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The two biggest Hawaii sports stories of 2018 were played out in distant time zones and had impacts far beyond the bounds of the 50th State. Read more

The two biggest Hawaii sports stories of 2018 were played out in distant time zones and had impacts far beyond the bounds of the 50th State.

Between them, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Honolulu team in the Little League World Series produced not only championships but magical and even endearing moments.

A true freshman whose playing time had been confined pretty much to mop-up situations for the University of Alabama, Tagovailoa was summoned to start the second half of the College Football Playoff national championship game against Georgia when two-year starter Jalen Hurts couldn’t move the offense.

Tagovailoa responded by authoring three touchdown passes to lift the Crimson Tide to a 26-23 overtime victory and earn a place in Alabama lore and the national consciousness. When the Crimson Tide visited the White House, even President Donald Trump was asking, “Where’s Tua?”

Seven months later, Tagovailoa emerged from fall camp to win the starting quarterback job for the the 2018 season, guiding unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Alabama into next week’s championship game with Clemson. Along the way he garnered the most points of any runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, finishing second to Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray.

While Tagovailoa was the most visible, Hawaii’s Year of the Quarterback had its moments beyond Alabama.

Mililani graduate McKenzie Milton helped drive Central Florida to a second consecutive unbeaten regular season and back-to-back American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year awards before a gruesome knee injury ended his season.

Pearl City’s Jordan Ta‘amu set records at Mississippi and Saint Louis’ Chevan Cordeiro rallied Hawaii past Wyoming in one game and came off the bench in an explosive fourth quarter to pull out another.

2. WORLD SERIES HEROES

In South Williamsport, Pa., a remarkable band of players and their coaches produced the state’s first LLWS championship in a decade with a humility that was as noteworthy as their dominating play on the mound and at the plate.

With their mild-mannered coach, Gerald Oda, setting the tone with frequent reminders to “be humble” the Hawaii team permitted just three runs the entire tournament and shut out four of its five victims.

The triumphs proved a rallying point for a state that had been under the threat of Hurricane Lane.

Afterward Oda told the media, “Someone asked me, “What’s the strength of the team?’ I honestly have to say, it’s that they play as a team,” Oda said.

LLWS officials took the unusual step of having Hawaii and its U. S. runner-up, Georgia, share the Jack Losch Sportsmanship Award.

It was testament to the bonds of respect formed by the two rivals.

3. BREAKTHROUGH FOR RAINBOW WARRIORS

After seven years without a winning season, and amid a wholesale turnover in assistant coaches and players that prompted Las Vegas oddsmakers to list their over/under on victories at a mere 3.5, the Rainbow Warriors staged a breakthrough.

Returning to a form of the run-and-shoot offense, UH managed an 8-6 record (5-3 Mountain West) and began attracting crowds back to aging Aloha Stadium.

The Warriors reeled off a 6-1 start to the season, hit a four-game slide and then bounced back to win their final two regular-season games. That earned UH a return to the Hawaii Bowl, where the ‘Bows were denied a ninth victory by Louisiana Tech’s suffocating defense.

4. MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Angela Lee and Max Holloway spread their ring mastery across the mixed martial arts landscape.

Macfarlane choked out Valerie Letourneau to retain her Bellator flight world title. The triumph in her first bout on the home turf was achieved in front of a frenzied Blasidell Arena crowd of 6,500 in December.

It came a week after Holloway pummeled Brian Ortega in UFC 231 in Canada in his third defense of the featherweight title.

Until the ringside physician stopped the bout signifying a 13th consecutive UFC victory, it had been a tough year for Holloway just to get into the ring. He was unable to make weight for a lightweight title fight in April and then was forced to withdraw for medical reasons from what was to have beena July bout with Ortega.

Over the summer, Angela Lee of Mililani retained her One Championship women’s atomweight title with a unanimous decision over Mei Yamaguchi of Japan in Singapore.

Angela’s brother, Christian Lee, was unable to knock off Martin Nguyen for the featherweight title, losing a five-round split decision on the same card.

Tonight, Ray Cooper III can join the local circle of MMA champs when he appears in a Professional Fighters League welterweight tournament finale at Madison Square Garden.

5. OIA-ILH ALLIANCE

It took nearly five decades, but when a football alliance bringing together disparate public and private high school football teams finally got off the drawing board and onto the playing fields, it proved a popular addition.

It wasn’t just in the newly created Open Division that sparked competitiveness and renewed interest but play across Divisions I and II as well.

One thing that didn’t change was Saint Louis School, the Open Division titlist, remaining as the state’s best team.