By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Iolani's Joe Igber has been a handful
for tacklers this season.
ILH record would be
music to Igber’s earsBut the Iolani back excels at
By Pat Bigold
more than just football
Star-BulletinJoe Igber Jr.'s accolades come from what he does in front of thousands of boisterous prep football spectators. But the 5-foot-8, 180-pound junior running back for Iolani, who's knocking on the door of Interscholastic League of Honolulu history, prefers serenity.
He values meditation time.
"When I'm lucky enough not to have too much homework, I don't think too much about football," said Igber, who needs 157 yards against Damien tomorrow to break Mosi Tatupu's single-season ILH rushing record of 1,483 yards, set in 1973.
"I turn off the lights in my room and think about the stars, time travel, distances between the galaxies," he said. "And I like to listen to music -- anything I can get a good vibe from to mellow out."
For the introspective Igber, that ranges from Tupac Shakur to classical music.
He'd love to break Tatupu's single-season mark, but there are other things he'd like to do, too.
"I've always wanted to play piano, but lessons are too expensive. I'd also like to play the sax, and I love to listen to the harp."
Yes, the harp.
Along with a fascination for the arts, the honor student excels in math and the sciences.
"I'd like to get into engineering or architecture," said Igber, whose cadence in conversation reflects the discipline and organization of his personal life.
Add to this the fact that Igber was born in Nigeria (he came to the U.S. when he was 3 months), and you have a young man with a background as complex as his running style.
Stopping him with the ball is a complex task, as ILH coaches know.
Only three times in nine games this season has he rushed for fewer than 100 yards. St. Louis held him to 83 and 48 yards, and Kamehameha found a way to hold him to 58 last weekend.
Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11, he rushed for 200-plus yards three times -- against Kamehameha, Pac-Five and Punahou.
At the rate he's going, Igber has a good shot at surpassing former Kahuku running back Mark Atuaia's state career rushing record of 3,404 yards (1990) next season.
Atuaia also holds the state single-season rushing mark of 2,025 yards.
"I'm a star by no means," said Igber, skirting suggestions he's one of the ILH's brightest attractions.
But the directions he travels on the field are as diverse as his directions in music, and that makes him a star whether he likes it or not.
"He has quick feet -- not just north and south, but east and west, too," said Punahou head coach Dan Morrison, whose team gave up 366 yards to Igber in two games.
"He has great explosion going forward, but he has the ability to stop and go sideways as quick as anybody I've seen. He can run a dive off left guard and then stop on a dime and go parallel to the line of scrimmage the other way."
Iolani head coach Wendell Look marvels at Igber.
"Some of the things he does out there are purely amazing," Look said. "He makes people miss while he's on the move at full speed. When there's no hole, he starts to improvise. That's when he is dangerous."
Morrison said the best way to deal with Igber is to stop him behind the line of scrimmage.
"He's most dangerous as he's just broken the mesh at the line of scrimmage," said Morrison. "Either on the perimeter or inside on a quick trap, if he's past that line, it's awfully hard for corners and free safeties to bring him down."
Igber's yardage has not come easily.
When veteran Iolani quarterback Marvin Wong went down for the season after the ILH opener, Igber's production could have suffered. Wong's passing usually opened up the running game for Igber. But Igber used everything in his repertoire to help backup QB Ben Karnuth.
"After Marvin got hurt, Joe knew the onus would be more on him," Look said.
Iolani doesn't have an overpowering offensive line. Three linemen are 200 pounds or less and two are sophomores. And this weekend, the only two seniors on the line are doubtful starters.
Igber said his linemen do extraordinary things despite their size, but he's been told to quickly exploit whatever they give him. And quickness is Igber's ace in what is usually a rapidly closing hole.
Another obstacle for Igber this weekend will be the absence of Iolani's top receiver, Reinaldo Pacheco, who broke his collarbone last weekend. That means Damien will be able to focus more on the Raiders' ground game.
Igber, the son of University of Hawaii sociology professor Joseph Igber Sr. and Theresa Igber, said his football heroes are players he can identify with.
"I like the shorter backs: Barry Sanders, Warrick Dunn, Terrell Davis, Napoleon Kauffman," he said. "I like guys who work hard -- powerful and compact."
There's little question in Look's mind that Igber is destined for a Division I scholarship, and the inquiries are already coming. He is interested in Stanford, Colorado, Southern California and UCLA.
"A lot of Division I schools have small backs these days," Look said. "Some of the Pac-10 schools have inquired already. And what's going to benefit him is that he also has the grades."
Igber's run at history
Season rushing yardage: 1,327
Sept. 13, vs. Damien, 146
Sept. 20, vs. St. Louis, 83
Sept. 27, vs. Kamehameha, 202
Oct. 4, vs. Pac-Five, 262
Oct. 11, vs. Punahou, 216
Oct. 18, vs. St. Louis, 48
Oct. 24, vs. Pac-Five, 162
Oct. 31, vs. Punahou, 150
Nov. 8, vs. Kamehameha, 58
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Punahou, Kamehameha move on
Star-Bulletin staffInterscholastic League of Honolulu champion Punahou and league runner-up Kamehameha romped through their pool play matches yesterday in the opening day of action at the 29th Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys' Volleyball Tournament at the Afook-Chinen Civic Center and Waiakea High School. In pool A at Waiakea, top-seeded Punahou defeated Farrington, 15-2, 15-8, and Kohala, 15-7, 15-4. Kamehameha, second-seeded in pool C, defeated Kalaheo, 15-4, 15-5, and Hilo, 15-9, 15-6 at the Afook-Chinen.
Jesse Lam and Wade Ichinose each had five kills against Farrington. Against Kohala, Ichinose had seven kills.
Tony Ching led Kamehameha against Hilo with 12 kills while Trapper Perkins added 10 kills.
Today's single-elimination pairings at the Afook-Chinen are: 3:30 p.m., Punahou vs. Waianae; 4:45 p.m., Kamehameha vs. Molokai; 6 p.m., Maui vs. Farrington; 7:15 p.m., Pearl City vs. Hilo.
