Eric SorensonThe great football players always trust their instincts on the field.
Mountain Pointe sophomore safety/wide receiver Isaiah Pola-Mao is always one step ahead in that area.
It’s the perks of being a future Pro Football Hall of Famer’s nephew.
The last name may be spelled slightly different but you can’t help but see the similarities with the young star and his famous uncle, two-time Super Bowl champ and eight-time Pro-Bowler Troy Polamalu, who retired last month after a sparkling 12-year career, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 6’4, 190-pound Pola-Mao has a much taller, leaner look than Polamalu but both feature the long, dark flowing hair and big-play abilities to match. The Pride two-way star has already caught the attention of a handful of Pac-12 schools as ASU, Arizona, Washington, Washington State and Utah have all offered.
He’ll be expected to be a leader on a young team which lost every starter on offense and seven on defense from last season’s 10-3 squad. The good news is, as usual, Mountain Pointe is stock-piled with athletes at every position.
Or, in Pola-Mao’s case, two positions.
“He’ll play receiver and safety,” Mountain Pointe head coach Norris Vaughan confirmed to Sports360AZ.com. “We’ll rest him some on offense. He won’t come off [the field] on defense.”
Why would he?
He’s been displaying big-play abilities during spring practices in Ahwatukee dropping deep into coverage snagging interceptions. Then, moments later, sprinting past defenders using his height and reach to pluck balls with ease over the middle or along the sideline. He says he prefers offense over defense but knows there’s plenty of room to improve in both areas.
“I could have made a lot more plays last year,” Pola-Mao told Sports360AZ.com. “So I’m just going to sharpen my skills on both sides of the ball.”
Bad news for upcoming opponents is he still has two years at Mountain Pointe to do it.
