KAILUA-KONA — It will be a familiar scene in Kealakekua tonight — Konawaena vs. Kamehameha-Hawaii for the BIIF Division II title.
The 2016 edition of the championship bout kicks off at 7 p.m. at Julian Yates field. The winner gets the BIIF crown and a spot in the HHSAA Division II state tournament, which begins Nov. 4.
The winner also gets the edge in the championship trilogy rubber match, with the Wildcats being the defending champs, and the Warriors taking the title in 2014. In the last decade, the DII title has not strayed far from the two programs, which have combined for nine of the last 10 division banners.
“It’s so different year to year, but Kamehameha always puts a good product on the field,” Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto said. “By the end of the season, they are always playing good football. It has become a nice rivalry in the division.”
Konawaena got the best of Kamehameha in the regular season with a 35-12 win on Oct. 8, but it was the Wildcats’ closest contest during a six game winning streak. Konawaena tallied 16 points in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory, but came away with more than a handful of fixes to work on.
“In the past few weeks we have made a lot of strides to improve,” Uemoto said. “In that first meeting, we struggled a bit offensively figuring out that defensive scheme and started slow in the first half. We realized the things we have to work on and can’t mimic that performance in this game. We have to get off to better starts, on both sides of the ball.”
Kamehameha head coach Dan Lyons and his Warrior squad had similar takeaways.
“Konawaena will always be ready to go,” Lyons said. “We learned we need to be more prepared. They are going to be well coached and will have a lot of energy playing at home. We need to take care of ourselves, not get too involved in the drama of the game, maintain and just do what we do.”
Playing in Wildcat Country is a well-established advantage for Konawaena. The team hasn’t lost in Kealakekua since Aug. 29, 2014, against — guess who — Kamehameha.
“There’s nothing like that home crowd,” Konawaena senior standout Phillip Grace said. “There’s a lot of pride involved in it for us, especially for me. My whole family pretty much went to Konawaena and played football, so you just want to keep that tradition going.”
Konawaena entered the season with some of the highest expectations that have ever been placed on a BIIF squad, with the consensus opinion in the state being that the Wildcats were the top team in DII. That all came to a nearly screeching hault when the Wildcats dropped their league opener to Hilo 23-21 on Aug. 27.
“It’s been different than last year, but also similar in a lot of ways,” Uemoto said. “Both seasons we had a loss that set some urgency and tone for the season. I think in both circumstances we responded well to it and corrected the things we were doing wrong.”
The linchpin in that turnaround for the Wildcats has been quarterback Austin Ewing, who has done a good job at handling the bright spotlight as one of the premier passers in the state. The junior has accounted for more touchdowns in BIIF play — 27 passing and three rushing — than all but one other BIIF team, with Division I champion Hilo being the lone exception.
Ewing had his best showing of the season against Kamehameha with a performance that transcended the box score. He tossed four touchdowns and went for a season-high 443 yards despite being sacked seven times and the Wildcats losing the turnover battle.
“I knew they were going to come hard and put pressure on me. That’s what they do so I don’t have enough time to make my reads. I expect that again,” Ewing said. “We know they want revenge from last year, so they will come at us. We just have to play our brand of Konawaena football and continue to be successful.”
For Kamehameha, the theme for the season has been youth and the Warriors aren’t entering the title tilt on a high note. Kamehameha has dropped its last two games, including a 39-7 walloping against Hilo last week where the offense didn’t find the end zone (the lone score came on defense).
“For us, the biggest issue has been execution, but some of that is just youth,” said Lyons, who can count his number of senior starters on one hand. “Our guys are excited, but it’s all about learning, growing and not making the moment to big for themselves.”
Along with the BIIF title, the winner also gets a berth in the six-team DII state tournament, where both Kamehameha and Konawaena have represented the Big Island well. In 2014, the Warriors beat OIA champion Nanakuli 42-20 for just the third win at states for a BIIF team.
Konawaena added to that total last year by beating ILH opponent Damien at home, before falling to eventual champion Radford 48-46 in a tight semifinal matchup.
“We have been coming out since the summer thinking about that loss last year,” Ewing said. “It would mean so much to us to get back there, especially for the seniors.”
With the Wildcats hitting on all cylinders as of late, they are projected to be a top seed in the state tourney if they can win the BIIF, which comes with a bye to the semifinals and possible home game. If the Warriors do pull off the upset, that would also warrant some discussion to give them a seeded berth.
“Whoever represents the BIIF should be a high seed and hopefully host a semifinal matchup,” Uemoto said. “At this time of the year, you hope all your hard work during the season begins to pay dividends. Winning a state title is so dependent on being in a good position and on the right path to win it. You just don’t want to blow an opportunity like this.”
The state championship game will be Nov. 20 at Aloha Stadium.
