New brotherhood but ‘One Eagle’: West Anchorage football is ready to embark on state title defense

There was no question about who was the best Division I high school football team in Alaska by the end of the 2023 season. West Anchorage bested every in-state opponent it went up against by double figures, including a pair of 40-plus-point shutouts and a 34-21 victory over South Anchorage in the state championship.

Last year’s team was led and highlighted by a star-studded senior class that featured All-State quarterback Azariah Atonio, who now plays at Division II Northern University; Division I offensive recruit Uilisone Falealo, who plays at the University of Idaho; and 2023-24 Gatorade Player of the Year Aaron Hampton, who is also off to play at the Division I level for the University of California, Berkeley in the ACC.

“This is a new group, and (other teams) are going to play our new group,” West head coach Tim Davis said. “There are some holdovers from last year and some guys that came back and returned, but for the most part, this is a brand-new brotherhood.”

After losing such a heavy-hitting senior class this past spring, this year’s squad has gigantic shoes to fill, but their coaches believe they are up to the challenge.

“Change is a part of life, and to watch youth grow, that’s been the blessing to seniors this year who were juniors last year and the little brothers are now the big brothers,” Davis said. “They’ve learned and now they’re the ones who are caring for their teammates and looking at the name on the front of their jersey and not the back.”

While some of the pieces carry over from year to year, each squad is different from the last no matter how much turnover may have occurred.

“Even if it’s the same people, they’re a year older and a year different,” Davis said. “We’ve been really talking about holding up our standard and what it means to be truly One Eagle.”

The first half of the phrase “One Eagle” that the West coaches teach and preach is an acronym. The O stands for getting 1% better, the N stands for no BCE (blaming, complaining or excuses), and the E stands for elite effort on and off the field.

“All that comes together when we’re talking about One Eagle and those are our values,” Davis said. “I think this team is ready to take that mentality and hold our standard out there in the Valley on Friday.”

The Eagles will officially begin their title defense on the road against Colony at 7 p.m. Friday and are heading in with a mindset to be physical, fast with tempo, knowledgeable of assignments and to care for one another.

“There’s nothing more exciting than opening out there in Colony,” Davis said. “They bring an atmosphere at night, they always do, and it’s an awesome place to start the season.”

Leading the way

Davis credits the selfless leadership of players such as Christian Faletoi, Tristan Taamu, Dylan Sanders, Ariel Sanchez, Jethro De Castro, Harrison Shane and Zephaniah Sailele with spearheading the maturation of this year’s team during the offseason.

“I think that we’ve put down the groundwork to have a great opening of the season,” he said. “We have a long way to go but the hard work is here, the guys’ energy is here, and I’m really proud to have gotten to this point.”

De Castro and Faletoi are the field generals on both sides of the ball as the starting quarterback and inside linebacker, respectively. They are both seniors and excited to embark on their final season with a group of players who came into the program at the same time.

“New feeling, new slate, it’s senior year and I feel great just to be back at it one more time with the boys I came into West with,” Faletoi said. “It’s going to be a blessing to finish this last ride with them.”

De Castro has been in the program all four years, and this marks his third year playing quarterback. He appreciates his predecessor for being an ideal role model for him during his junior season and hopes to uphold the same high standards and level of play on the field.

Some of the main lessons he learned from Atonio as it pertains to being a good leader include “just being more vocal and being more engaged with your teammates.”

Being a leader means “everything” to DeCastro because of all the responsibility it comes with and the impact he can have on his peers and younger players in the program.

“All these guys look up to me the same way I used to look up to the (older players),” he said. “I just come out with a chip on my shoulder and try to lift these guys up every time.”

As a two-time team captain, being a leader means a tremendous amount to Faletoi, and it has been “nothing short of a blessing.”

“Heading into my second year as a captain, I’m just thankful for all the lessons that not only the coaches brought but just being with my teammates and (especially) my senior teammates who came before me as well,” he said.

Embracing the challenge of being at the top

After having such a senior-heavy team last year, Faletoi believes many of the hidden talents on this year’s squad have a chance to surprise a lot of people and make a name for themselves this season.

“I tell my teammates every day, ‘Hey we’re the state champs from last season and we got a huge target on our backs’,” Faletoi said. “My boys know we just have to focus on one week at a time and one day at a time and everything will fall into place.”

De Castro believes that they will have something to prove every time they step onto the field.

Even though they lost their top offensive weapon in Hampton, the team is still confident in some returning skill position players on that side of the ball to step up and play larger roles.

One such player is Sanchez, a senior wide receiver who was a potent deep threat for the Eagles last year. He and De Castro have a strong bond that dates back to middle school, which has made their chemistry on the field even stronger.

“We’ve been homies since the seventh grade and we just have that connection, and I can’t wait to kill it out there with him,” he said.

De Castro didn’t start playing football until he got to high school, and after giving wide receiver a try as a freshman, he decided to transition to quarterback.

“Now that I’ve been playing it for three years, I’ve got a good visual on the playbook like it’s the back of my hand,” he said.

De Castro was able to learn a lot from backing up Atonio last year while still getting to play on junior varsity.

“He got a lot of observational reps in, got those JV reps in, and now it’s his turn to turn up and have some fun out here,” Davis said.

Faletoi also plays wide receiver, but unlike most players at the position who play both ways, he likes to be down near the line of scrimmage closer to the action.

“I have a nose for the ball, I want to get those tackles and I want to be in the trenches with my (defensive line),” he said.

Savoring each of their home games

Due to some scheduling issues from last year that caused West to forfeit a road game so they could accommodate playing ‘Aiea High, who they traveled to Hawaii to face, the team only gets three regular season home games this year at the Nest on Hillcrest — making each even more special.

“It’s the place to be whenever it’s opened up on Friday or Saturday night,” Davis said. “We have a great community that supports us, a great school and a great administration. There’s no place you’d rather be on a Friday night when the Nest is rocking.”

There’s a chance that the Eagles could earn the right to defend their home turf a fourth and final time if they finish with a good enough record to host a playoff game, which is another motivational tool the coaches are using this year.

“That’s a huge part of what we’re working for, the chance to defend the Nest and spend some more time here as a family,” Davis said.

The opponents for the three home games West is currently slated to host include crosstown rival Bettye Davis East Anchorage in Week 2, South in a Week 6 rematch of last year’s state title game, and Bartlett to close out the regular season in Week 8.