By: Annaliese Gumboc
The Saint Louis Crusaders once reigned supreme in Hawaii high school football, earning the title of “Hawaii’s Team.”
Under the leadership of head coach Cal Lee and his brother Ron Lee, the Saint Louis Crusaders’ dominance stretched across decades. From 1986 to 1998, the Crusaders captured every Oahu Prep Bowl title, cementing their legacy. In 1999, Hawaii introduced its first State Championship tournament, and Saint Louis triumphed once again. After a brief stint with the University of Hawaii, Lee returned to the Crusaders in 2014, guiding them to four consecutive state championships from 2016 to 2019 before stepping down as head coach.
Nearly five years have passed since Lee’s departure, and the once-mighty Crusaders, regularly ranked among the nation’s top high schools, have vanished from the national spotlight.
Now, new head coach Tupu Alualu is determined to reclaim Saint Louis’ former glory. His mission is clear: “We’re trying to win,” he stated plainly.
“I’m not about the adulation,” said Alualu. “I’m here for the kids, for Saint Louis, for the culture [that] we’re trying to put back, because we haven’t won the last four years.”
As a Saint Louis alum, Tupu Alualu understands the legacy of the Saint Louis Brotherhood firsthand. He played a role in their dominance, first as a player and later as an assistant coach. Now, he steps into a new role—not just as a member of the Crusaders, but as their leader.
Alualu’s journey from humble beginnings to head coach has been anything but straightforward, marked by twists and challenges along the way. At times, the reality of his new role still feels surreal to him.
“People keep reminding me, ‘You know you’re the head coach, right?’” he said.
“Really, I forget when I walk out the door.”
Born in Western Samoa in 1972, Tupu Alualu was the youngest of eight siblings—two girls and six boys. His father, a boxing and rugby coach, often trained Tupu’s older brothers, sparking Alualu’s early exposure to sports. He grew up watching his siblings practice and compete, immersing himself in the world of athletics.
When Tupu was around eight or nine, his family relocated to Oahu, settling in the Kalihi-Palama neighborhood. They moved into the Mayor Wright Homes. For many residents, including Alualu’s family, money was tight, and meals were often uncertain.
“I grew up in Mayor Wrights…I came from Samoa, you know what I mean?” said Alualu. “If you’re not at the table at a certain time, there’s no food for you to eat.”
Sports were an outlet for many of the neighborhood boys, including Tupu.
“All we had back then, back in the ‘80s, was playing on the street,” Alualu reminisced. “We’d always pick an NFL team. And we…got up in the morning and said, ‘We’re the Dallas Cowboys, we’re the Eagles, we’re the Niners.’”
Alualu fell in love with football. He dreamed of making it to the NFL someday. “I didn’t know my right and left,” he said. “I just loved the game.”
The same year Alualu arrived on Oahu, he walked barefoot to the nearby Palama Settlement, determined to join their football program despite his limited English. Though he was too young to play at the time, he returned the following year and finally got his chance.
The Palama Settlement, located in the Kalihi-Palama neighborhood, is a non-profit organization that serves the surrounding community, many of whom come from lower-income families. Their programs address a variety of needs, including nutrition, recreation, culture, and education.
At the Settlement, Alualu participated in football, basketball, and the Learning Center, one of its educational support programs. It was there that he met his hanai mother, Sue Cooke.
Mama Susie, as Alualu calls her, was an academic coach for one of the Learning Center groups, though not for Tupu’s group.
“I was in another group. But when I saw her, she was giving out cookies every Wednesday, and I kind of went and changed groups,” Alualu chuckled. “If you guys gonna have cookies every Wednesday, I wanna be in that group.”
The two grew close and, after several years, Alualu began living with Cooke.
“My dad had a hard time letting me go live with Mama Susie,” said Alualu. “But because of the things that were going on in Kalihi and Mayor Wright housing…my mom thought that was best for me.”
With Cooke’s support, Alualu began attending Saint Louis, becoming the first student from his Learning Center group to do so. Adjusting to the private school environment took some time, especially since he hadn’t even known where Saint Louis was before.
“Coming to a private school, you got to cut your hair, you got to wear a uniform,” said Alualu. “It’s a whole different culture.”
Still, Saint Louis felt familiar, especially compared to the other private schools Alualu had visited.
“It was more like where we came from,” he said. “Everybody that was at Saint Louis was from some different Pop Warner team, like Kaneohe, Kahaluu, Waimanalo…I saw the kids that were here, and I felt like…I fit here.”
Mama Susie was also a presence at Saint Louis, where Tupu helped out at her bookstore. She provided books, uniforms, and other resources to students in need. From 1986 until her passing, Cooke was a major financial supporter of the Crusaders football team, according to Alualu.
Alualu himself was a freshman in 1986, the beginning of the Crusaders’ legendary dynasty. That year, the team went undefeated, capturing their second-ever Oahu Prep Bowl title, and the first of thirteen consecutive titles. Following the season, Cal Lee was named Coach of the Year.
As a running back for the Crusaders, Alualu quickly began to make his mark.
Saint Louis remained undefeated throughout 1987, successfully defending their Prep Bowl title in Alualu’s sophomore year. The Honolulu Advertiser, a predecessor of the Star-Advertiser, declared, “It was all St. Louis this season,” and named nine Crusaders to their all-state team, with Alualu earning honorable mention as a running back.
In the following year, the Brotherhood once again triumphed in the Prep Bowl. This time, Alualu earned all-state honors, and the Star-Bulletin recognized him as the “League’s best running back.” In 1989, his senior year, Alualu capped off his high school career by being named Offensive Player of the Year, leading his team to a fourth consecutive Prep Bowl victory.
Remarkably, the Crusaders did not lose a single game during Alualu’s four years at Saint Louis. However, his high school career wasn’t without challenges. Alualu sustained multiple injuries, including two slipped discs and an ankle fracture, and these injuries continued to impact his career as he moved forward.
After playing collegiately at both Oregon and Hawaii, Alualu signed with the B.C. Lions in the Canadian Football League, aiming to use the CFL as a stepping stone to the NFL and fulfill his childhood dream. However, in his second year, he suffered a severe injury—an ACL and MCL tear.
Despite rigorous rehab efforts, he couldn’t fully recover, and with a newborn son to support, Alualu faced the reality that he needed to provide for his family. Unable to continue his playing career, he returned to Oahu to focus on his family’s needs.
Although coaching football wasn’t initially part of his plan, Alualu found himself drawn to it over a decade after his injury. He started coaching the Kalani Pop Warner team and, by around 2010, returned to Saint Louis as a running backs coach.
“I knew that if I was gonna continue to coach, I wasn’t gonna coach anywhere else but Saint Louis, because I know the culture,” he said. “I know what is expected when you come to Saint Louis. It’s a winning tradition.”
By the time Alualu returned to Saint Louis, Cal Lee had moved on to join the coaching staff at UH Manoa, and the Crusaders were experiencing a title drought. However, the losing streak came to an end that year when future Heisman winner Marcus Mariota led Saint Louis to one of their few championship victories without Lee.
Alualu spent the next 14 years as Saint Louis’ running backs coach. In 2014, when Lee returned, Alualu found himself working alongside his former high school coach once more. Together, they guided the Crusaders to four consecutive state championships from 2016 to 2019.
After 2019, Cal Lee handed over the head coach role to his brother, Ron Lee, while remaining on staff as an assistant coach. Ron Lee’s tenure brought success, including an ILH championship in 2021, though the Crusaders fell to Kahuku in the state finals. However, after finishing 4–5 in both 2022 and 2023, the Lee brothers resigned, leaving behind a daunting legacy.
Alualu was among the many candidates who stepped up to vie for the head coach position.
“Everybody wants the job,” said Alualu, “but for me, I wanted the job because I knew what I was going to bring into the job.”
He was on Kaua’i eating dinner with the Herbert family when the hiring was announced. “It was a good feeling,” he recalled. “It was like getting drafted or something.”
Once hired, Alualu wasted no time in building his team. During the offseason, he said, “I pretty much have time to make change, to get us back or better than before, and just [try] to continue the legacy of the Lee brothers. Not trying to be like them—I can’t fill their shoes.”
His primary focus has been on instilling a disciplined and respectful culture within the team.
“The first thing I’m trying to accomplish is to change the culture, to get back to where the kids are respectful to their parents and do the right thing at home and be a good person,” said Alualu. “I’m just trying to make sure the boys are good student-athletes. I wasn’t a good student. I was just trying to get by. So everything that I’m trying to accomplish for them is how they can better themselves, to be better than I was and better than their coaches.”
Alualu aims to care for his players in the same way that Sue Cooke cared for him.
“I’ve learned from…how people helped me, like [Mama Susie],” he said. “Same way that she gave me that opportunity, I’m trying to give kids the same opportunity.”
Alualu is dedicating the season to Mama Susie, who passed away in 2022. In her honor, he has printed stickers for the Crusaders to wear on the backs of their helmets. Additionally, he plans to host a ceremony and install a plaque in her memory.
When Cooke passed, Alualu was deeply devastated. He had stayed by her side until the end, caring for her in her home. Now, he hopes to honor her legacy through these tributes.
“I’m so motivated to rise her name, to give her credit,” said Alualu. “And, you know, I don’t know if credit is the right word, because she’s much more than that, in life and to this school.”
Cooke would likely be proud of what Alualu has accomplished.
Alualu began his first season as head coach with one of the toughest schedules in HHSAA football: Week one against Kahuku and week two against Mililani. With only a few scrimmages to prepare, he faced a trial by fire with a challenging match-up to start his head coaching career.
In a surprising turn, the Crusaders held a 13-0 lead over Kahuku at halftime. However, the Red Raiders mounted a comeback in the second half, handing Saint Louis a narrow 14-13 loss. The following week, Saint Louis faced the Mililani Trojans, who have since risen to No. 1 in Hawaii according to MaxPreps. Despite leading 14-7 with less than a quarter remaining, Saint Louis fell 16-14.
Under Alualu, the Crusaders started the season 0–2. Nonetheless, Alualu’s team demonstrated their ability to compete with the top teams in the state while adjusting to the new coaching situation.
In the following two weeks, the Brotherhood steamrolled their opponents, defeating KS-Maui 49-0 and Farrington 24-7. Saint Louis is now ranked at No. 5 in Hawaii by MaxPreps—right between Punahou and Kamehameha, their league rivals. They aren’t yet what they used to be, but the Crusaders still seem dangerous. However, more trials lie ahead, with Saint Louis’ ILH match-ups beginning this week.
The Crusaders’ goal is to secure another state championship, but the road to the title game is both long and challenging. The Brotherhood has won only two state titles without Cal Lee as head coach: in 2002, when Lee was the Saint Louis athletic director, and in 2010, with a future Heisman winner at quarterback. Even if the Crusaders clinch this year’s crown, living up to the Lee brothers’ legacy remains a formidable challenge.
In the face of these challenges, Tupu Alualu is excited.
“I’m excited for the school, I’m excited for the kids, I’m excited for the program,” Alualu said before the season. “We got a high mountain to climb, but we will be equipped to climb that mountain.”
