KEALAKEKUA — For the third straight season, Konawaena football will compete for state glory.
On Friday night at Julian R. Yates Field, the first-seeded Wildcats hosted No. 5 Leilehua in the HHSAA Division I semfinals — and thanks to strong play on both sides of the football, Kona cruised to a 45-20 victory. The green and white never trailed in the contest, putting up an impressive 24 points in the first quarter.
The Wildcats will return to the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division I championship, which will be at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday at Mililani High School on O‘ahu. They’ll be playing No. 3 Kapa‘a, who Kona beat in the state semifinals in 2023.
The Wildcats face a golden opportunity in front of them, as they will be seeking a second state title in three seasons. It is the fourth time in school history that Kona has reached the state championship game (2017, 2022, 2023).
“Anytime we go to the state championship game, we’re going all out to win it,” head coach Brad Uemoto told West Hawaii Today postgame. “We’re the veteran team, and we know the recipe and the formula to get there. Hopefully we’ll be playing our best and go into (this weekend’s state championship) as healthy as possible.”
The Wildcats set the tone from the very first drive of the night, when sophomore quarterback Keenan Alani connected with senior receiver Austin Takaki for 20 yards and sophomore Malu Tan for 47 yards to put the green and white inside the Mules’ 10-yard line.
After settling for a 20-yard field goal, Takaki — playing defensive back — picked off Leilehua quarterback Bennett Strobel at the Mules’ 23, returning it for 12 yards to give Kona prime field position. Takaki then switched back to receiver and caught a 10-yard strike from Alani to secure the first touchdown of the night.
Just over three minutes later — following the Wildcats halting the Mules’ offense — Alani found senior Hayden Nishida for a 51-yard touchdown. After another three minutes of action, Alani fired a laser to Tan, who then ran it in for a 40-yard touchdown, which was his first of three on the evening.
“We started hot, and the defense gave us good energy,” Uemoto added. “And offensively, we executed. That’s what you need to do at this stage of the season.”
Leilehua finally settled into the game in the early part of the second quarter, when Strobel connected with Talon Tarpley for a nine-yard touchdown. But Kona responded with two more Tan touchdown receptions in the third quarter — one from 22 yards and another from 28 yards out.
“We just had to execute. Shoutout to the offensive line for the blocks, and my senior wideout Austin Takaki, who taught me everything I know,” Tan told ScoringLive regarding his game-high 191-yard and three-touchdown performance.
Strobel connected with Romeo Tubon and Kyin Rivera-Galbraith for two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the Mules were too far behind to catch up. To close the evening, the Wildcats botched a snap during their field-goal attempt at the one-minute mark — leading senior defensive back Armenio Blanco to scoop the ball up and connect with senior lineman Elias Malapit for an 18-yard touchdown. Malapit also finished with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
“It what we’re taught to do,” Malapit told ScoringLive when asked about his unique touchdown reception. “When it’s a broken play, just get open.”
Defensively, Kona has been sound all season — allowing under eight points per game. While the Mules’ strong backfield averaged nearly 145 rushing yards per game in 2024, the Wildcats prioritized slowing down star rushers Cameron Keeve and Rivera-Galbraith. As a team, Leilehua rushed for just 55 yards.
“I think we did a great job stopping the run,” Uemoto said of the defense, which posted 11 tackles for loss. “They found some passes on us, but we executed the game-plan defensively, and forced them into things that they didn’t want to do. But they are well-coached and found some ways to score. At this point in the season, you’re playing great teams, so it’s all about continuing to execute better and clean up mistakes.”
Alani completed 20 of his 36 pass attempts for 359 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the young star’s first 300-yard-passing game since Sept. 27 against Hilo.
“He made some good decisions for this being his first state playoff game,” Uemoto said of Alani. “Now that he’s been through his sophomore season, we’re going to be expecting a lot more from him. He’s been growing week to week, so I expect him to be better (in the state championship).”
Takaki finished with six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Nishida had 53 receiving yards of his own. On the ground, Wildcats running back Hercules Nahale kept the Mules’ defense on its toes with his powerful rushes down the middle — finishing with 90 yards. The green and white posted 469 yards of net offense to the Mules’ 277.
Outside linebacker Funaki James-Fainga led Kona in sacks with two, followed by teammate Hiwa Satta-Ellis with 1.5.
Leilehua’s offense was led by Strobel, who tallied 222 passing yards and three touchdown throws. Tubon was the Mules’ only skill-position player to crack 100 yards of offense (104 receiving yards). Teammate Braden Liua finished with a game-high seven tackles.
Now with one game to go in the season, the Wildcats will seek redemption after falling to Waipahu in last year’s state title game.
