Waiakea’s football team celebrated homecoming last season with a resounding thud, losing 35-0 to rival Hilo. Even with a driving rain, the defeat wasn’t all that hard for Warriors coach Moku Pita to take. ADVERTISING Waiakea’s football team celebrated homecoming
Waiakea’s football team celebrated homecoming last season with a resounding thud, losing 35-0 to rival Hilo. Even with a driving rain, the defeat wasn’t all that hard for Warriors coach Moku Pita to take.
Later in the season, the Warriors absorbed a 43-16 loss at Kealakehe, closing a two-win regular season. No matter, Pita figured, we’ll get ‘em the next time.
With all four BIIF teams in each division guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, Pita didn’t hide the fact that he treated the regular season as a series of scrimmages that determined home-field advantage.
This season, however, the tuneups end with the preseason. The BIIF eliminated the semifinals, putting more emphasis on the regular season, and only the top two Division I and II teams will advance to the championship.
“I’m all for it,” Pita said. “Now we all have to play hard.”
In Division I, the sense of urgency figures to be stronger for Waiakea and Keaau. Neither team has finished the regular season in the top two since 2011. Since then, Kealakehe and Hilo have made a habit of cruising through the semifinals and playing for the championship.
“Now the kids don’t think they can just lose all season and it won’t matter,” Pita said. “It counts.”
The reality is that upsets in the Division I semifinals have been few and far between in recent years.
The Division II field was reduced to four teams in 2013, and last season the semifinals were both anti-climatic rematches of games played the prior week. Konawaena and Kamehameha both rolled into the championship game after handling Hawaii Prep and Honokaa, respectively, by lopsided scores at home in consecutive weeks.
Kamehameha coach Dan Lyons said teams must be on guard if injuries or academic issues start to pop up.
“Now you can’t just say that a game doesn’t mean anything,” Lyons said. “We need to take care of business.
“When there was a tournament, the reality is when you’re preparing your team, your just preparing for the postseason.”
While the broader outlook changes, Lyons noted the goal remains the same.
“Ultimately, you still care about every game,” he said.
Schedule
The schedule released Tuesday by the BIIF features fewer Thursday games than last season – just two – but more afternoon contests. Waiakea joins Hawaii Prep with daytime starts, and Ka’u isn’t using its lights this season, so all eight-man games are during the day.
