CULTURE SHOCK CANYONS HAS PLAYERS FROM PACIFIC ISLANDS.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Peter Leilua played high school football in American Samoa amid primitive conditions on muddy, grassless fields.

Now, nearly half a world away from home at College of the Canyons, Leilua is adjusting to a different brand of football, and a different life in the Santa Clarita Valley.

And he isn't alone. Leilua is among 24 native Pacific Islanders on the Canyons football team, 15 of which are Samoan. Several other Polynesian players are redshirting or gray-shirting.

They've essentially formed a nonsanctioned fraternity at Canyons, sharing housing costs and helping each other cope with the hardships of living in a faraway land at such a young age and with such few resources.

The Polynesian presence - which includes players from Samoa, Tonga, and Hawaii - is a growing trend on the California community college football scene, where programs are seeking a competitive edge by adding size and athleticism - genetic trademarks of Pacific Islanders - to their offensive and defensive lines.

Several players have parlayed their experience at Canyons into Division I scholarships. Isaac Sopuaga, a community college All-American defensive lineman in 2000, is now at the University of Hawaii. Andy Endermann and Hausia Faleofa, both 2001 graduates, are at Western Michigan, and Jonathan Fanene (2001) has a scholarship awaiting him at Brigham Young once he completes his two-year mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints.

The Cougars' ability to recruit Polynesian players has been a key factor in their emergence as a Southern California power since the program was re-established in 1998, Canyons coach Chuck Lyon said.

``You can't play this game without big kids, and there just aren't enough big kids locally to go around,'' Lyon said. ``The four-year schools will tell you the same thing.

``It's helped us be who we are, there's no question about that, and I just stumbled into it because I hired (defensive coordinator) Leon (Criner) when we first got started. I didn't anticipate this in 1998.''

Criner has been the Cougars' Pacific Island recruiting point-man, a role he came into by chance while he was coaching track and field as well as football at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. While watching an Arizona State football game on television, he heard a familiar name mentioned, Joe Salavea.

A pair of sisters on his track team had the same last name, and so he asked if they were related to him.

It turned out he was their older brother, and so he asked them jokingly if they had any other brothers. They did: an even older brother, Okland, who eventually played in the NFL and now coaches high school football in Samoa.

The Salavea sisters didn't have any more siblings, but they did help Criner plug into the Samoan high school football scene, providing him with coaches' telephone numbers.

``One thing led to another, and it's all just kind of snowballed from there,'' Criner said.

Polynesian players are coming to California community colleges in growing numbers because their respective needs fit each other perfectly. Two-year programs afford Pacific Islanders an opportunity to adjust to American football - in Samoa football is primarily a physical smash-mouth game with little passing - and to a more demanding educational system.

Leilua, a starting offensive lineman at Canyons, was recruited by Utah State but believes going the community college route was the right choice.

``This is perfect,'' Leilua said. ``A lot of us were recruited by universities, but we didn't want to go there, we knew we didn't have the experience to go there. That's why we all come to junior college, to try to learn and try to get better and then we can get to universities.''

Playing community college ball is also an opportunity for the players to showcase their talents in front of collegiate scouts from across the nation.

``It's hard to get exposure in the islands because it's so far away,'' offensive lineman Faitasi Lefiti said. ``Only the schools and coaches that really want to recruit out there will make the effort, so coming out to a JC in California opens a lot of doors and gives you a lot of exposure.''

A relatively new sport in Samoa - football wasn't played competitively in high schools until about 20 years ago - the game isn't played up to anything close to 21st century standards. Players use second-hand equipment that's mostly been donated to them from mainland schools, much of which is dilapidated. Helmets are frequently used with missing straps or broken buckles. Leilua said he made knee and hip pads from sandals.

Strength training is equally unsophisticated. Samoan athletes lift weights on unpadded benches, which frequently results in bruised backs, Leilua said.

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Photo:

College of the Canyons football players (from left to right): Faitasi Lefiti, Peter Leilua and Mike Stewart.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer