Metro Sound: Cleveland's Hefa carrying dreams of family, school

Alefosio Hefa grins and stares at his feet.

"Why?" he asks. "Why did you pick me?"

He has not yet made it to humble. Call him borderline unaware. His eyes light up momentarily, as if he finally understands that others think he has game. But, truly, he has no idea.

Hefa is a diamond buried deep in the rough of Cleveland High School football. Kids who desire illustrious football careers bypass his school entirely. So everyone asks Hefa why he chose to stay.

But it never occurred to him to leave. And with the devastating speed and tackling he brings to the Eagles, people are now coming to him.

Scouts from Nebraska trekked to south Seattle last season to see the exceedingly polite, soft-spoken 17-year-old who is slowly shifting his school's football fortunes.

Hefa led the Metro league in rushing last year with 1,211 yards, including a 77-yard carry in his team's 22-8 loss to West Seattle. The Eagles finished 4-5, a drastic improvement over their 0-9 effort in 2001.

Cleveland coach Andy Bush says he has never coached a player who generated as much interest as Hefa. Most college football programs are a stretch for his players.

"Nobody comes to Cleveland," Bush says of the recruiting process.

But Hefa's performance last year suddenly raised his team's profile, and now he wants to do something Cleveland has not accomplished since 1979. Make the state playoffs.

"I know we're gonna do better than last year," Hefa says. "I know that. And I want to be in the playoffs — somewhere."

Hefa also played linebacker last season and remains the hardest hitter Bush has seen in 22 years as a football coach. Hefa is 5 feet 11, 187 pounds and a self-proclaimed slacker when it comes to hitting the weight room.

"He hits like he's 350 pounds," Bush says.

Says Hefa, "When I go up there I hit. I make the fans get up on their feet."

He doesn't know what enables him to hit so hard that opposing players who manage to get up say, "Man, nice hit."

His family roots are in the South Pacific island of Tonga, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

"We're all strong," Hefa says and shrugs.

Robert Jeffcoat, defensive coach for the Eagles, calls Hefa a leader. "He demonstrates his leadership ability on the field and the other kids respect that. He's an exceptional hitter, and he's sort of like the anchor to our defense. He has exceptional speed."

Hefa will start both ways this season, moving from linebacker to safety on defense and retaining his status as the Eagles' explosive starting running back on offense.

He says he would like to shift completely to defense in college.

But what college?

Hefa looks down for a moment and says nothing. The idea of receiving a full scholarship to attend a Division I school still amazes him.

"Man, truthfully, any (school) would be fine with me because none of my family attended a big college or anything," he says finally.

For his family, he has become the realization of dreams previously unfulfilled.

"All the Hefa's, we all played football," his uncle Paulo Hefa says as his nephew listens.

Paulo explains how he and his brothers' dreams of athletic greatness died when they got tangled up in street violence.

"We keep him (Alefosio) focused on school and his football," Paulo says. "We try to keep him out of trouble as best as we can. I really want to see him doing good. Because everybody tried and failed. He's the only one. Me, I'd like to see him playing for the NFL."

During the school year, Hefa lives with his grandmother near Cleveland. He spends weekends with his parents and his uncle Paulo. He says he would like to attend a college close to home so his family can watch him play.

"I'm excited," Hefa says suddenly, as if the reality of his superior skill has just begun to sink in. "I feel like last season I did kind of all right, but this season I'm going to break all the records."

Jeannine N. Befidi: 206-464-8294 or jbefidi@seattletimes.com