Alan Akana, Millennium Hall of Fame

Richard Dunn

Once the lead blocker in Estancia High’s famous power sweep and an

offensive guard at Michigan State who opened holes for All-American

tailback Lorenzo White in 1985, Alan Akana these days has a perch high

atop a tropical paradise.

As a lifeguard at Honolua Bay in West Maui, Hawaii, which is home to

some of the world’s best waves, Akana can determine his form of activity

for that day.

“I surf all the time ... as much as I can,” said Akana, who also

bodysurfs and rides a Boogie board, and, if the waves aren’t so good,

goes motorcycle riding through stunning Hawaiian terrain.

Referred to as “Big Al” by some of his former Estancia football

teammates, Akana was 6-foot-2, 260 pounds at Michigan State, where he

started his senior year under Coach George Perles.

“That was the ultimate high,” Akana said of his two-year experience

with the Spartans, which included a 19-7 upset victory over rival

Michigan in 1984, in front of more than 100,000 fans at Ann Arbor.

“It was awesome. We played in some great stadiums.”

Akana said Spartan players were “treated like kings” during the

season, “especially when you were starting.” But Akana needed special

training before reaching the Big 10 Conference.

Following an excellent career at Estancia (Class of ‘80), Akana played

one year at Golden West College, then joined the U.S. Army. He spent one

full year in the army, then six years in the U.S. Army Reserves.

“It made me grow up a lot, it really did,” said Akana, who missed the

1981 and ’82 football seasons, then returned to Golden West for the ’83

campaign, after being urged by the late Dennis Dixon.

Akana was an offensive tackle and noseguard in high school who weighed

240 pounds for Coach Ed Blanton’s Sea View League championship squad in

1979, earning first-team all-league and third-team All-Orange Coast area

by the Daily Pilot as a defensive player his senior year.

Akana, 20 pounds more than Estancia’s next heaviest player, led the

Eagles’ strong-side sweep on offense with guard Jeff Tracy and tight end

Tony Camp, helping junior running back Robert Urmson rush for over 1,000

yards as the Eagles (9-3) captured their first outright league title.

One of Akana’s favorite highlights was defeating Miraleste, 13-0, in

the first round of the ’79 CIF Southern Section Central Conference

playoffs, while handling first-team All-CIF Division III center Mark Gray

(USC). “We blew him away,” Akana said.

“In high school, there’s so much more camaraderie,” said Akana, a

second-team all-league selection as a junior in ‘78, when the Eagles

struggled (2-7).

Akana also pointed to the El Toro game his senior year as a highlight,

a 22-15 Estancia victory that secured the Sea View League championship.

But, after the 1980 season at Golden West, Akana felt he needed more

discipline in his life and signed up the U.S. Army Reserves. He returned

to GWC a new man.

“That’s when I realized what I wanted to do, and I got my head

together and started studying in school,” he said. “I got lazy in high

school ... a lot of things happened.”

Akana, whose family is from Hawaii, is the youngest of seven children.

All but two of the children (Alan and his sister) were born in Hawaii.

After a two-season hiatus and playing at GWC in the fall of ‘83, Akana

was hoping to play football at the University of Hawaii. But the offer

wasn’t there and he settled on Michigan State, where he met his wife,

Debra.

Akana played on special teams as a junior at Michigan State in ‘84,

when the Spartans finished 6-6. One of the season’s lowlights included a

24-20 loss to Notre Dame in Week 2, after the Spartans had a 20-3 lead

with seven minutes left. “(Heisman Trophy winner) Tim Brown returned a

couple of punts for touchdowns,” Akana said.

Akana, the power in the trenches on Estancia’s first team to win a

league championship outright, is a member of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall

of Fame, celebrating the millennium.

Akana lives in Maui (near Kapalua Golf Club) with his wife and two

boys, Major, 8, and Marshall, 7. “They both surf,” he said.