The Hilo Vikings, especially the 24 seniors, know the drill by now.
They gathered en masse for optional summer conditioning, weeding out those who didn’t have the will to prepare.
Once practice did start, the Vikings worked as hard each session as the rules allow, squeezing out every ounce of daylight before calling it quits.
“When we run out of sun, we call it a day,” coach Kaeo Drummondo said.
And so dawns a new day for the four-time defending Division I BIIF champion. That title might have a nice ring to it, but senior linebacker Rylen Kaniaupio freely admits “that’s not really an accomplishment any more.”
“I think what we really want is states,” he said.
Step right up, Hilo, which is boosted by the possible return of all-league quarterback Ka‘ale Tiogangco.
The top-seeded Vikings (8-1) once again will try to earn a breakthrough victory in the revamped HHSAA Division I quarterfinals when they welcome Leilehua (4-7) of the OIA at 7 p.m. Friday at Keaau High School. Hilo is winless in five tries at the Division I tournament and BIIF teams are 0-17 all-time.
“One thing I’ve learned through all these years is that you have to be devoted to the sport,” Kaniaupio said. “We spent all this time since the summer, grinding it out for this moment. When it’s here, you can’t take it for granted.”
Kaniaupio saw the field as a freshman on special teams in 2013 when Hilo lost to Campbell at states the last time a first-round game was at Keaau. Other seniors, such as wide receiver and special teams extraordinaire Kalei Tolentino-Perry, joined him and took on more prominent roles at states the past two seasons at Aloha Stadium. Hilo lost a gritty battle to Kahuku two seasons ago and was blown out by Mililani last season.
“When you have this chance, you have to play your hardest,” Tolentino-Perry said. “We need to be able to look at each other and tell each other we’re not going down without a fight.”
Hilo figures to be an inspired bunch against the Mules after a week of practice that’s included a major morale boost, and also heartbreaking news.
Tiogangco returned to practice Wednesday after missing five games, save for quarter, with an injury to his nonthrowing shoulder, and while Drummondo said he was “available,” freshman quarterback Kyan Miyasato is slated to get the start under center.
“It’s a matter of how much we use Ka‘ale,” Drummondo said. “We’re not totally sure yet.”
Boosted by stout defense and special teams and an improved running game, Miyasato has shown steady improvement each week as Hilo rattled off five easy victories by a combined score of 191-23 in winning eight in a row.
“It’s a blessing,” Kaniaupio said of Tiogangco’s return. “Kyan has been doing really well. Now that Ka‘ale is back, there is more motivation, there is more strive after you see how much Ka‘ale wanted to come back and wanted to play.”
This year’s eight-team D-I field is diluted with the advent of the Open Division, but don’t be fooled by Leilehua’s losing record. Hilo expects its toughest test since a 49-7 preseason loss to Saint Louis of the ILH in August.
Leilehua has faced a far more competitive schedule, with five of its losses coming to teams in the Open Division field. The other two defeats were to Mililani, which is in the D-I tourney.
Leilehua and Hilo both have losses to the Crusaders, the second seed in the Open Division, and the Vikings faced ILH powerhouses Punahou and Kamehameha-Kapalama in the 2015 preseason, in part to prepare themselves for games like Friday night.
“Leilehua will definitely be battle-tested and used to the physicality and the execution that it takes to win these games,” Drummondo said. “We can’t use that as an excuse. We just have to play.”
Both teams had two weeks to prepare.
In practice, Hilo had its first-team offense bump heads with its first-team defense to try to ratchet up the intensity level.
“Hopefully, our No. 1s are good enough to get us ready for what we expect,” Drummondo said. “When you’re dealing with these good program teams, you’re dealing with a different depth of talent.
“You have to limit the big plays. It’s a lot of good athletes and you have to tackle in space, that’s what it comes down to.”
Konapiliahi Andres has taken the bulk of the snaps for Leilehua this season and has thrown for more than 2,000 yards, according to stats kept by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Kaleoaloha Piceno offers more of a running threat at quarterback, and the Mules feature four receivers who have made at least 20 catches.
If there’s an X factor for Hilo, it could be the dynamic Tolentino-Perry, who can have myriad affects on a game. Tolentino-Perry is a threat when he lines up at receiver, he can flip the field as a punt returner or punter, and his range as a place-kicker has expanded since he booted a game-winning 29-yard field goal against Konawaena during Week 1 of the BIIF season.
The coaches also have told him he might play defensive back in some situations against a Leilehua team that likes to use the deep ball to threaten opposing defenses.
“Especially this game, I think there is a lot more pressure,” he said. “I would say a lot more than that game-winning kick against Konawaena.
“I have so many responsibilities, but it’s totally fine.”
He, like his 23 fellow seniors, know the drill by now.
“Everybody should be in the same mindset, which is to win states, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to do that. If not, they should go home already.”
Heavy hearts
Former Viking Skyler Ogata died early this week after battling epithelioid sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer.
As it has all season, Hilo’s helmets will have a No. 26 decal to honor Ogata, who played for Hilo last season and graduated from Lanakila Learning Center earlier this year.
Kaniaupio said Ogata has been an inspiration for Hilo all season, and even more so Friday night.
“It makes you wake up and not take anything for granted,” he said. “It puts more of a flame in us.”
Kaniaupio said Ogata tried to keep in constant contact with the team this season, even as he lay on a hospital bed on Oahu.
“We were telling him if he doesn’t stop fighting, we won’t stop fighting,” Kaniaupio said softly. “Now that his fight is over, we’re still going to fight for him and the type of person he was.”
