One 36-point victory and some 340-plus yards on the ground later, Waiakea coach Moku Pita doesn’t see any reason to change things up again.
The Warriors are back to being run-heavy.
“We’re a smash-mouth team,” Pita said Thursday.
That philosophy represents a marked change from the preseason, when Pita talked of adopting the run-and-shoot under new offensive coordinator Kai Ako with Gehrig Octavio at the controls.
Makoa Andres spurred the turnabout. The senior running back returned to the lineup last Saturday and Waiakea suddenly began relying on the run, stomping Keaau 42-6 as both Andres and Octavio each surpassed 100 yards on the ground in the Warriors’ first win.
The move to smash-mouth makes sense.
When Waiakea (1-1 BIIF Division I, 1-4) put an emphasis on Octavio to be the team’s primary offensive threat, he was often left running for his life trying to make a play.
“Now we have a three-headed monster,” said Pita, envisioning a backfield of Octavio at quarterback with Andres and senior Austin Deperalta as split backs.
Deperalta also averaged more than five yards a carry against the Cougars.
Of course, beating the rebuilding Cougars is nothing compared to Waiakea’s next task. The Warriors travel to Kealakekua to face defending BIIF Division II Konawaena (1-1 Division II, 2-1) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Warriors would love to have their offense be their best defense by eating up the clock against Konawaena’s undersized defensive front to keep Wildcats’ junior quarterback Austin Ewing off the field.
If there was any doubt Ewing was going to be an instant difference-maker during his career, it was lifted in his first BIIF start last September when he led Konawaena to a 51-17 victory against Waiakea at Wong Stadium.
One of the traits that impressed Pita the most of about Ewing was his elusiveness
“He’s a hard player to sack because he can move around back there,” Pita said. “We’ll sit back in a zone and hope our linebackers can drop back and make plays.”
Week 3 of the BIIF season doesn’t offer a game between teams with a winning record.
In fact, one of the more intriguing contests matches winless Kealakehe (0-2, 0-3) against unbeaten Kamehameha (2-0 BIIF D-II, 4-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Keaau.
Coach Dan Lyons was the first Kamehameha coach to beat Kealakehe (2013), and last season marked his first loss to the Waveriders, who rallied from a 20-0 first-quarter deficit.
“Adversity doesn’t seem to affect them,” Lyons said. “They go out and they play hard until the final whistle.”
Lyons estimates that he spends roughly a quarter of practice time focused on the opponent. None of his players were in the BIIF when the Waveriders were the island powerhouse – their last title came in 2012 – but on film the coach sees vintage toughness from Kealakehe up front on both sides of the ball.
“A D-I team, so they’re a bigger school,” Lyons said. ‘They tend to have some bigger athletes.
“We’re certainly not going to overlook them. We can’t overlook anybody.”
With quarterback Anthony “Head” Trevino accounting for three touchdowns, the Waveriders were a different team last week in a 28-25 loss to Hilo. Trevino didn’t play in a 12-7 loss to Honokaa in Week 1.
Kamehameha also had trouble with Honokaa’s offense at times last week, but the defense carried the way in a 43-21 victory, producing two scores and collecting 10 turnovers.
Lighting has been frequent in East Hawaii the past two days, and if it persists Kamehameha has detectors to monitor lighting Friday night and a “flash to bang” count will be kept.
Under BIIF criteria, a postponement of at least 30 minutes will occur when lightning is detected at least 10 miles away or if the “flash to bang” count reaches 50 seconds or fewer.
The Warriors practice Thursday was canceled by inclement weather.
“We’ll be well-rested,” Lyons said.
Elsewhere in Week 3:
Keaau (1-1, 1-1) at Honokaa (1-1, 2-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Dragons’ defense has been on point in its last two games, frustrating Kealakehe and Kamehameha. Honokaa’s offense was anything but on point last week, and quarterback Ocean Guerpo-Beamer will try to get the unit back on track after Honokaa failed to reach 100 yards against the Warriors and lost seven fumbles.
The Cougars’ best chance at victory figures to be winning a low-scoring game. Keaau’s defense was up to the task in Week 1 against Hawaii Prep, fueling an 18-8 win, but not so against Waiakea.
Hawaii Prep (0-2, 0-3) at Hilo (2-0, 2-1), 6 p.m. Saturday at Wong
Ka Makani hasn’t had much to hang their hats on this season. After watching Keaau walk away with its first win since 2013, HPA got blown out at Konawaena 62-6.
The Vikings may not have put together a complete game yet, but they’ve done enough to get two wins, beating Konawaena (23-21) and Kealakehe. Quarterback Ka’ale Tiogangco and Kalei Tolentino-Perry connected for three touchdowns against the Waveriders, receiver Lukas Kuipers returned to the lineup and Kahale Huddleston continues to emerge at running back.
Eight-man: Pahoa (0-2) at Ka’u (1-0), 1 p.m.
The first job for the Daggers defensively is to find Kainalu Medeiros-Dancel and put a helmet on him.
The Trojans appeared to be content simply to hand the ball off Week 1 at Pahoa, but Medeiros-Dancel broke loose for a long touchdown catch and added a kickoff return for a score in a 26-18 victory.
Quarterback Jacob Flores ran 21 times in that game and is hopeful to give his arm more of a workout this time around.
Winless since 2014, if it all finally clicks for the Daggers, running back Kaniala Harris figures to be central to their plans.
