Somewhere, the late Nolle Smith Jr. is smiling.

The co-captain of the 1941 University of Hawai'i football team watched his grandson frolic with his son some years back. With a football, of course.

The grandson is senior slot/safety Blaise Smith, who will play his final game for the Lahainaluna Lunas in Friday's First Hawaiian Bank Division II State Football Championship against 'Iolani at Aloha Stadium.

"As a kid, my dad had a half-acre up in Pukalani," said Nolle Smith III, son of the former Rainbows standout and father of Blaise. "We used to run in the yard and throw football. As an 8-year-old, (Blaise) used to fake me out and my dad just used to laugh on the porch. He'd be rolling: 'He's going be better than you, son.' "

Although there is not a lot of history between Lahainaluna and 'Iolani, there's plenty in Blaise's family.

Nolle Smith Jr., who passed away last year at 86, was an Associated Press Little All-America running back in 1941. Unfortunately, the honor went unnoticed because it happened the same time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

"He was a very religious man," Nolle Smith III said of his father, a 1992 UH Circle of Honor inductee. "He said, 'All that (publicity) doesn't mean anything. It's what's right with God.' He brought us up with a very strong foundation. I try to pass that on to Blaise."

Blaise plays in a program that preaches humility. The Lunas are a team where it's hard to decipher the star. Blaise is among five players who have rushed the ball at least 40 times and among four with more than 300 yards gained.

"It's good," Blaise said of the spreading the wealth. "It keeps everyone wanting to go in hungry to get the ball. It also keeps everyone fresh."

Blaise's family has a legacy that extends beyond the football field. Besides starring in football, Nolle Smith Jr. served in the Army during World War II. He went on to teach and coach football at Maui High (1950 and 1951). Later, he was the director of the Maui parks and recreation department.

Blaise's great grandfather, Nolle Smith, was named by Honolulu Magazine in 2005 as one of the 100 most influential citizens of the past century when the City and County of Honolulu celebrated its 100th anniversary. The first Nolle Smith, who was of Caucasian, Black and Native American descent, came here from Wyoming in the early 1900s. He was twice elected to the territorial House of Representatives at a time "whites dominated most of Honolulu's most influential positions" Honolulu Magazine wrote.

Over the years, Nolle Smith Jr. passed some of his wisdom.

"He told me to keep my legs high when I run," Blaise recalled. "He said to go hard from the snap until the whistle blows, keep moving your legs to the end."

Hearing that is sure to bring a smile to his grandfather's face.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.