Hilo not only lost a three-touchdown lead, but its standout quarterback and fleet-footed wide receiver as well.
Players were dropping like flies Aug. 27 as Konawaena mounted a comeback at Wong Stadium, but it only seemed as if the world was caving in on the Vikings.
Hilo came back to win its BIIF regular-season opener, 23-21, and Thursday coach Kaeo Drummondo used three words to describe the prognosis for seniors Ka’ale Tiogangco and Lukas Kuipers: good to go.
“In the middle of that game, it looked like a bunch of bad injuries,” Drummondo said, “but for the most part it was smaller stuff. The week off allowed us to get healthy.”
The exception is sophomore defensive lineman Lono Vincent, who Drummondo said would be out for multiple months.
Otherwise, the hurricane threats, which postponed Hilo’s game against Kamehameha last Friday, were good news for the Vikings (1-0 BIIF, 1-1) on the injury front, especially at quarterback.
Dealing with a gimpy leg, Tiogangco returned to practice for the first time Wednesday and Drummondo expected him to be full go for Hilo’s game at Division I rival Kealakehe (0-1, 0-2), which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Waverider Stadium.
Kuipers, who reeled in a long touchdown catch from Tiogangco against the Wildcats before leaving with an apparent injury, has been dealing with cramps issues.
“He’s fine,” Drummondo said. “Just something we have to watch.”
Filling in for Tiogangco against Konawaena, freshman Cyan Miyasato started inauspiciously with a pick-six, but he’s already gained the coaching staff”s trust.
Hilo’s coaches would like to get Miyasoto more meaningful reps in back of Tiogangco, who provided a threat running and passing last season as he helped guide the Vikings to their third consecutive BIIF Division I title last year.
“We talked to Ka’ale about using Cyan situationally, and he’s open to it,” Drummondo said. “For us, we’re trying to move everybody around to put them in a good position.”
It wasn’t too long ago that Hilo measured itself in how it fared against Kealakehe – the talk back in 2013, for some, was about climbing Mount Kealakehe.
The Waveriders edged Hilo in double overtime last year in regular season, but the Vikings beat Kealakehe convincingly on the road in the title game.
The talk now is that Kealakehe is just another game.
“We’re trying to get the team to treat every opponent the same,” Drummondo said. “The players understand they have to be ready because Kealakehe is going to be ready to win the game.”
Hawaii Prep (0-1, 0-2) at Konawaena (0-1, 1-1), 7 p.m.
The timing may not be on Ka Makani’s side here.
The Wildcats are well-rested like the rest of the league and raring to atone for a loss in the opener.
Honokaa (1-0, 2-0) at Kamehameha (1-0, 3-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Warriors have gotten the best of the Dragons of late, but that was before coach Noeau Lindsey returned P.R.I.D.E. to the Honokaa sideline.
Lindsey received the kind of stifling performance he expected from his defense in a 12-7 victory against Kealakehe on Aug. 26.
Honokaa’s next task is to match up with Kamehameha sophomore quarterback Kaimi Like and his seemingly endless array of playmakers.
Keaau (1-0, 1-0) at Waiakea (0-1, 0-4), 1:30 p.m. Saturday
The Warriors probably had this game circled as a victory when the schedule came out, but the Cougars surprised Hawaii Prep in their opener, securing their first victory since 2013 in Leo Abellera’s first game in his second stint as coach.
Waiakea will rely heavily on senior quarterback Gehrig Octavio to make plays with his arms and his legs.
Dylan Waltjen and Chris Mamone helped Keaau’s defense to stand tall against HPA.
Kohala (0-0 at Pahoa (0-1), 11 a.m. Saturday
The Daggers showed signs of earning their first eight-man victory Aug. 27 against Ka’u, but big plays hurt the Daggers’ defense, which also was bitten by the injury bug.
The Cowboys beat Pahoa with ease three times in 2015 en route to the BIIF title, but Kohala will debut a slew of new players Saturday.
