HILO — Kealakehe depended on Keoni Yates to carry the offense against Hilo, and he did. He even plays defense and serves as the team’s kicker and punter.
HILO — Kealakehe depended on Keoni Yates to carry the offense against Hilo, and he did. He even plays defense and serves as the team’s kicker and punter.
The senior slotback/quarterback/multipurpose-weapon rushed for 91 yards on 17 attempts. Yates completed 1-of 2 passes for 5 yards. He even kicked a 29-yard field for Kealakehe’s only score.
All his contributions weren’t enough, and the Waveriders fell to the Vikings 6-3 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I football game Saturday night during Hilo’s homecoming.
The Vikings secured the No. 1 seed in the four-team BIIF Division I playoffs. They did that by locking down everyone else. The other Kealakehe rushers managed just 7 yards on 26 attempts.
Kaimi Wilson shared time with Yates at quarterback and was 4-of-14 for 44 yards. All the incompletions and short runs resulted in eight Waverider punts; the Vikings punted six times.
Kealakehe won the turnover battle. They had none; Hilo had three giveaways, one leading to Yates’ 29-yard field goal in the second quarter. One fumble was in the red zone in the third quarter.
On the previous possession, Yates lined up for a 40-yard field goal and it was short. In the fourth quarter, Yates had a 28-yard field attempt go wide left with 5:59 remaining in the game.
Hilo ran the ball often (36 times for 112 yards) and passed infrequently (1 for 4 for 37 yards). Donavan Kelley was 0 of 3 and Sione Atuekaho was 1 of 1 for 37 yards.
After Yates booted his field goal, Hilo scored on its ensuing series, capped by Kelley’s 13-yard touchdown run. The PAT attempt failed when the snap was bad.
Kelley rushed for 60 yards on 10 attempts, Tristin Spikes added 31 yards on 14 carries, and Aven Kualii had 36 yards on four attempts. Kelley had the only reception, a 37-yard catch, from Atuekaho.