HONOKAA – Konawaena’s Jesse Canda and coach Brad Uemoto stood outside the visiting locker room Friday night going back and forth trying to determine who hauled in the Wildcats’ first touchdown catch.
Uemoto thought Canda grabbed it, but the wide receiver knew it wasn’t him.
Hunter Wehrsig? No
Thinking.
Kealakai Kihe? Couldn’t be.
“Oh, no, it was Kealakai,” Canda said.
It was that kind of night in Honokaa, where Sheynen Nahale passes and rain fell from the sky in equal abundance.
Standing nearby, defensive end/linebacker Alex Muti waited patiently to have his say and probably wondered what all the fuss was about. His defense had all the answers, erasing any blemishes in the Wildcats’ 38-0 victory that secured the program’s eighth consecutive trip to the BIIF Division II football championship – as if there was ever any doubt.
“I kind of knew that we would be slacking with the weather,” Muti said, “but I told my teammates we like challenges. Shout-out to the guys in the trenches.
“We were winning battles up front, but it looks like blitzing.”
This one was more clumsy than clean, but such is the way a 19-game conference winning streak was reached for the Wildcats (4-0).
“I think we could have done way better, we just played sloppy and didn’t complete catches,” said Canda, who caught one of Nahele’s three touchdown passes.
The Wildcats will try to win their fourth consecutive Division II title on either Oct. 26 or 27 against Kamehameha, which locked down its title game berth Saturday by beating Hawaii Prep. First, the Warriors visit the Wildcats next weekend in a contest that could decide who hosts the title game.
“We’re 4-0, that’s not going to help on Oct. 6,” Uemoto said. “We’re going to go in and be in a dogfight with Kamehameha, and we’re going to have to play our best football. Look at more films and see what we’re doing wrong. We need to do better.”
Konawaena could have fared much better in the turnover department Friday night. The Wildcats lost four, but they held the Dragons to just 132 yards of offense thanks to five more sacks, the highlight being Muti’s slam of Honokaa’s Malu Kanekoa to the wet turf in the first half.
His team’s running game negated, Kanekoa often passed under duress and finished 4 for 19 for 21 yards.
“I don’t really feel like we need a shutout,” Muti said, “but if we just play our best, and if we make a mistake our offense will get it for us, and if they make a mistake, we got their backs.”
When in doubt, Konawaena just kept throwing and throwing … and throwing.
Nahale, more often than not looking to his right, threw a whopping 33 passes in the first half alone and finished 26 of 49 for 270 yards and two interceptions.
“He’s probably going to start needing ice at the end of games,” Uemoto said.
Part of him was glad his freshman signal-caller faced adversity, both of his own doing and because of the weather.
Konawaena’s first two possessions ended with an interception and a fumble, but its defense responded by forcing four-and-out each time.
“We try to make him grow up quick and throw him into the fire and make him throw the ball,” Uemoto said. “It’s just part of the process.”
The highlight of the night for the Dragons (0-5) – besides the homecoming festivities – was a goal-line stand on four plays from inside their 5 that kept the game scoreless.
The Wildcats finally got going on their fourth and fifth possessions, converting three fourth-down conversions in the process, and Nahale capped the second scoring drive with a 5-yard run around the right side.
Late in the half, Canda hauled in a 36-yard catch, and on the next play Nahale hit Wehrsig for an 11-yard score, and Nahale and Canda combined on a 41-yard scoring play in the second half.
“I had faith in my line, because our line is super good, and giving our QB a lot of time,” Canda said. “I didn’t have any doubts.”
Cryus Jumalon ran for 57 yards and late score and Riley Sato led the Wildcats’ ground attack with 63 yards.
Nalu Swift ripped off a 43-yard to help the Dragons reach the red zone on their first drive of the second half, but Noah Bredeson ended the threat, intercepting Kanekoa in the end zone. Swift ran for 56 yards and also had an interception.
In another bid to make state history, Harry Hill was just short on a 57-yard field goal attempt on a free kick near the end of the first half. In a similar situation last season at Waiakea, Hill nailed a 58-yarder to set a state record. Hill tacked on a 32-yarder Friday night.
“Way more important practices this week,” Canda said. “We have to be dedicated and on our best game.”