SEATTLE — As a boy, Taniela Tupou played recess football at school in the week before the annual Apple Cup. One team would be the Huskies, the other team would be the Cougars, and the kids would pick sides based on their loyalties.
Tupou always played for the Huskies, and he likewise would enjoy celebrating the following week if the real University of Washington football team defeated rival Washington State in the Apple Cup.
On Friday, Tupou played his final game at Husky Stadium and it was a memorable one. Washington’s defense forced seven turnovers, including two interceptions and one fumble that were returned for touchdowns, in a 45-10 victory over the Cougars.
“I was a part of it,” said Tupou, a senior defensive tackle who lived in Bothell and later Marysville as a boy and graduated from Everett’s Archbishop Murphy High School in 2011. “I was able to go out there and help my team win the game that I always dreamed of playing in, so it’s really exciting. And I’m just thankful and blessed to be here.”
After the game, Tupou grabbed a large purple “W” flag and waved it jubilantly on the field prior to the presentation of the Apple Cup trophy to the Huskies.
The game, he said, “was really emotional. And not just for the seniors, but for the (whole) team … to see whether we could extend our season. We didn’t know whether or not we’d be coming back (to prepare for a bowl game) if we lost … so it was definitely very emotional.”
Though Tupou finished with few defensive stats — he was credited with just one pass defensed — he was part of a defensive line assigned to push the pocket back to WSU quarterback Peyton Bender “so that (he) couldn’t step up and make his throws. This whole week, and even during the game, our whole mentality … was just power, power, power. Make sure you run (the blockers) back. And sure enough, big plays happened.”
The Huskies will wait to find out where they play in the postseason, but they know it will be somewhere. And for that reason, Tupou said, “I’m stoked and the team is stoked. We get another game and, most importantly I get to take the field one more time with my brothers.”
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