KEALAKEKUA — Heading into Week 6’s crosstown matchup, No. 7 Konawaena football was on a roll on both sides of the ball, scoring almost 50 points and allowing 17.4 points a game.
But the Wildcats faced a new challenge this week after handling Kea‘au last Saturday: having just four days to get ready for crosstown rival Kealakehe on Thursday night at Julian R. Yates Field. Due to this, preparation for the Waveriders was crammed together throughout the week.
“We had a sluggish week of practice,” Konawaena coach Brad Uemoto admitted. “But I told the boys that if you want to be champions, you have to play championship football week in and week out — play every snap like it’s the state title game.”
Despite the quick turnaround and its hurdles, the Wildcats still maintained their all-around dominance against Kealakehe — winning 64-6 and improving to 5-1 overall. The Waveriders dropped to 1-5.
Konawaena’s win marked its 12th straight against Kealakehe, who hasn’t beaten the Wildcats since 2010. It was also Konawaena’s fourth time scoring at least 50 points this season. It is undefeated when doing so.
“They’re the state champs, you gotta go through them — they’re the team to beat,” Kealakehe coach Wyatt Nahale said postgame. “Though our guys played their hearts out.”
The Wildcats were led by star swiss-army knife Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio, who played snaps at receiver, defensive back, punt returner and quarterback. The junior finished with 10 catches and 151 yards and two receiving scores. He also rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on his lone attempt at the tail-end of the third quarter.
Konawaena quarterback Keoki Alani completed 28 of his 37 attempts for 388 yards and three touchdowns before taking a seat at the end of the third. Receiver Ali‘imalu Tan caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in the second half.
Kealakehe’s lone score came from sophomore running back Lawrence Nahakuelua, who rushed for a touchdown near the end of the fourth quarter.
The Waveriders presented challenges in the secondary, though — breaking up a multitude of Alani’s throws from the jump. Due to Kealakehe’s physicality in its pass defense, the Wildcats adjusted slightly by pounding the rock through the run game, finishing the night with four of their seven touchdowns on the ground.
Within those four touchdowns were four different rushers — a 15-yarder on a run-pass option from Alani in the second quarter, Cariaga Akea punching it in five yards in the fourth, Keau Higashi down the middle for a 2-yard score in the first half and Anahu Ambrosio’s trial at quarterback at the end of the night.
Collectively, Konawaena ran for 167 yards across seven different players.
The Wildcats’ defense also stifled Kealakehe’s offensive rhythm through its pressure up front, forcing the Waveriders to punt all game. Defensive end Elias Malapit had a monster showing, sacking Kealakehe quarterback Cody Jones in the end zone for a first-quarter safety. The junior lineman additionally forced a fumble in the fourth quarter, scooping the ball and returning it 17 yards for the final touchdown of the game.
Malapit recorded eight total tackles and three sacks to go with the forced fumble. Teammate Armenio Blanco finished with eight total tackles in the secondary.
But who could forget special teams? On the very first play of the game, Wildcats senior Akoni Binney forced a fumble during Kealakehe’s kick return — getting ahold of the ball and bringing it back 27 yards to put Konawaena on the board within the first 10 seconds of regulation.
With the Wildcats beginning to click into midseason form at the right time, confidence is brewing in every corner of the locker room. While it’s easy to assume Konawaena has peaked as a team with how it is beating opponents, Uemoto doesn’t view it that way.
“For us, it’s not as much about scores — it’s more so about execution, energy and everything in between,” he said. “I want to see these guys execute in every aspect of the game.
“We demand a lot from these kids, and we want them to be perfect.”
Konawaena will next travel across the island to play Hilo next Saturday at Wong Stadium for Week 7. Kealakehe will take a week-long break before returning to action against Kea’au on Sept. 29 on the road.
