Last weekend, Kealakehe football kicked off its season in the first game at Waverider Stadium in two years. Although the Waveriders fell short to Kamehameha, coach Wyatt Nahale believes his group turned the page fast to focus on Keaau, who they will match up against in week 2 at 6 p.m. Saturday at home.
“Our practices have been really energetic and enthusiastic,” he told West Hawaii Today. “I like how we’ve responded to coming back to practice so far, plus we are healthy.”
Despite falling 21-7 to the Warriors last Saturday, Kealakehe (0-1) showed bright spots on both sides of the ball. Freshman quarterback Lawai‘a Nahakuelua displayed flashes of brilliance in extending plays with his legs, as well as making big completions downfield to receivers Kawika Gouveia, Kainalu Willis and Alika Rigaud.
The Waveriders have sophomore quarterback Brennen Nishihara back in the mix this week. Nahale said both quarterbacks have competed hard in practice all week, and expects offensive coordinator Aisea Tremaine to play both of them Saturday.
“We were able to get some good reps from both of them,” Nahale said. “We’re going to see how they can manage the game and how productive they can be within the offense.
“I would anticipate that we’re probably going to see both of them in action.”
Perhaps Kealakehe’s most impressive performance of last weekend came from its defensive front, which consistently pressured Kamehameha quarterback Adam Perry into making quick decisions all night. While Nahale applauds his line’s aggressiveness, he wants the unit to have more awareness against the Cougars, as Kamehameha was able to utilize the quick pass effectively against Kealakehe’s pass rush.
“What caught us off balance were the screens last week,” Nahale said. “I want us to continue to be aggressive, but I also have to make them understand that we’ve also got to be smart — that aggressiveness can actually work against us against the screen game.”
While Nahale wants the Waveriders to watch out for quick screens, he still intends for both lines to play physical, as he believes his group matches up well with Keaau. The Cougars are playing in their season opener after finishing 5-4 and third overall in Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) Division I in 2022.
“They run a good system, they have good size and they’re well-coached,” he said. “We’ve got to be physical up front in the trenches and see how we can battle from there.
“I think our skill guys match up pretty well, but I want to make sure that we’re physical up front.”
Nahale also sees Saturday as an opportunity to build off Kealakehe’s progress from Week 1, and expects his group to start putting more aspects of the game together for a better performance.
“Despite how young we are on both sides of the ball, I’m looking for us to improve our execution,” he said. “Being able to stay within our system and execute will be something that I am really hoping we can try to get better at.”
