It’s the Year of the Samoan Quarterbacks : Childhood Friends Malauulu, Sale Spark Carson and Montgomery

We’ve had the year of the running back, the year of the linebacker, the year of the bomb, the year of the blitz and the year of the rookie.

Welcome to the year of the Samoan quarterback in South Bay high school football.

At Carson, the focal point of what should be a potent attack is ambidextrous quarterback George Malauulu. The two-year starter helped Carson to the City 4-A championship last year, and when his left elbow was hyper-extended, it barely slowed the southpaw. He simply threw right-handed.

At Bishop Montgomery, the question on everyone’s lips is “What’s Niu?” A year ago, the question wasn’t whether veer quarterback Niu Sale would break a long run but when he would--and if his line would manage to not get a penalty and nullify a long gain. This season, with a more experienced line and a year of experience running the option, Sale should be a more effective, even more dangerous, quarterback.

And for dreamers, there’s always the thought that both could well be playing together. They grew up together, played Pop Warner football and pickup sports together and talked about playing together at Carson.

But Sale, following two older athletic brothers, went to Bishop Montgomery, a parochial school in Torrance. For his freshman year, so did Malauulu. But the pull of Carson was too great and he switched to his neighborhood school as a sophomore, leaving his friend behind.

Since then the two, though vastly different as football players, have had similar careers. Both were installed as veer option quarterbacks who, despite tough luck as juniors, are considered college prospects.

Bishop Montgomery Coach Andy Szabatura considered the mythical pairing and said, “There’s no doubt if (Malauulu) was here with Niu I’d be sitting like a fat cat.”

Malauulu, the two-way slinger, had the luxury as a junior of handing off to Alvin Goree and Calvin Holmes, the most prolific ground-gaining backfield in Carson’s 25-year history. Still, Malauulu was impressive until injuring his elbow, which forced him into a part-time role and often saw him throw right-handed, which he can do accurately but not with the distance he gets left-handed. A varsity baseball player as well, Malauulu throws a baseball right-handed.

As a junior, Malauulu completed 27 of 57 passes for 442 yards and 4 touchdowns. He added 120 yards and 3 touchdowns rushing.

Malauulu, a soft-spoken 6-foot, 180-pounds, has spent the off-season strengthening his left arm and looked impressive in summer passing leagues. Carson Coach Gene Vollnogle said all of his skills will be showcased this season--including ambidextrous passing.

“I like the idea of sprinting right, throwing right, sprinting left, throwing left,” the veteran Carson coach said. “He’s much better this year throwing right-handed.”

“We’ll keep the defense guessing,” Malauulu said.

More than the novelty of the two-way thrower, Vollnogle likes the overall quarterbacking skills and leadership Malauulu exhibits. “He’s got a leadership quality about him. He’s got a confidence about him that oozes out to the players,” Vollnogle said. “They know the ball will get there--and at the right time. He’s a very humble kid, but when he gets in that huddle you know he’s in command.

“He can (throw deep) and he has good touch on the ball. He has the ability to see the entire field. He has good (field) vision, more so than most high school quarterbacks. He just has a natural talent. And he’s more than adequate as a runner. He’s very elusive and reads the option well. If you’re a defense, you better not let him loose. He’ll put it in the end zone.”

Malauulu reminds Vollnogle of another Samoan quarterback, former Carson star Samoa Samoa, who went on to college stardom. Vollnogle said Malauulu “is not as tall but he’s ambidextrous like him--he compares very well.”

If Sale compares to anyone, it might be former Banning option star Jamelle Holieway, now a star at Oklahoma. His moves as a runner out of the option make Sale the most exciting running quarterback in the South Bay since Holieway. It remains to be seen what he can accomplish if surrounded with adequate talent.

As a junior, playing quarterback for the first time--he made all-league as a sophomore defensive back--Sale rushed for 1,056 yards and passed for 1,100. A mercurial runner with 4.55 speed, Sale would scamper at a moment’s notice. Often the 5-10, 180-pounder would disappear into a mass of huge linemen and burst through moments later untouched--moves that Malauulu call “Niu’s transactions through the defense.” But just as often, he would confuse his inexperienced line and see a long gain nullified by a penalty.

Bishop Montgomery’s Szabatura said his team averaged more than 100 yards in penalties last season, wiping out perhaps 500 yards in gains by Sale. “Last year he would turn a sack into a 30-yard gain,” Szabatura said. “But there were times he was his own worst enemy, trying to do too much. Sometimes it’s better to take that sack.”

This season, Sale has his whole line back, two good receivers and has improved his throwing. “Last year we asked him to do things he’d never done before,” Szabatura said. “We asked him to play quarterback, run the option. He’s a natural talent. I can unquestionably say he’s the best athlete in the school. He’s as fast as last year and smarter. He makes things happen.”

This year Sale will play free safety as well as quarterback and says he may opt for defense in college: “I like playing against an offense. I like tackling. I don’t like getting tackled.”

Though it seems as if defenses rarely get a solid hit at Sale, he said he was pretty well beaten up last year, but things improved in the last three games when the offensive line finally jelled. Now everyone is back, bigger and stronger.

“At the end of the year our line was together,” Sale said. “I’m stronger than last year. I’m mentally tougher, too. This year my line’s giving me a horseshoe, big ol’ pocket. Last year I ran out of the pocket. This year I just step up and throw it.”

Sale’s older brothers, Canute and Ken, starred at Bishop Montgomery. Canute, who was injured in a swimming accident, is confined to a wheelchair but taught his brother the fundamentals of the sport and counsels him, even during games. “I get all my ability from him,” Niu said. Ken, a rock-solid 235-pound linebacker who was All-South Bay and All-CIF two years ago, is a major-college prospect at El Camino College.

To Sale’s frustration, one of the few things he has never been able to accomplish that his brothers did was to grow to impressive dimensions. He’s considerably smaller than both.

“When we were young, me and (Ken) were always the same size. When he came here he did some lifting but junior year he wasn’t lifting and he just grew. Now he’s like the second strongest dude at El Camino. I’m lifting and lifting. That’s what gets me: Why can’t I grow?”

Whatever Sale lacks in stature he makes up for in talent. Malauulu said that when their teams face off on Oct. 3, “I think we have to look at setting up a defense for Niu.”

When they were growing up, Malauulu played quarterback and Sale was the center and linebacker for a Pop Warner team in Carson that steamrolled all opponents. The team included Brian Treggs, Arnold Ale and Charles Gardner, who will be stars for Carson this year. “We were all saying we were going to go to Carson,” Sale said. “I ended up over here, they all went to Carson. Ken said if I went to Bishop, I’d start as a sophomore. I wanted to play, plus I wanted to play with my brother.”

That season Ken was involved in an on-field fracas and was nearly kicked out. If he had gone, Niu would be playing for Carson.

Although both are being extensively scouted by major colleges, neither Sale nor Malauulu was listed on a preseason all-star teams, presumably because Sale lacks the size scouts like in quarterbacks and Malauulu was held back by his injury as a junior.

Vollnogle said, “I’ve seen both the kids from Orange County (preseason prep All-Americans Bret Johnson from El Toro and Todd Marinovitch from Capistrano Valley). Obviously I have a prejudiced view, but I think Malauulu’s better than both. I’m sure he’s going to be in demand.”

Malauulu said the preseason snub will motivate him. “It just makes me try harder to get it at the end of the season.”

Szabatura said Sale may not have the size of a Vinnie Testaverde but added, “I saw the Shrine game and Niu could play with anyone on that field.”

Both are looking forward to playing each other, Sale with pay-back as motivation. Carson won a one-sided game last year, 31-0. “We’re looking forward to playing them, real badly,” Sale said. “Me and George talk about the game. We always say, ‘What defense you gonna run?’ ”

If both are on their games, it won’t matter. The pigskin will spend a lot of time in the end zone.