KEALAKEKUA — As Konawaena’s BIIF counterparts Hilo and Waiakea gear up for first round games in the HHSAA Division I state tournament today, the Wildcats are comfortably sitting at home, waiting for their next opponent.
KEALAKEKUA — As Konawaena’s BIIF counterparts Hilo and Waiakea gear up for first round games in the HHSAA Division I state tournament today, the Wildcats are comfortably sitting at home, waiting for their next opponent.
Konawaena secured the No. 2 seed in the Division II state tournament when the brackets were announced last week, which comes with a bye to the semifinal round. That game will be held at Julian Yates field in Kealakekua on Nov. 12 and the Wildcats will face either OIA runner-up Waipahu or MIL champion Lahainaluna.
“There’s a lot of parity in the field,” Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto said. “I think a lot of people see Division II as the most exciting because of the feeling any team could win it on a given night.”
KIF champion Kapaa wrangled the No. 1 seed and will play either ILH champion Damien or OIA champion Waialua. However, the top team in DII was certainly debatable.
Kappa played in the three-team KIF, dropping a regular season game to Kauai 20-17. The Red Raiders of the Garden Isle finished 2-6 and didn’t make the tournament. The Warriors then squeaked past Waimea 15-12 a week later.
Konawaena’s only blemish was a 23-21 loss to Hilo to open the league season. The Vikings went on to go undefeated in the BIIF and are the top seed in Division I tournament. While not a loss, another mark down on the Wildcats’ resume might have been a tight title game tilt with Kamehameha, where the team needed a late score — and a little luck — to survive 27-23.
But the debate is mostly a moot point, with both teams receiving a bye in a fairly evenly-matched field. And Konawaena has the additional luxury of not playing with the target that comes with having No. 1 on their back — something the team has been trying to downplay for most of the season.
“I wasn’t disappointed with it. We weren’t too concern about the number next to our name,” Uemoto said. “It was more about getting a desirable matchup and the bye, and I feel we have both those things.”
It will be exactly three weeks since the Wildcats last game when they take the field next. While the time off is nice, going that long without a game has been a learning experience.
“It’s new territory for us,” Uemoto said. “That first week after the game we spent a lot of time resting up. We got these kids away from football and focused on academics. This week we ramped it up a little bit.”
After their opponent is decided tonight, the Wildcats will flick on the lights in Kealakekeua on Saturday night and get to work.
The semifinal game will be just the second in school history for the Wildcats, the only other appearance being a year ago. On the road, the Wildcats lost to eventual state champ Radford 48-46 in a shootout. Now, the Wildcats are at home and on the verge of making even more history. That isn’t lost on Uemoto’s squad, but just like they have all year in this season chock-full of expectations, the Wildcats are taking it one day at a time.
“This group of kids are very focused on what’s in front of them. We don’t have to peel them away from looking too far ahead,” Uemoto said. “We are just playing it by ear right now.”