STORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi understands better than most when his coach preaches about the power of working as a family to overcome adversity.
That's a lesson the 304-pound sophomore defensive tackle says he began learning on Oct. 29, 2012, when Superstorm Sandy tore through his neighborhood in Far Rockaway, New York.
Fatukasi's house was left uninhabitable, flooded with sewage-tainted water and left without electricity or heat. His high school also was severely damaged and forced to close for months.
"You get scared about who and what you are going to lose," he said.