Inside a Texas high school football team's ceremonial pregame ritual

Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex program Euless Trinity High School does Sipi Tau before games to honor roots

Euless Trinity football players do a ceremonial dance before a Texas high school football game. / Photo by Cody Thorn, SBLive

A Texas high school football program has a decades-long pregame tradition with deep ties to Tongan culture.

More than 20 years after the tradition was started, the haka is still a vital part of Euless Trinity's football team.

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According to lore, the tradition started in 2006 by Richie Kautai, at the urging of an assistant coach for the Trojans.

The idea for the Trojans to implement the Haka into the pre-and post-game was approved by the staff, the Polynesian Club leaders and the local Tongan elders, according to the football team website. 

In an NPR interview from 2008, former Euless football coach Steve Lineweaver was asked about the ritual.

"I think we've been blessed with a diverse group that brings their own strengths to the program, predominantly Tongans, that bring a passion for the game of football," he said.

Lineweaver retired in 2014 but led to Trojans to three titles and was 176-29 in his 15 years as the head coach. 

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The performance is very similar to the New Zealand rugby team, commonly referred to as the All Blacks. 

There have been hundreds of players across levels of football that have taken part in the haka or Sipi Tau before the game.

According to Pro Football Reference, there have been four NFL players that have been part of the tradition — including current Miami cornerback Kader Kohou. Former running back Dimitri Vance won a super title with the Packers in 2010.

The NFL will soon welcome another Trinity standout in Ollie Gordon, a running back at Oklahoma State. 

Guiding the year's team is Aaron Lineweaver, a former assistant coach at Carroll ISD. He’s also the son of the former head coach for Euless. He took over the program before the 2022 season and has secured the team’s fourth season in the past six years with at least 9 wins.

Prior to kickoff on Nov. 7, against Hurst L.D. Bell, the Trojans did the haka. Leading the way was senior offensive lineman Phillip Tuipulotu. 

Euless Trinity football players do a ceremonial dance before a Texas high school football game. / Photo by Cody Thorn, SBLive

The 6-foot-3, 326-pound lineman, wearing eye black all over his face, hypes up the team and yells.

The players essentially stand in a U formation. In the middle is a group of players with Tongan roots — an island country near Fiji.

The percentage of pacific islanders in the town of 59,686 is only 1.4%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 numbers. A large number of the family's with Polynesian heritage were workers that came to Texas to work at the American Airlines headquarters near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

However, it is a tradition that everyone gets behind. 

When the players line up, hundreds of fans pull out their phones and get ready to record the happenings.

After Tuipulotu gets done, one of the largest players on the roster takes over the reins as the yell leader — Pupungatoa Katoa. 

The junior stands at 6-foot-5 and is 393 and the offensive lineman’s right arm is covered in Tongan tattoos — including his last name on his forearm.

Finally, linebacker Gordon Mohetau takes over before the pregame ritual ends. 

“It’s not about one culture, it’s about everybody holding the rope and doing their job,” Coach Aaron Lineweaver said. 

Trinity then went out and posted a 62-13 win over Bell in a rivalry game for H-E-B ISD — which stands for Hurst, Euless and Bedford. A group of cities along SH 183 that is commonly called the Mid-Cities — essentially the midway point between Dallas and Fort Worth.

The win was the sixth in a row for the Trojans, now 9-1 heading into a Class 6A playoff game. 

Aaron Lineweaver was aware of the tradition that started under his dad's tenure. He's carried on the tradition.

He noted that the team actually works on it during the offseason. During summer weights, he invited elder statesmen in the community with Polynesian ties to come to the facility after weights. The team worked on the sipi tau with all members of the team.

It's a system that runs from youth to high school. The dance carries the same importance as the program's base offense and defense.

“My intention was if we do it, let’s do it better and do it right,” Coach Aaron Lineweaver said. “Make sure the details are really good. We gotta work at it.”

Last year, the team didn’t do the sipi tau after games, but are doing it this year. 

After the teams shook hands with the Bell players, the Trojans listened to the school alma mater play. Then, Tuipulotu led the players in the post-game version of the Sipi Tau — however the eye black that covered most of his face hours earlier had worn or sweated off. 

This time with hundreds of fans on the field to watch it and join in.

It's a tradition enjoyed by the community — and one that will continue this Friday with a home playoff game against Mansfield at Pennington Stadium.

“If I’m not pulled in 100 directions and I really soak it in and watch, especially after a good win, it’s special,” Coach Aaron Lineweaver said. “The little kids kind jumping up there and you have the grandmas, the aunties and uncles, they get their phones out too. It is pretty cool experience. I said it before and I’ll say it again. There’s no other place in Texas like a home game at Pennington when the Trojans are playing.” 

-- Cody Thorn | @sblivetx