CLOSER LOOK: Summit’s Sitane Mikaele
Take a closer look at Fontana Summit sophomore Sitane Mikaele and your eyes won’t be deceiving you.
Mikaele is the ‘Other Mikaele’ running back in the Inland Area this season, and he ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries as the SkyHawks (8-2 overall, 3-0 San Andreas League) defeated Rialto Eisenhower, 13-9, on Friday, Oct. 29.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound fullback/linebacker powered his way through Eisenhower’s front seven for seven first downs, beating the Eagles back time after time and into the fourth quarter, then made the sack on defense to finish off Summit’s seventh consecutive win heading into the CIF-Southern Section postseason.
Mikaele is second on the team with 70 carries for 530 rushing yards and five touchdowns for the SkyHawks, the San Andreas League champions.
We caught up with Mikaele after the win over Eisenhower. He looks nothing like Riverside North’s Venasio Mikaele. (We didn’t ask if they were related.)
InlandFieldhouse.com: What did you see on the last play, the sack?
Sitane Mikaele: “It was a tough game but the last play, I had to play for my brothers at the end. It came close. I heard a blitz call. I came in. I knew I was gonna get him. He tried to run from me but I jut got after him.”
IF: Was the San Andreas League title game as intense as it looked?
SM: “We messed up a couple times. There were a lot of mistakes but we’ll get back to work on Monday.”
IF: What’s it mean to be a league champion?
SM: “We just have to keep working. We have a playoff game next week. We’ve got to get our heads focused on that.”
IF: How does this team turn this momentum into something special?
SM: “We worked really hard. All those doubters out there, we just keep working every day, Monday through Friday, and these are the results we’re going to get.”
IF: What’s it like to be part of a combination with De’Marri Owens this season?
SM: “De’Marri, man, he’s fast. Once he’s out there I don’t think no one can catch him so we switch off. They can’t tackle me. It’s a power back and a speed back and they can’t stop it, the can’t stop both, or it’s going to be hard for them.”
IF: What’s the ceiling for this team this season?
SM: “We can go really high. We just have to keep working. Nothing can really stop us. We just have to keep working.”
INLAND FIELDHOUSE 