Mariner’s Wolfpack: a tight mix

By Aaron Coe

Herald Writer

EVERETT — When an opposing quarterback looks out at the Mariner defense, he must feel like he just walked into the United Nations building.

The Marauders have an ethnic mix on the football team that represents the student body at Mariner High School. Each is proud of his heritage, according to members of the team, but when they come together they are one family.

"We are one pack," defensive tackle Steve "Bear" Jones is quick to correct. "We are the wolfpack."

Here’s a look at the defensive unit Mariner had on the field for much of last week’s 49-6 victory over Lynnwood:

Defensive line: Duran Hernandez (Hispanic background), Steve Jones (African American), A.J. Johnson (Caucasian), Sal Fregoso (Hispanic).

Linebackers: Sinna Srei (Cambodian), Victor Martinez (Mexican), Trenton Tuiasosopo (Samoan), Moa Palepale (Samoan), Matt Ondriezek (Korean).

Defensive backs: Jason Sampaga (Hawaiian), Markee Broussard (African American), Michael Nelson (African American).

Some more names that are fun to pronounce: Ken Mishima, Nouphone Saengvilay, Aaron Zarate, Blair Vanderlugt, John Alaskarov, Blake Marcucci, Nic Suarez, Nana Asamoah-Boadu.

Despite their diverse backgrounds, when these guys take the field, they are aware of only two colors: blue and gold.

"It wouldn’t matter if we were an all white team or a mixed team," said Sampaga, who moved from Hawaii as a 6-year-old. "We’d have the same level of friendliness. Coach (John) Ondriezek tells us it doesn’t matter if you’re from here or you’re from there and not too judge anybody. He does a good job of that."

This group of players, who are in many ways so different but consider themselves brothers, has formed into one very good football team. Mariner is 4-1, with the only loss coming to Mukilteo District rival Kamiak, the third-ranked team in the state.

John Ondriezek, whose two children, Matt and Jacie, were born in Korea, wanted to see his team be a closer group this year. That’s when he came up with the wolfpack idea.

Players strive to earn a special practice jersey with a wolf on the front and the number "11" on the back.

The front, of course, represents the pack mentality. The number represents the importance of every one of the 11 players on the field at any given time.

The jersey is not easy to acquire. It is generally earned through displays of leadership or toughness. Some players earned one during preseason turnout. Jones, a two-way starter, just earned his two weeks ago.

"I’d ask when I was going to get it, and (Ondriezek) was like, ‘You almost get it and then you mess up,’" Jones said. "I’d be late for practice or something. I stopped doing that and two weeks ago he gave it to me."

The players may feel like family, but many of them are very aware of their respective heritages. Tuiasosopo, who is a cousin of former Husky and current Oakland Raider quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, is known for his pride in his Somoan roots.

And just because the players are close doesn’t mean they don’t tease each other once in a while. Teen-agers aren’t politically correct 24 hours a day.

Jones, who is generally believed to possess the team’s loudest mouth, loves to tell Martinez — perhaps his closest friend on the team — to "Put some hot sauce on my burrito, baby!" Jones often calls Martinez "Chilico Booty" or some other nonsensical name that sounds slightly Hispanic.

When the Texas-native Broussard talks, it can be hard for members of the team not to laugh. It’s funny, because, well, he just sounds like Texas.

They call Sampaga "coconut." They call each other names they wouldn’t tell people outside the wolfpack, because, well, it might not look so good.

We probably don’t want to know anyway.

But, hey, they say, isn’t it like that in any family?

Martinez, who lived in Mexico until he was 6, said he has never felt like an outsider at Mariner — a school that at one time, according to Ondriezek, had students with 29 different native languages. Martinez remembers clearly what it was like to go to elementary school knowing virtually no English.

"I couldn’t even ask to go to the bathroom," said Martinez, whose brother Cecilio graduated from Mariner in June. "All I could do was point down. It was really embarrassing."

While many were concerned that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would further complicate race relations, Martinez insists things are just fine at Mariner.

"I think it made us all even closer," he said.

Sampaga recalls a fight that occurred between a white student and a black student a few days after the terror attack. He feared it was racially motivated, but later found out it was about something else. Several members of the team say that is the only fight at the school they could recall and that normally there might have been a few more.

The things they used to fight about now seem pretty trivial.

Ondriezek, who grew up in a small but diverse mining town in Pennsylvania, loves to see his salad bowl of a team developing into one cohesive machine. He believes the football team and the school as a whole to be an example of what race relations could be if people simply opened their minds a little.

"It’s very rewarding to be around the kids at Mariner," Ondriezek said. "Our kids get along very well. It’s fun for them to learn about each other’s cultures."

And as a football coach, he says, it’s fun to see a collection of different faces become one strong wolfpack.

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