I’ve never had before, a neck injury being part of it.
Damien and ‘Iolani will resume the game at the earliest start time of the season.
“It’s not the situation we wanted to be in,” Ho-Williams said. “A lot of obstacles, but no matter when we play, we’ve got to be ready to play. Continue to work hard on the field. Continue to watch the film. Be there for each other. Playing the game we love.”
It was a bizarre afternoon with multiple players succumbing to leg cramps.