HILO – At times, the most exciting plays were punt returns for both Hilo and Waiakea, except one team often scored while the other ran into a big, blue Viking wall.
Kalei Tolentino-Perry kept giving Hilo good field position on punt returns, even though some were called back on penalties, but the Vikings were tough enough again for a fourth straight year.
Hilo kept pushing and eventually pulled away to defeat Waiakea 40-3 for its fourth straight BIIF Division I championship on Friday night at Wong Stadium.
Both Hilo (8-0 BIIF, 8-1 overall) and Waiakea (3-5, 3-8) already have berths to the HHSAA Division I state tournament. The Vikings will host a first-round game on Friday, Nov. 4 at Keaau. The Warriors will travel to Oahu on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Waiakea was a bit handicapped with the loss of junior quarterback/split-back bulldozer Makoa Andres, who injured his right arm in last week’s 28-27 loss to Honokaa.
However, Hilo lost senior quarterback Ka’ale Tiogangco in Week 4, Sept. 23 in a 35-6 win at Honokaa, also with an arm injury, inserting freshman Kyan Miyasato into the lineup.
In the first half, the Vikings led 27-3 and followed a familiar blueprint, relying on big plays and capitalizing on an opponent’s mistakes. They scored on two of Waiakea’s three turnovers; Sean Ikari intercepted Miyasato at the Waiakea nine-yard line right before halftime. Waiakea finished with three turnovers, Hilo with two.
Big plays came fast and furious once Hilo touched the ball. After Waiakea punted on the game’s opening possession, Tolentino-Perry had a return of 52 yards to the 36-yard line. Kahale Huddleston followed with a 21-yard run and two plays later scored from five yards out.
After the Warriors punted on the next series, Hilo’s offensive line provided big holes, again, and gave Miyasato all night to throw. From near midfield, Huddleston ran up the middle for a 16-yard gain, Miyasato hit Lukas Kuipers for a 14-yard pass, and Nainoa Kane-Yates scored from 10 yards out.
On Waiakea’s next possession, Gehrig Octavio threw a pick to Kashten Ioane, who weaved for 27 yards to red zone territory.Three plays later, Miyasato fired a 12-yard scoring strike to Kainalu Tiogangco.
Hilo senior defensive back Skylar Brede intercepted Octavio on the next possession. Then Hilo punted, Waiakea fumbled on the return, and Vik senior lineman Kinohi Galdeira recovered.
From near midfield, Miyasato started to warm up his right arm, throwing completions to Kuipers for nine yards and to Tolentino-Perry for 29 yards. Then two plays later, Kane-Yates powered into the end zone for a one-yard score and 27-0 lead.
On the following possession, Octavio returned the kickoff 55 yards, and the Warriors later faced a fourth-and-11 from Hilo’s 23. But the Vikings were tagged with a 10-yard penalty, and Wes Amuimuia ran for 10 yards.
It was the second untimely penalty on Hilo, which three plays earlier committed a personal foul for a 15-yard penalty and put Waiakea into the red zone. A little later, Michael Scott booted a 23-yard field goal.
And what’s a BIIF rivalry game between Hilo and Waiakea without a little rain?
The wet stuff started to come down at the start of the second half, and then the Vikings went right to work, after receiving the kickoff, showing their balance on a six-play, 66-yard scoring drive.
There were three runs mixed in with three passes, the last a 29-yard shovel TD pass from Miyasato to Huddleston for a 33-3 cushion with 10:08 remaining in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Hilo brought in senior wide receiver Beau Ramos as the running quarterback in the pistol offense, and it worked like a charm.
Hilo had prime field position after a Waiakea punt, starting from the Warrior 25. Ramos ran three straight times, the last for an eight-yard score and a 40-3.
Miyasato went 12 of 22 for 202 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His favorite targets were Huddleston, who had three catches for 57 yards, and Kuipers, who had four receptions for 45 yards.
Huddleston led the ground attack with 80 yards on 10 carries while Kane-Yates added 42 yards on nine carries. Ramos finished with 41 yards on six attempts.
Waiakea alternated between the run and shoot and its split-back powerhouse backfield with little success on the ground and air.
Octavio was 2 of 13 for 34 yards with two interceptions. He ran for 50 yards on 12 carries while Amuimuia rushed for 50 yards on 24 attempts.
