Kamehameha senior quarterback Micah Kanehailua doesn’t need to take a pre-snap read to know how Konawaena will attack once the football is hiked into his hands because the two teams are familiar foes. ADVERTISING Kamehameha senior quarterback Micah Kanehailua doesn’t
Kamehameha senior quarterback Micah Kanehailua doesn’t need to take a pre-snap read to know how Konawaena will attack once the football is hiked into his hands because the two teams are familiar foes.
The Wildcats will play press coverage, forcing the four Warrior receivers to win a battle at the line of scrimmage to get open. The key for Kanehailua is if he has enough time to sit in a clean pocket, and make his progression reads.
That’s one interesting sidebar in the latest chapter in what’s become the best rivalry in the league, and another dogfight for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II championship between Kamehameha (6-2) and Kona (6-2).
On Friday at 7 p.m. at Paiea stadium, the two rivals will square of the third time in four years for the league’s lone berth to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state championships.
The Wildcats have won the last three BIIF titles, so they obviously hold an edge in big-game production.
Last week, Kamehameha steam-rolled Honokaa 48-7 in a BIIF semifinal not with an aerial attack, but with a punishing ground game. The Warriors didn’t do anything Iggy Azalea fancy. They blocked defenders backward, and ball-carriers piled up 262 yards, including four touchdowns.
In the other BIIF semifinal, Kona evaporated Hawaii Prep 49-14 behind play-maker Bubba Ellis-Noa’s dynamic all-around work. He rushed for two touchdowns (5 and 6 yards), had a 67-yard pick-six and caught an 11-yard scoring strike.
The senior Wildcat also threw a two-point conversion, so he’s a dangerous multi-purpose weapon. No doubt, the Warriors will put a spotlight on him. Kona will have a bull’s-eye on Kamehameha’s spread operation, but a changeup could be a swing factor.
The spread offense’s philosophy isn’t necessarily to throw the ball all over the field, but more so to open up running lanes. That’s the basic principle behind Kamehameha’s attack: run the ball to get favorable down-and-distance scenarios that expand the playbook.
And all of the Warrior running plays are read-option, which means it’s always Kanehailua’s call whether to hand the ball off, keep it or throw it to a teammate down the field all by himself. In fact, he may be the only QB in the state with the authority to run his own show.
“He basically runs practice,” Kamehameha coach Dan Lyons said. “We give him a play sheet what formations we want to run at practice. He’s always prepared and knows what he wants to do against an opponent in the upcoming game.
“On every play he has five choices. What looks very simple from the stands is complex and he does a great job.”
Lyons has been the offensive coordinator the last two years. From the pressbox, he signals down the play call (run or pass). The coach is like a catcher, suggesting a play; Kanehailua is the ace pitcher, deciding whether to check out of a play or run it.
The term Game Manager doesn’t fit Kanehailua’s job description. A better one is Field General. He’s essentially been getting Grade A training for college, where he’ll be doing a lot of the same stuff next fall instead of being on the ground floor like other recruits.
One key to the offense’s fluidity has been the midseason emergence of junior Kaeo Batacan, who hopped around Honokaa tackles for 130 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. Maybe being a 5-foot-5, 140-pound running back has its positives because he’s tough to see over the line of scrimmage.
Kanehailua’s ball-fakes to Batacan, who sells it like an Oscar actor, are nearly flawless, much like an ace pitcher’s changeup. With the same arm speed, a hitter can’t tell if it’s a fastball or offspeed pitch until it’s too late. Likewise, a defense doesn’t know if the Warriors are running or passing, which holds the linebackers and that creates running lanes.
The best examples are Kanehailua’s two bootleg touchdown runs against the Dragons in the first and fourth quarters.
Both went to the left and he scored from 11 and 4 yards out with little resistance.
Honokaa swallowed the ball-fake hook hard, leveraged to the right, and the senior QB went the other way.
If Kona gives the Warrior receivers a cushion, Kanehailua and his stable of fast friends (seniors Alapaki Iaea, Caleb Baptiste, Grant Shiroma, and James Sloan, and juniors Kainalu Whitney and Bayley Manliguis) can quickly turn a short pass into a long gain.
The best example was Shiroma’s 47-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. The tough-nosed senior reeled in a short pass, then Manliguis applied a clean-out block, and Shiroma had a nice jaunt to the end zone. No block and it’s a 1-yard gain.
While Kanehailua liked the fact that all his receivers find someone to block once a ball is fired, what he appreciates most is the team chemistry.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m throwing balls to Paki or Bayley. We all work together, to block for one another, to get into the end zone, and that’s where we all celebrate together,” Kanehailua said. “That’s what I like about this team. It’s not about one person. We work as a team.”
Division I
Kealakehe (4-4) at Hilo (8-0), 7 p.m. Friday at Wong Stadium
To cut through the clutter of pregame hooey, the Big Tuna once said it best: “You are what your record says you are.”
Those were immortal words from former NFL coach Bill Parcells, who knows what a championship season smells like, as well as a stinker, too.
In the BIIF semifinals, the Waveriders defeated Waiakea 39-25 while the Vikings disassembled youthful Keaau 68-7.
It’s the third year in a row Hilo and Kealakehe will meet for the BIIF championship.
It’s on a big-game stage where Viking linebacker Ofa Fahiua has a knack for making monster plays.
In last season’s BIIF title game, a 21-10 win over the ‘Riders at Wong stadium, Fahiua had two interceptions, including a 30-yard pick-six, a fumble recovery, sack and a half-dozen tackles.
In the regular season, Fahiua had a 10-yard fumble recovery for the game’s only score that pushed Hilo over Kealakehe 7-0 at Waverider stadium.
The best thing about the league’s title games is that BIIF championships are permanent and records, even those barely above a .500 mark, are soon forgotten.
