THE FRONT ROW with Cary Rosenbaum, August 15, 2013

Eti Ena finds himself at a loss for words when asked just how he has made it as far as he has coaching football.

The former Idaho Vandals defensive line coach has yet to define his journey.

The 39-year-old Samoan comes from humble beginnings in the one stoplight, 8-man football playing, hunting and fishing Indian reservation town of Inchelium, Wash.

“Some days I wish I was there, out hunting deer or fishing for salmon,” said Ena, who transferred to Inchelium High School as a senior and led the team to a Class 1B state championship in 1991.

After the Vandals finished 1-11 last year, firing former head coach Robb Akey midseason, Ena soon found himself without a job.

“They said they were going to retain some coaches, and unfortunately I was not one of them,” he said.

But it didn’t take long for him to find a new position.

On June 1, Ena was introduced as the new defensive line coach at California Polytechnic State University, a Football Championship Subdivision team that joined the Big Sky Conference in 2012 and made the playoffs at 9-3.

 “We got a nice team as far as returning a lot of starters from last year,” he said from San Luis Obispo, Calif. “We’re trying to make sure we build on that.”

The Mustangs are ranked in the top 15 in multiple polls, recently No. 14 by The Sporting News.

“There are a lot of expectations,” Ena said. “We have our work cut out for us this year.”

BENSON MAYOWA was just one of Ena’s projects at Idaho.

The 6-foot-3, 252-pound Seattle Seahawks defensive end said he benefitted greatly from having Ena coach him in Moscow.

“He’s had a great impact, very good coach, good friend,” said Mayowa, who was part of the first recruiting class signed when Ena was hired in 2009. “I still keep in contact with him today.

“He played a huge role in getting me where I am.”

Mayowa, an undrafted rookie, is in a good position to make the Seahawks’ final roster, with three defensive ends dealing with issues ranging from injury to suspension.

Veteran Chris Clemons continues to recover from ACL surgery, 2012 first-round draft pick Bruce Irvin will serve a four-game suspension, and free agent addition Cliff Avril has been hampered by various injuries.

All three fit into the LEO position that Mayowa impressed in last week against the San Diego Chargers, where he notched 1.5 sacks and three hurries in about two quarters of work.

Watching the preseason game on television, Ena was impressed.

“I was really proud of him,” Ena said. “Hopefully, he can continue that; it’s about being able to contribute consistently.”

Ena knew Mayowa had the potential all along, he said.

“I absolutely knew,” he said. “I always thought he had to potential to (play in the NFL).

“It’s just a matter of getting there, proving it and doing it.”

Mayowa is the third Vandal in Ena’s tenure to make it to the NFL, although none have made the final 53-man roster.

• Aaron Lavarias was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New England Patriots’ in July 2011, before being released in September. He is currently a member of the Montreal Allouettes in the Canadian Football League.

• Michael Cosgrove was signed as an undrafted free agent in April of 2012, before being released in August.

ONE NFL success story Ena did have a hand in was younger brother Justin’s, who signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2002 out of Brigham Young University and spent four years in the league as a linebacker.

“He’s always been a mentor to me,” said 35-year-old Justin, who’s now the defensive coordinator of Southern Utah University. “Eti’s done a great job coaching. He really got in the business before me and (older brother) Packy (who coaches high school football in Hawaii).

“Eti has shown us the way of caring for the kid,” he added. “His kids love playing for him.”

Justin said he calls Eti all the time to talk about defensive line play.

“He’s wise,” Justin said. “I know they have a great defense, and he has an All-American defensive lineman (Sullivan Grosz) to coach.”

“We always kind of compare notes,” Eti said. “I think the best type of learning is basically conversation.”

While Southern Utah and Cal Poly do not meet in the regular season, Justin said “anything’s possible,” and that it would be awesome if they met in the postseason.

Eti echoed that statement.

“It would be fun to end up playing against him,” Eti said.

THE HIGHLIGHT of Ena’s four-year career at Idaho was the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl win over Bowling Green, he said — the first postseason win in 11 years for the program, and second all-time.

The game ended 43-42 with a Vandal touchdown and two-point conversion with four seconds remaining.

Cosgrove, Mayowa and Jonah Sataraka all had sacks in the game.

“I had a great time at Idaho,” he said. “We had a lot of success there, and we learned a lot as far as coaching. Coach Akey was a great boss.

“It’s unfortunate things happened the way they did, but I made a lot of good friends amongst that staff.”

One challenge Ena singled out was pitting his d-linemen against former Vandal Mike Iupati, an All-Pro guard for the the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.

“Big Mike had that work ethic that kind of proves the way he is,” Ena said. “When we had guys going up against him, they had to bring their best.

“Practicing against a guy like that made the whole d-line that much better; it was just a blessing.”

IN INCHELIUM, Ena is revered for the work he’s done and continues to do for the Colville tribal community.

At a school that has won four state championships on the gridiron, he has been one of the few athletic success stories  — making the long trek from 8-man to Division I football at Eastern Washington University.

That journey included stops at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah and Walla Walla (Wash.)College.

Michael O. Finley, chairman of the Colville Confederated Tribes, said Ena embodies many of the values tribal members hold true.

“Our community is very proud of Eti,” Finley said. “Not only does he remain active in the community and is a family man, he stands as a role model to all youth — that through hard work and dedication, you can do anything.”

Unfortunately for Ena, he suffered a career-ending shoulder injury his junior year with the Eagles.

He was hired as an assistant linebackers coach at Eastern in 2003, after coaching junior high and then high school football in Shelton, Wash., where his brother Justin played.

“When given the opportunity I had at EWU, I just worked hard at that,” he said. “At that point in time, I decided that that’s what I wanted to do — I wanted to be a coach, so I kind of dove in.”

Ena also has a strong influence in the Polynesian culture, volunteering some of his offseason time to the All-Poly Football Camp in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“I’ve been doing that camp forever,” he said. “I feel like it’s a great opportunity to give back.”

Ena finds many similarities between the culture he’s from and the one he married into, he said.

“Whether it’s a Polynesian kid or a Native American kid, a lot of us come from a place where they don’t have a lot,” he said. “Football is a platform to get an education, a college degree, and better the life of our people in general.”

After much conversation, it hit Ena like a quarterback sack; he was no longer at a loss in describing his journey.

“When you go from humble beginnings to where I am, the key is just ‘working,’” he said.

Cary Rosenbaum is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2013 or via email at [email protected].