Editor’s note: This is a combination of two articles written by Steven Tsai that were released Wednesday.
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WARRIORS HIT THEIR TARGET WITH BUTTE COLLEGE RUNNING BACK
Butte College running back Christian Vaughn went from having”Target” on the front of his shirt to having a target on the back of his jersey as one of junior college’s most prolific rushers.
Vaughn’s next goal is to make a mark in Manoa. Vaughn, who recently accepted a scholarship offer from the Hawaii football team, will make his commitment official when he signs a letter of intent on Dec. 20, the first day football prospects may put their pledges in writing.
“I like Hawaii’s whole family vibe,” Vaughn said of his decision to become a Rainbow Warrior. ”It had me very excited that I will be amongst people who want the same thing. They want to win and they want to do it together.
“That’s something I kind of struggled throughout these years of football. To have it now, at a high level, makes me really excited.”
Vaughn was a standout rusher at Desert Oasis High in Las Vegas, gaining more than 1,600 yards as a senior in 2019. But then the pandemic hit.
“I felt everything in the world stopped, including all the football things,” he said. ”I was very confused in what to do. I started working at Target to stay productive. I took a gap year.”
He then received a call from one of his high school coaches.
“He was like, ‘you’re working at Target? You still have talent. What are you doing?’” Vaughn recalled.
The coach then helped Vaughn reach out to several junior colleges. Butte offered Vaughn an opportunity to join in 2021.
“First year I was there, there were 15 running backs,” Vaughn said.”COVID backed everything up. I had to redshirt. I was fine with that due to the circumstances.”
In 2022, Vaughn was the backup to Caleb Ramseur, who rushed for 744 yards. Vaughn gained 350 yards, an average of 4.9 yards per carry. Ramseur ”was good, and I didn’t get to play as much as I really wanted to,” Vaughn said. ”Everybody told me to be patient, that my time was coming. I stayed patient.”
In addition to the team’s usual workouts, Vaughn created a routine that included sets of 30 crunches, 88 pushups without a break, and agility drills. In 11 games this season, Vaughn rushed for 1, 456 yards (7.0 per carry) and 18 touchdowns.
At 5-11 and 220 pounds, Vaughn relies on speed (4.5 seconds over 40 yards) and power (370-pound bench press).
“My thing is, I always have to make the first (defender) miss,” Vaughn said. ”The second one, I either have to go through him or make him miss, also. … Either I juke or I force situational stuff. If I need 2 yards for the first down, I’m lowering my shoulder and getting it.”
Vaughn will join a position group that includes Tylan Hines, Landon Sims, David Cordero, Derek Boyd, Eddie Osei-Nketia, Tasi Tadio, and Kamalu DeBlake. Vaughn is admittedly competitive. During his free time, Vaughn and his brother Rome are teammates in the video game Smite. They were ranked as high as 20th in the world.
“One thing we don’t like doing is losing,” Vaughn said. ”If we’re going to play, we’re going to play to perfection.”
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UH LANDS FARRINGTON RB, KAMEHAMEHA D-END
Both the state’s leading rusher and a top pass rusher will be joining the University of Hawaii football team.
Sitani Mikaele, who gained 1,626 yards as a Farrington High senior, and Tristan Waiamau-Galindo, a Kamehameha Schools defensive end who was credited with 12.5 sacks, have accepted 2024 offers from the Rainbow Warriors.
Mikaele said the”vibe” of the players and coaches factored largely in his decision.
“They were respectful,” Mikaele said.
After “evaluating” other programs, Waiamau-Galindo decided UH was the overwhelmingly best fit.
“It really brought me back to : what kind of coach do I want to play for?” Waiamau-Galindo said. ”It came down to Coach (Timmy) Chang. All the other coaches say: ‘if you come here, you’ll be great.’ But Coach Chang’s message is: ‘if you come here, you can play for something great.’ He’s giving us the opportunity to show all athletes from around the world that Hawaii football is more than just football. Coach Chang is preparing us for another level. He’s preparing us for life. Hawaii football is a family business.”
Mikaele grew up in Waiahole Valley but spent a lot of time playing sports at Laie Park. During his first Pee Wee practice, he was handed the football and dashed laterally.”I ran straight toward the sidelines,” he recalled, laughing. ”I thought it was a touchdown. But they knew I could run the ball.”
He was moved to offensive guard, where he was buried on the depth chart, and eventually found success as a defensive end and linebacker. But in 2020, ahead of his freshman year, quarantine rules were implemented in response to the pandemic. Mikaele decided to stay with relatives in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and play for the Kobe Bryant-founded Mamba Academy (now the Sports Academy).
In January, he moved back to Oahu, attending Kahuku High for the spring semester. He then transferred to Farrington.
His trainer Michael Lafaele, a former UH lineman, suggested Mikaele’s move to running back. At 5-10 and 235 pounds, Mikaele has been a force that defenses have struggled to contain. His breakout performance was 209 yards and three long touchdown runs against Nanakuli. No longer directionally challenged, Mikaele produced 19 touchdowns, 18 of of them on rushes. Mikaele said his elusive and physical styles are rooted in playing against his cousins at Laie Park when they were young.
Waiamau-Galindo, who is 6-3 and 240 pounds, is expected to compete at D-end, edge rusher or flat defender with the Warriors. ”Wherever they want to put me, I’ll give 100 %,” Waiamau-Galindo said.
