Veu among leaders on Ike’s tough defense

Even though Eisenhower is competing in arguably the toughest Class 5A district in the state, 5A-2, with the likes of No. 1 Carl Albert and No. 2 Del City, the Eagles feel they are capable of breaking into the playoffs and they have a simple route to that goal.

One of the major reasons the Eagles feel confident is great leadership from a pair of cousins, Kingston Tito and Jermaine Veu, both big, strong seniors who are among the state’s top high school recruits.

“Our goal is to just go 1-0 each week,” Veu said. “We are not going to get ahead of ourselves and start thinking about the district games. Right now, our focus is on Lawton High. After that we will think about the first district game. If we don’t win each week’s game, we feel like we haven’t kept our part.”

While football is very important to the cousins, they have other priorities as well.

“My faith and my heritage are both very important to me,” Veu said. “My father (Lafeta Veu) is the pastor at the Spoken Word Ministries and I play the bass guitar with our Worship Team. I didn’t take any lessons, I just learned on my own. My spare time is all spent at the church; every Wednesday and Sunday, 24-7.”

Veu, a 6-1, 250-pound senior, may be big but he’s run a 4.9 in the 40-yard-dash, something college coaches dream of finding guys with size and speed.

He is glad to be a part of the defensive unit and against Altus he intercepted a Bulldogs’ pass and returned it for a Pick-6 that sealed the outcome.

‘’Our defense is playing pretty well but the thing we need to improve on is our short yardage defense,” he said. “We are giving up some of those 4th-and-goal and short yardage on 4th down and we have to improve in those situations.”

Veu said the Eagles don’t do what many teams do in goal-line situations and that’s to run in more down linemen.

“Our coaches trust the 11 on the field,” Veu said. “We have a great deal of confidence in what we can do on defense but we can always get better.”

Whlle Veu and Tito and their friends among the front seven get most of the publicity when opponents talk about the Eagles, Veu says Ike’s secondary is an important part of the defense.

“Darique Cornegay is our free safety and he had an interception on our first defensive series last week against Altus,” he said. “Our secondary has been doing a good job. Our confidence on defense is good.”

Like his two fellow Eagles who have roots from American Samoa, you can imagine that one of his favorite foods is one of the meals his mom Pullot Veu cooks.

“I love my mom’s sapupu, which is corned beef,” he said. “It is really good and I love it whenever she cooks. Our heritage, faith and sportsmanship are very important to our people.”

Their heritage also includes a deep desire to learn, which will help them when those recruiters come calling,

“I really enjoy all of my classes but the one I enjoy the most is Biology II,” he said.

While he wants to play at the college level, beyond that he’s not really sure about his career choice.

“Kingston and I talk about what is best for us when we consider college and while it would be nice to play at the same school, we are going to have to do what is best for each of us,” he said.

With the LHS game coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Cameron Stadium, the Eagles are focused on getting another 1-0 week.

“I have watched some video of a Lawton High scrimmage against Midwest City and they have a good back in Nate Jones and (Pene) Vasiagote is a good threat with good speed. We will have to play hard.”

While the Eagles did lose to MacArthur, 27-13, Veu said he felt the effort of the Eagles was good.

“I felt we all left it on the field against Mac,” he said. “I didn’t think I had a great game but it’s not about me, it’s all about the team.”

After this week’s fourth game, the Eagles begin District 5A-2 play next week against top-ranked Carl Albert at the Titans’ stadium.

The following week Ike hosts McGuinness and then hits the road to face Piedmont, another tough team.

“I really think we are better prepared for district this season,” Veu said. “We worked hard during the spring and summer. Coach (Javon) Harris has brought in a positive attitude and everyone has bought into the program.”

While Veu is a defensive specialist, he also spends time on the special teams.

“I am on the punt and punt returns,” he said.

And while he now knows how to find the end zone after his Pick-6, he probably won’t be back fielding punts.

“Yes, I’d love to do that but I’m not the guy back there,” he said with a big smile. “I know my job and it’s blocking.”

While he doesn’t play offense, he still gets a good look at that unit.

“I think our offensive line just needs to gain some confidence because they are pretty young,” Veu said. “Tenarie (Atoe) is the only senior on the line so they should be good for several years. We have Rashaud (running back Hurt) and some other good backs and if the line can open some holes and protect Charlie (quarterback Trachte) I think we can move the ball against most teams we face.”