The date was November 25, 2006, the place Salt Lake City.
Safety David Tafuna, a junior at the time, watched from the sideline as BYU’s offense attempted the impossible. Down 27-31 with only three seconds remaining on the game clock, Tafuna and his teammates watched as quarterback John Beck scrambled to find Jonny Harline for the game-winning touchdown, in what could arguably be one of the best come-from-behind victories in BYU history.
“That was the first time I had ever been a part of a conference championship team,” says Tafuna, now a senior on the 2008 team. “When we beat Utah at their place with only three seconds left—I will never forget that.”
Tafuna, a native of Mesa, Ariz., has been playing football for as long as he can remember. He grew up around the game, with his father playing nose tackle at the University of Hawai`i and his cousins Vai and Kapi Sikahema donning the Cougar blue. During his career at BYU (1980-85), Vai served as the team’s top return specialist, breaking several school and NCAA records, before going on to a successful career in the NFL.
“My cousin is definitely always giving me advice and giving me the motivation to work hard,” recalls Tafuna. “He tells me that if I want football to work out, it will work out if I work hard. If it doesn’t, at least I have a great education from a great school, learning great values as well.”
Those great values are what attracted Tafuna to BYU in the first place. As a senior at Mesa High School, he decided to make the move to Provo after also being recruited by Utah and Colorado State.
“I really liked the atmosphere, the people and the coaches here,” Tafuna explains. “It wasn’t just about football for me.”
Tafuna arrived on campus in 2001 as a wide receiver on a BYU team coming off its first outright Mountain West Conference Championship.
“I came in that spring with Coach Crowton,” he says. “Some of my first experiences were with the receiving core. I played with some great receivers, like Reno Mahe and Jason Kukahiko. It’s been quite a rollercoaster ride since then.”
It wasn’t long before Tafuna found himself far away from Provo and the comforts of home—in Brazil on a mission for the LDS church. While being away from family, friends and football for two years wasn’t easy, he learned important lessons that translated into all aspects of his life, including his favorite sport.
“I learned some great life lessons while I was on my mission,” he recalls. “One thing I learned was God comes first and the Spirit can make me better in all aspects of my life. Another thing I learned was the importance of self-confidence and being a good example to those around me.”
Tafuna returned from Brazil in 2004 with only two short weeks to re-adjust to life outside the mission field before the first day of Fall Camp.
“I was really rusty and out of shape,” he says. “I was thrown right back into the mix. By that time I had moved to the defensive side of the ball. Coach Mendenhall was working me to death, so I learned a lot about self-discipline and hard work during that first year.”
During the 2004 season, Tafuna earned letterman honors after playing in nine of the Cougars’ 11 games. He also garnered Academic All-MWC honors, a recognition he received for three consecutive seasons.
The spring before his sophomore year marked a turning point in Tafuna’s life—when he married his wife Melissa. Though they were married in 2005, the two met many years earlier.
Every summer as a child and teenager, Tafuna’s family would plan a trip to visit his cousin Vai in Philadelphia. At the age of 16, Tafuna remembers attending church at Vai’s ward and meeting 13-year-old Melissa for the first time. Her family lived in the area and attended the same ward as his cousin.
Five years later, after returning home from his mission, Tafuna recognized Melissa in one of his classes at BYU, and they started dating. Since being married, Tafuna has noticed several changes in his approach to football, education and life decisions.
“Getting married has its advantages and has helped me focus a lot more on not only football, but my academics as well,” he says. “Now that I have a family and a wife, it’s not just about me. It’s about my new family. Now that I’m married, I definitely have more focus and I see myself working a lot harder.”
Over the next two seasons (2005-06) Tafuna continued to improve, starting three games and recording a combined 34 tackles. Against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in 2006, Tafuna recorded nine tackles, a team high in that game. As the 2007 season began, Tafuna looked poised for a great senior year, but after suffering a season-ending ankle injury during Fall Camp, he was forced to rethink those plans.
Fast-forward to the Cougars’ 2008 Fall Camp, where Tafuna is now BYU’s starting safety. The Cougars enter the new season with expectations at an all-time high, including a No. 16 national ranking, its highest preseason ranking since 1990. Fans and critics alike have openly revealed their high expectations for the Cougars, and the team is no exception. Tafuna has set goals for himself and his teammates.
“My goals are to help the team out in any way I can, whether with the defense or special teams unit,” he says. “As a team, I think the sky’s the limit for us. We can accomplish anything we put our minds to. We have the talent, and we definitely have the core principles to follow.”
BYU is currently riding the nation’s longest active winning streak at 10 games and has not lost at in LaVell Edwards Stadium since the 2005 season. Despite an explosive offense, the Cougar defense has played a big part in the team’s success, ranking 10th nationally at the close of the 2007 season.
The Cougars return only three defensive starters from last season’s MWC Championship team after losing several key players, including Bryan Kehl, Kelly Poppinga, Corby Hodgkiss and Ben Criddle. Despite the losses, young players have stepped in to fill those roles, and Tafuna is confident this year’s defense will be similar to those of the past, if not better.
“We’ve mainly been working on being assignment sound—executing our plays and knowing what our roles are in different situations,” he says. “If we get that right, we have the athleticism and talent to be a great defense this year. I think people will be impressed.”
Since first stepping onto campus nearly seven years ago, Tafuna has experienced countless challenges and setbacks: changing from offense to defense, battling to come back after a two-year mission and suffering season-ending injuries. As a senior this season, he acknowledges his role as a veteran player on the team and is eager to share his words of wisdom with the younger players.
“Don’t get overwhelmed,” Tafuna says. “Be patient, your time will come. Learn as much as you can from the veterans and work as hard as you can because right now you don’t know the defense or offense, but what you should know, within you, is how to work hard. The coaches will see that and will favor those who show 100 percent effort.”
With only two classes remaining before he completes his degree in business, Tafuna hopes to continue playing the sport he loves following graduation.
“I’ll give my best shot at playing professionally, wherever it may be,” he explains. “If that doesn’t work out I’ll probably work in commercial real estate. I made a few friends here at BYU, some connections, and I have some jobs possibly waiting for me in California.”
While Tafuna is the first to admit his career at BYU has been an interesting ride, if he could go back he says he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I’ve loved every minute of my time here,” he says. “I’m very grateful for everything I’ve learned here, not just in football, but the life lessons I’ve learned through coach Mendenhall and through the players around me. Those principles I’ll take with me throughout the rest of my life, wherever that might be.”
VAI SIKAHEMA, TAFUNA’S COUSIN
Following his illustrious career as one of BYU’s top return specialists of all time, Tafuna’s cousin, 45-year old Vai Sikahema, announced in May 2008 his plan to accept a boxing challenge from former professional baseball player Jose Canseco. Sikahema, who spent eight years in the NFL and is currently the sports director at the NBC-affiliated news station in Philadelphia, surprised his family and friends with the news.
“When Vai decided to box Canseco I was actually really shocked,” said Tafuna. “I was a little worried for Vai. He came from [Mesa High School] like I did and I had heard the stories of him never backing down to the bigger guys.”
The former Cougars’ record against “bigger guys” would be put to the test, as Canseco’s 6-4, 250 lb. frame towered over the smaller 5-9, 200 lb. Sikahema. Despite his size disadvantage, Sikahema had previous experience in the sport of boxing—as an amateur Golden Gloves champ in his youth.
As the night of “The War at the Shore” arrived, Tafuna found himself at a family reunion, unable to attend the fight live in Atlantic City. Sikahema’s family and friends who were at Bernie Robbins Stadium, performed the ritual “haka” dance, or Polynesian war dance, with painted faces and authentic Tongan dress.
“I wasn’t able to go, but we were all crowded around the TV watching him,” he said. “I knew he’d win. I just didn’t think he’d win so easily.”
“Easily” is probably an understatement. The match was supposed to consist of three, two-minute rounds, but once the fight got underway, it was only a short one minute and 37 seconds later before Canseco was knocked out and Sikahema was celebrating his victory.
“When he knocked out Jose the whole entire house erupted,” said Tafuna. “We were definitely excited.”
Though the easy win came as a surprise to many spectators, Sikahema knew from the beginning the odds were in his favor.
“[Vai] called me the night before the fight and I asked him about his strategy,” said Tafuna. “He told me he was going to come right out of the gates and hit [Canseco] right in the mouth and expose whether he was tough or not. Vai told me, ‘Bigger guys are usually not as tough as the smaller guys because people don’t really mess with them.’ He wanted to come out and expose his heart and his toughness.”
With his $25,000 winnings, Sikahema donated $5,000 to the widow of a police sergeant in Philadelphia who was killed in the line of duty earlier in the year.