LIHUE — Kauai High School senior Christian Manera is excited, but a little nervous, after signing his letter of intent on Monday to play football for the Henderson State University in Arkansas.
“It’s not that far away,” the soft-spoken senior said. “But yes, I am going to play football in Arkansas. Right now, I’m just trying to make the best of my high school days.”
Manera, the starting quarterback for the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion Kauai Red Raiders, signed before a small audience of his parents, Mariano Jr. and Mercy Manera, family, coaches, and close friends at the Ho‘okipa Cafe at the Puakea Golf Course.
“This recruiting was very stressful,” said Coach Vince Mene of Rep 50 who will be returning with an all-star showcase in April. “When Christian came aboard, it was only a month away from the early signing day. When the early signing day came, Christian’s dad called, but I was sick. I couldn’t do a thing. But we worked on a defensive tape, and after talking with Henderson, they saw the perspective of signing him, not as a quarterback, but as a defensive person who could be the quarterback if anything happened to their signal caller.”
Manera said Henderson had an offer on the table early in his senior year, but that offer later disappeared.
“Coach Vince talked with them,” Manera said. “And about three weeks ago, the offer came back on the table.”
Mene said Manera was one of the players during the Rep 50 Kauai all-star showcase he was taped.
“That tape was a good one,” Mene said. “After we submitted the tape, I got a Twitter from University of Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich who was interested in having Manera walk on for the Warrior team, but we need to look at what’s best for the player. Congratulations to Christian. He is the first player recruited from here since Rep 50 came to Kauai, last year.”
Henderson State University is described as a public institution founded in 1890 with a undergraduate enrollment of about 3,000 in a rural setting covering 150 acres. The Henderson Reddies finished its 2017 football with a 3-3 record and is part of the Great American Conference.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” said Derek Borrero, former Kauai High School head coach. “You folks are all part of that village, and includes all of the coaches from Christian’s days as T-Ball, Pop Warner football. You folks worked to develop him so he is ready to play at the next level.”
