Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i football had no breaks throughout the 2024 season.
Up until recently, that is. Since clinching their second straight Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) Division II title last month, the Warriors have enjoyed time off since Oct. 25. It has been KSH’s only break period this season, as the group had no bye weeks during its 11-1 stretch.
But now, the Warriors have their sights set on the HHSAA state tournament, set to rematch O‘ahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) powerhouse Roosevelt in the state quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on the Rough Riders’ home turf. KSH fell to Roosevelt 19-14 a year ago in the opening round.
In preparation for the Warriors’ biggest game yet, head coach Kealoha Wengler told West Hawaii Today that the time off was used wisely — as the group used the opportunity to get healthy, improve internal chemistry and work on conditioning.
“We’ve been going non-stop every week all season,” he said. “So we spent this time to really focus on team and skill-building. We didn’t do a lot of contact activities, which really allowed us to heal and get healthy. Now, the boys are moving quicker and more confident.
“I feel like we’re getting pretty close to our peak right now.”
While KSH is brimming with confidence for this weekend, Roosevelt feels the exact way. The 9-2 Rough Riders are coming off a second consecutive OIA DII title from last weekend, in which they routed Farrington 34-3.
Roosevelt is riding a five-game win streak, averaging nearly 34 points per game while allowing less than 11. The Warriors have won 10 in a row, averaging 39 points per game on the season while allowing under 10.
The Rough Riders are led by dual-threat quarterback Ioane Kamanao, who is coming off a two-touchdown performance against the Cougars last week. His top weapons are receivers Keawe Davis and Jahsiah Souza-Armstead, who both have posted over 650 receiving yards this season.
To prepare for Roosevelt’s high-flying offense, Wengler added that the team has been passing the ball more in practice to prepare the defense for the matchup.
“Roosevelt’s a very good passing team,” Wengler continued. “(Kamanao) can throw and scramble really well. So to prepare for that, we’ve been diving into the path a lot more. We’re getting our defensive line quicker, we’re doing a lot of one-on-one pass protection and pass rush, some fine tuning in our stunting and blitzing, working on our timing and just getting better chemistry together. It’s all coming together really nicely.
“We definitely want to try to get after (Kamanao) in this one.”
The Warriors’ bread and butter has been their running game, as the backfield of Xander Hoopai, Dallas Enriquez, Keanu Gebin and quarterback Adam Perry have combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.
KSH will likely lean on its run game, but Perry has shown his arm to be dependable when needed. The senior has thrown for 1,167 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. His most reliable receivers have been Clay Ching, Shiloh Santos and Cole Walker — who have combined for 861 yards and 12 scores.
On the other side of the ball, the Warriors have been just as sound — tallying three shutouts thus far. The Rough Riders have two.
With a strong balance in all facets of the team, Wengler and KSH are confident the group can make noise in the tournament.
“Our team right now is very confident,” he said. “We found a lot of success this year playing some Division I teams (Nanakuli and Moanalua), which really helped build us to who we are now. We know our craft very well, and how to play to our strengths. We’re moving with so much speed and quickness because of the confidence we’ve gained over these last few weeks.
“We’ve been growing every year, getting better and better, and we’re definitely using that experience from last year to plan out our season this year. It gave us the experiences we needed to be at the point that we’re at right now.”
To keep following the Warriors and their quest for the state title, see next week’s paper.