KAPA‘AU — Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i had a successful business trip to the northern tip of the island Saturday, routing Kohala 43-6 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) DII matchup.
“I was very proud of our team,” KSH coach Kealoha Wengler said postgame. “We set specific goals this week to improve on, and when things weren’t going as we hoped, the team didn’t lose faith and worked through the challenges by trusting one another. They learned a lot from this one.”
The Warriors had a well-balanced attack in the passing game, doing most of their damage in the opening half. After KSH linebacker Dallas Enriquez forced a fumble on Kohala’s opening drive, quarterback Adam Perry found senior receiver Shiloh Santos on a 14-yard touchdown pass to score the first points of the afternoon.
A few minutes later, Perry connected with sophomore receiver Ocean DeMotta on a touchdown pass. To begin the second quarter, Perry threw a screen pass to junior receiver Paliku Nachor, who took it another 40 yards for a Warriors touchdown.
Perry threw his last touchdown pass of the day to senior Xander Hoopai from 47 yards out. To close the half, Perry rushed 39 yards to the end zone to go up five scores.
However, Cowboys senior Hezekiah Wilson caught a long touchdown reception in the second quarter to secure Kohala’s only touchdown of the day. On the other side of the ball, Wilson picked off Perry in the first quarter.
The second half was quieter, as John Sanborn’s third-quarter 25-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery was the only touchdown of the final 24 minutes.
Perry finished the day with 262 passing yards, five total touchdowns and an interception.
“He did a fantastic job,” Wengler said of Perry’s performance. “The line was giving him time to make plays, and once he got into a rhythm he found success. He was finding a bunch of guys — very unselfish football.”
Winners of five straight, KSH is 6-1 overall on the season and first in BIIF Division II at 5-0. The Warriors are averaging 41 points per game — the most out of any team in the BIIF. The team is posting over 340 scrimmage yards per game, which also leads the island. KSH is additionally allowing just over 12 points per week.
Despite a dominant start to 2024, Wengler believes his boys can hit another gear as the season progresses.
“We’re definitely going to find ourselves reaching new heights,” he said. “We feel like we’re on the cusp of that right now.”
The Warriors will next rematch with Honoka‘a on Friday night in Kea‘au. Junior varsity will play first at 5 p.m. When the two teams last played in a rain-soaked outing in Honoka‘a town on Aug. 22, KSH won 35-14.
Kohala (1-4) will travel to Kamuela to face BIIF DII second-placed Hawaii Preparatory Academy at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Konawanea 49, Kea‘au 6
No. 10 Konawaena and No. 22 Kea‘au football came into Friday’s game tied for first in BIIF DI. However, the Wildcats left no doubt of who should be the top dog in the division — routing the Cougars 49-6 in Kea‘au.
“I felt like our execution was decent,” Kona coach Brad Uemoto told West Hawaii Today. “We were fortunate to have a bye week leading up to the game to really focus on our game plans, but we still have a lot to clean up on on both sides of the ball.”
The Wildcats laid the hammer down for most of the evening, as sophomore quarterback Keenan Alani had another strong showing. The young star completed 19 of his 31 attempts for 276 yards and six touchdowns — three to Austin Takaki (169 yards), two to Ali‘imalu Tan (74 yards) and another to Hayden Nishida (23 yards). Alani also did not throw a pick.
Alani has impressed many in his debut season as a starter, as he is now at 1,200 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and two interceptions through six games.
Kona’s stout run game did damage once again, as Hercules Nahale tallied 20 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown. Backfield teammates Jiohvani Soto-Ramos and Alani also combined for 66 rushing yards.
“Offensively, I was impressed with our offensive line being able to adjust to the different fronts and alignments we faced,” Uemoto added.
Defensively, the Wildcats looked strong — holding All-BIIF quarterback Diego Pettypool to 10-for-25 passing for 107 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wyatt Wehrsig, Elias Malapit and Armenio Blanco combined for 10 tackles. Nakoa Ige also recovered a fumble, while Funaki James-Fainga recorded the team’s only sack.
“I felt like we played well defensively,” Uemoto said. “Being able to limit Kea‘au’s run game and put enough pressure on Pettypool is considered a feat in itself.”
With the win, Kona moved to 4-0 in the BIIF and 4-2 overall. Through six games, the Wildcats are averaging nearly 37 points while allowing less than 10 per contest. The green and white also average over 300 scrimmage yards per game.
With four games remaining in the regular season, the Wildcats will finally unveil their new turf field at their home opener against Hilo on Friday night at Julian R. Yates Field. Junior varsity will kick off first at 5 p.m. The evening will serve as the school’s homecoming celebration.
The Cougars (3-1) will regroup for their first non-conference matchup of 2024 this weekend. Kea‘au is slated to face O‘ahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) opponent Campbell at 1 p.m. Saturday at home.
Hilo 70, Waiakea 18
Hilo football posted its highest-scoring game since the 2022 season in a 70-18 rout over Waiakea on Saturday in Hilo.
West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald could not obtain a box score from this game by Tuesday’s deadline.
With the win, the Vikings moved to 6-3 in the BIIF — averaging nearly 35 points per game. The Warriors dropped to 1-4, currently near the cellar of the DI standings.
Hilo will next take the saddle road to Kealakekua this weekend to take on the island’s best in Konawaena, with kickoff scheduled for Friday night.
Waiakea will stay home and face Kealakehe at 11 a.m. Saturday in Hilo.
Honoka‘a 64, Ka‘u 32
In the highest-combined-scoring game of the BIIF football season thus far, Honoka‘a blasted Ka‘u on Friday by a score of 64-32 in Honoka‘a town.
Per ScoringLive, Friday was the Dragons’ highest-scoring game since Sept. 14, 2019 — when Honoka‘a scored 66.
West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald could not obtain a box score from this game by Tuesday’s deadline.
Honoka‘a is now at 3-2 in league play and 3-3 overall — averaging over 31 points per game. The Dragons sit in third in BIIF DII. The Trojans are 1-3, currently in the No. 4 spot of the same division.
Honoka‘a will rematch against KS-Hawai‘i on Friday. Ka‘u will take a few weeks off before returning to the field against Kohala on Oct. 5 in Pahala.