Kohala defensive coordinator Chad Atkins had a bad feeling about this one, and Ka’u’s Buddy Flores and John Kalahiki made his worst fears come true.
Kohala defensive coordinator Chad Atkins had a bad feeling about this one, and Ka’u’s Buddy Flores and John Kalahiki made his worst fears come true.
Flores’ touchdown pass to Kalahiki on fourth-and-12 late in the fourth quarter Saturday capped a comeback for the Trojans, who surprised the Cowboys 24-20 in a BIIF eight-man football game in Kapaau.
“Great play by the QB,” Atkins said. “(Buddy) put the ball in the only place he could catch it.”
The result was somewhat of a surprise considering defending champion Kohala (1-1) convincingly won its opener in physical fashion at Pahoa, which turned around and beat Ka’u (2-1) last week.
But Atkins wasn’t surprised by the outcome after watching his team practice poorly all week.
“I called them out. I told them, ‘Watch, you’re going to go out there and lose with the way you’re practicing,” Atkins said. “I think we took them for granted because they lost to Pahoa.”
Now the Trojans find themselves in first place as parity finally appears to have arrived in BIIF eight-man. Ka’u dominated in 2014, the debut of the three-team league, and the Cowboys were untouchable last year.
Zachary Kai started the Trojans’ fourth-quarter rally with a touchdown run as momentum started to change in Ka’u’s way. According to the Trojans’ statistics, Kai ran for 161 yards and Kalahiki added 95 more, including a first-quarter touchdown.
Tolentino said Cowboys suffered a series of miscues in the second half, including key mishaps that stalled a drive early in the third quarter with Kohala looking to add to a halftime lead.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” he said.
Peyton Oda ran for two scores for Kohala and Maui Hook threw a touchdown pass to Owen Kaawa-Culp, all in the second quarter.
The teams will meet again two more times this season, but first the Cowboys host Pahoa next Saturday.
From the sounds of it, Kohala’s players can probably expect a tough week of practice.
“I got some kids I call the vacation boys,” Tolentino said. “I ask them why they like to take days off.”