Eastside Male Athlete Of The Year / Marques Tuiasosopo, Woodinville -- `Tui' Leaves Them Laughing -- Fun-Loving, Three-Sport Standout Cracked Up Woodinville Rivals Too

WOODINVILLE - Marques Tuiasosopo spent Tuesday with a compound fracture in his leg, a broken cheekbone and a misplaced grin on his face.

Don't worry, Washington, your football recruit really isn't hurt. His imaginary afflictions were part of a skit performed to warn Woodinville High School juniors and seniors about the evils of drinking and driving as they look forward to this weekend's prom.

School officials hoped that seeing one of their most popular classmates bloodied and unable to walk - let alone throw a football, dunk a basketball or hit a baseball - would deter some students from partying. It might have. But the skit also was instructive in other ways, say several who saw Tuiasosopo's performance.

"He's a better athlete than he is an actor," said senior Brian Kertson. "He has a little problem getting the giggles every now and then."

Drinking and driving is a serious subject. Tuiasosopo knows this. And as the senior gasses up his infamous "Tui Van," an old Chevy full-sized van with almost 200,000 miles on it, for perhaps the last time as a high-school student, you can be certain he won't be doing it.

Despite his politeness to elders and strangers, however, it is Tuiasosopo's nature to laugh and have fun. He is the 1996-97 Eastside male athlete of the year for his dominating performances on area football fields, basketball courts and baseball diamonds that have made people search their memories for another Eastside athlete of comparable skill.

But athletic success is not what Tuiasosopo will miss most when he graduates from Woodinville next week. He'll miss downloading and playing computer games during sixth period with Kertson and Pat Conniff. He'll miss the Friday night toilet-paper wars the football team and girls soccer team engaged in last fall. He'll miss seeing the expression on friends' faces when they walk to the parking lot after school and see their cars sitting on chairs.

"The friends that I've made here are what I'll miss most," Tuiasosopo said. "Everything that we've been through, accomplished. I think we've been fortunate."

Tuiasosopo uses "we" rather than "I" whenever possible. He plays team sports, he kindly reminds reporters as his parents once reminded him, and he prefers that stories don't focus on him. Maybe at Washington, where many of the football and baseball players were high-school all-stars, that will be easier to do. At Woodinville, however, it's difficult not to single him out.

Tuiasosopo rushed for 1,042 yards, passed for 679 and accounted for 29 total touchdowns last fall to lead the Falcons to their first KingCo Conference football championship. He helped the Woodinville basketball team to the KingCo title as a junior and averaged more than 15 points his final two seasons. This spring he led KingCo baseball players in hitting with a .524 average and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

"He's one of those kids that could pick up a tennis racket and probably give you trouble," said Dee Hawkes, who coached football at Bothell from 1972 to '90 and still lives in the Northshore area. "I see him as probably the finest Northshore athlete since . . . well, I can't really name one in the last 20 years that can do the same kinds of things he's done.

But he hasn't always been the best football player, basketball player or baseball player in the Northshore neighborhood. Heck, he might not be the best athlete in his family. Manu, his father, was a first-round NFL draft choice and played five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. And Leslie, who is attending Washington on a volleyball scholarship, was the best basketball player for several years.

"She used to kick my butt because she was pretty tall," Marques said. "She always boxed me out. I could never get around her so I'd always try to take these outside shots and just miss by a mile.

"There's better shooters than me."

Tuiasosopo is honest about his imperfections. And friends make sure he doesn't get caught up in being one of the Eastside's greatest athletes. They insist he's not great at the video games he plays daily with his younger brothers, Zach and Matt. Kertson says sometimes "his mind goes faster than his mouth can keep up" when doing "Falcon Radio," a broadcast of Woodinville announcements and light-hearted interviews, at the start of third period.

"We have to put a leash on him sometimes," Kertson said. "He gets a little too excited."

He has much to be excited about. The prom and graduation are coming up soon. After that, college football and professional baseball are both attractive options.

"What do you say about Marques?" said Terry Agnew, who coaches football and baseball at Woodinville. "Marques is not only a very, very special athlete, he's a great kid. Probably that as much as not having a chance to coach him again is what I'll miss. But I've never had a pure athlete like him."

Odds are he won't have another like Tuiasosopo.

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Marques Tuiasosopo / bio

High school - Woodinville. Sports - Football, basketball, baseball. Year - Senior. Honors/highlights - Three-year starter in football for Falcons, who won their first KingCo championship last fall. The quarterback rushed for 1,042 yards (11.7 per carry) and 19 TDs and passed for 679 yards and 10 TDs. Made 53 tackles and four interceptions on defense. Seattle Times State Player of the Year in 1996. Twice an all-state selection at defensive back and scored 26 career TDs. Twice first-team All-KingCo in basketball. Averaged 15.1 points as a junior, 15.8 as a senior. Honorable-mention All-Crown Division shortstop in baseball as a junior. First-team All-Crown Division this spring. Led KingCo with a .524 batting average. Academics - 3.59 grade-point average. Hobbies - Water skiing, movies, video games. Driving around in the "Tui Van," an old Chevrolet with almost 200,000 miles. Personal - Six feet 2, 210 pounds. Born in Long Beach, Calif. Moved to Woodinville when father, Manu, started playing for the Seattle Seahawks in 1979. Second of five children born to Manu and Tina Tuiasosopo. Older sister, Leslie, attends Washington on a volleyball scholarship. College - Washington, football scholarship. He also plans to play baseball.

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Male athletes of the year

City: Antonio Conley, Rainier Beach, senior - football, track.

Eastside: Marques Tuiasosopo, Woodinville, senior - football, basketball, baseball.

North End: Rob Pugmire, Cascade (Everett), senior - football, baseball.

South End: Omare Lowe, Tahoma (Maple Valley), senior - football, basketball, track.