Poasa loves the camaraderie. But he's also still playing semi-pro football because he loves the calories.

"This helps me stay under the 400-pound mark," jokes the soft-spoken Samoan, such a fixture on the semi-pro scene since 1996 that he's been inducted into the Minor League Football Hall of Fame (yep, there is one).

"I can't really disclose the weight right now, but I'm under 400."

Poasa, 38, is the oldest player on the B.C. Spartans. He's also one of several Americans on the squad, all from the Bellingham area.

Spartans founder Tod Shackelford played quarterback for Poasa when the offensive lineman traded in his cleats for a head coaching role with the Northwest Avalanche last year.

"I thought my playing days were over, but Tod came down with his crew of Canadians and helped us out, so we figured we'd repay the favour," says Poasa, whose U.S. counterparts include Chase Cantrall, a conference all-star at defensive end for Western Washington University.

Poasa comes in and out of practice drills at this stage of his career, but he enjoys every minute of it.

He spent time with the Washington Huskies when they were winning a Rose Bowl and a national championship in the late-'80s and early-'90s. He didn't letter there, though, and dismisses talk of his college days.

It's semi-pro that has fed Poasa's passion.

"College wasn't fun for me," he says. "There was too much politics. Semi-pro brought me back to the love of the game.

"It's nice to say you've got a national-championship ring, but I'd trade it for my years in semi-pro because I didn't feel part of the team there."

And he's been around a lot of teams. And seen a lot of things.

"Almost 10 years ago, I played for the King County Jaguars," he recalls. "I went to practice -- this is bad -- but the DEA, FBI, ATF walked on the field, escorted our quarterback off, and I was like, 'I'm done. I drive too far to come down here and see this kind of stuff.'

"I like it here. This is a great team they've put together. And it's really wholesome."

© The Vancouver Province 2008