SALUNGA-LANDISVILLE, Pa. — After moving over 4,000 miles away from Alaska, Deyvid Palepale ended up in Lancaster County and Hempfield High School. His move represented a leap of faith and his football journey soon began as well.
"The culture change was crazy. I came out here and I saw farmlands, horse and buggies that was all brand new," said Palepale. "I only saw that on TV but it helped me make friends because I was on the football team on the freshman team."
Hempfield Varsity Head Coach George Eager quickly noticed Palepale's talent and he became a two-way star on the offensive and defensive line. Palepale's dominance began to quickly get Power 5 football coaches involved.
"I went to camps, I went to Penn State, Rutgers and Temple, they all three offered," said Palepale. "Really that was it, I just went to camps. I didn’t have a trainer or anything, I just stayed at Hempfield and worked on my game with the coaches."
Palepale recently committed to the University of Southern California where he will play along the defensive line. USC was an easy draw because of his plans to study accounting and the chance to play early. His final list included future Big Ten foes like Penn State and Michigan and he can't wait to get back to Pennsylvania to face the Nittany Lions.
"That’s actually the game I marked up," said Palepale. "It's going to be crazy because I heard it might be the White-Out game too. I'm excited Penn State is definitely going to be one I look forward to."
Coach Eager and have staff have seen the work that Palepale has put in. With the Hempfield family behind him, it puts the Black Knights on the map as well.
"A lot of kids have talent like Deyvid and it's just nice to see that you can play here in Lancaster County and college coaches will find you," said Eager. "There are a lot of good players around here, I'm just glad we can build around him and every offer he received was earned."
Palepale's final year in the Black and Red is right around the corner. The national recognition has become noticeable thanks to the opportunity Hempfield has given him to grow as a player.
"Coach Eager and his staff are amazing they are great family since playing varsity we have been doing great things," said Palepale. "We went to the playoffs my first year won the section last year and made the district playoffs again so we are just looking to take that last step."
The Black Nights open the season on Sept. 1 against Dallastown.