HILO – If you’re a Hilo fan, the first four-plus minutes of Saturday’s BIIF Division I semifinal exceeded your wildest expectations. Everything went right.
HILO – If you’re a Hilo fan, the first four-plus minutes of Saturday’s BIIF Division I semifinal exceeded your wildest expectations. Everything went right.
If you’re a Waiakea fan, everything that could go wrong did.
Most BIIF fans can agree on: There is one tasty, tempting and tantalizing league championship game on tap.
The Vikings waited an extra day to take the field at Wong Stadium, but they only waited a matter of minutes to blow open their game against the Warriors, cruising to 35-0 victory and advancing to the title game at Kealakehe next Saturday night.
“One of those where it’s never as good as it seems and it’s never as bad as it seems,” assistant coach Kalani Siliga said.
Junior quarterback Ka‘ale Tiogangco tossed four touchdown passes, including two to Kalei Tolentino-Perry, who returned from an injury to give the Vikings another playmaker and reclaim the place-kicking duties.
The two-time defending Division I champion Vikings (6-2, 6-4) and Waveriders (7-1, 8-3) will meet in the title game for the fourth consecutive season. Kealakehe easily dispatched Keaau in its semifinal.
“It’s always a battle,” Siliga said. “Kealakehe, ever since I can remember, they’ve always been tough mentally and physically.”
Hilo has won five of six, with the lone blemish during a span that has otherwise seen the Vikings outscore their foes 196-12 coming Oct. 2 in a 30-29 double-overtime loss to Kealakehe at Wong.
There was no drama Saturday night.
On Hilo’s third offensive play of the game, after David Pakele recovered a fumble, Tiogangco dropped in a pass to Josiah Factora along the right sideline for a 37-yard score to give Hilo a 21-0 lead less than 4:30 into the game.
Coach Kaeo Drummondo left shortly after the game – he probably could have departed midway through the first quarter – and Siliga had to be coaxed into speaking for the Vikings.
But who better to do the task on this night than the coach who coordinates Hilo’s special teams?
Fresh off the junior varsity season, Kore Ohumukini returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a score, and Dallas Mata’s blocked punt set up Tolentino-Perry’s first touchdown a little more than two minutes later.
“Kore has contributing a lot on the junior varsity, and we pulled a handful of JV players up who we thought could help us,” Siliga said.
Tiogangco finished 16 of 24 for 230 yards in guiding Hilo to its second 35-0 win against its rival.
While Waiakea quarterback Gehrig Octavio found some success in the intermediate passing game, hooking up with Hunter Rapoza, the Warriors amassed just 45 yards on the ground.
Octavio (8 of 19) threw for 118 yards and Rapoza hauled in four passes for Waiakea (2-6, 2-9).
“The boys played hard,” Siliga said. “We’ll see on film if the execution level is where we wanted it to be.”
The Vikings didn’t punt until the fourth quarter with the backups in, often making it look easy. On the final play of the first half from the Waiakea 38, Lukas Kuipers got behind the defense for a touchdown that seemed like it should have been more difficult.
It likely will be for Hilo next Saturday at Waverider Stadium.
Waiakea 0 0 0 0 —0
Hilo 21 7 7 0 — 0
First quarter
Hilo – Kore Ohumukini 80 kickoff return (Kalei Tolentino-Perry kick), 11:44
Hilo – Kalei Tolentino-Perry 5 pass from Ka‘ale Tiogangco (Tolentino-Perry kick), 9:30
Hilo – Josiah Factora 37 pass from Tiogangco (Tolentino-Perry kick), 7:38
Second quarter
Hilo – Lukas Kuipers 38 pass from Tiogangco (Tolentino-Perry kick), :00
Third quarter
Hilo – Tolentino-Perry 5 pass from Tiogangco (Tolentino-Perry kick), 6:54
Just tryrig to exet out game play as best as we could
One of thise it;s never as good as it seeems abnd its nevert as bad as it seems
spr
Lore has been jb, contgribnuyted alot to jV
we puled up a hadn we thought could cint
cojuld play by Dall
boys plays hard, will see on film if the sex level is where we weanted it to be
laways a btattle
def. exo, badic funaLD, BLCIOKG, TAKCL
it was nice to have him bacl., espe in the kikcing ham,e
=get our mind witrht
Kealakeh, sinve i cn e,e,ber they;e alway been tought metn and pysically.
looked likke the bohys did whet were sippoed