March 12, 2012 by Jordan Johnson
Last weekend we had the pleasure of watching one of the Northwest's top lineman for the class of 2014 show up at our elite event in Portland and absolutely kill it. Semise Kofe (6-1 260 So. DL/OL) of Roosevelt is the real deal, and he let everybody know what he was capable of last Saturday.
Kofe is ranked as one of the state’s Top 25 Sophomores and his stock is on the rise. He earned all league honors as a freshman and would have been first team all league both ways this past season, but had to pay the price for an earlier ejection during the year.
Semise (Tonga) has been blessed to have the guidance and leadership of Head Coach Christian Swain who has tried to help mentor the young talent. “ I wanted Tonga to understand that character comes first”, when referencing the ejection, Swain says. “He has learned from that mistake and he is doing much better now, he currently holds a 3.12 GPA with AP courses and has the potential to get it up to around the 3.5 range”.
Kofe finished (29-3) on the wrestling season losing the 4A State Championship to 6-8 Senior Kyle Smith of Elmira who is headed to Portland St to play football.
The first thing you notice about Semise is how well he carries 260. He is “cat like quick” for a big man and has the ability to overpower you at the same time. He has D1 athletic ability with the main question being size, and where he would project position wise at the next level.
Kofe is part of an extremely athletic family and church that includes some of the best athletes in the entire state. Teammate Sione Taumoe'anga (6-0 265 So DL/OL) blew up the PIL this past season earning first team all league honors as a sophomore. They are best friends and may be the most dangerous sophomore line tandem in the state. First Cousin Willie Eteaki (6-2 300 OL/DL) out of Southridge is considered one of the top lineman in the state for the 2014 class and has started since his freshman season.
Two other athletes that have been nothing short of remarkable are the Aisea brothers from Lincoln. Lopeti Aisea (6-1 255 Fr. LB) was one of only two freshman to make our All Region Team covering the state's of Oregon and Washington. He is considered the #1 ranked athlete in the State for the 2015 class. His brother Usaia Aisea (6-1 265 Jr. OL/DL) is considered one of the best lineman in Oregon.
If you watch Semise's video from this past weekend you will see a kid that can play with the best, and he’s only a sophomore. Our elite events have been crucial for kids like Semise who can get sometimes get lost in the shuffle out in Portland. You can expect for us to hear from a variety of D1 schools about Koke over the coming year, although signing day is still a long way off.
It will be important for individuals like Semise to get out to as many events as possible and compete against the best. He will be considered a defensive player of the year candidate in the P.I.L. next season, and with a big year could easily pick up a few early offers.
We wish continued success to Semise and his entire family. Coach Swain has quality kids buying in to a re surging RoughRider program, that is putting in the time now to reap the rewards later. Congrats to all the athletes in the Roosevelt system.
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