BIIF football preview: Next step for Pahoa is an eight-man title

Chris Midel began the restoration project from scratch in 2014, and looking back the early returns were predictable.

When the Daggers weren’t teetering one way, they were tottering the other way, unable to find their footing during their first two seasons in BIIF eight-man football.

Pahoa still finished behind Ka’u and Kohala last season, but the Daggers made it clear they were catching up, beating both teams for the program’s first wins since the school cut football after the 2001 season.

Midel’s intentions always were to get the program off the ground and running smoothly – and he gets checkmarks on both accounts.

The infrastructure is in place, so how about a result that would have been unpredictable just a short time ago?

Quarterback Josiah Waiolama can see it.

“We should want to win the BIIF championship,” he said. “That should be the goal.”

Off the field, the reinforcements have arrived. Athletic director Hoku Haliniak is more entrenched in her second season at the school, giving the program a CEO and allowing Midel to focus his time elsewhere.

One of Haliniak’a first orders of business this season was to move all of Pahoa’s home games to Keaau High.

“She’s a big help,” Midel said. “She’s the boss.”

First-year assistant coaches Robert Clifford and Wallace Aweau already have made an impact, motivating players to keep their grades to retain eligibility, which in turn allowed Pahoa to play its first preseason game since taking up eight-man.

“They give us discipline and direction,” senior Keala Harris said.

That the Daggers are far ahead of where they usually are at this point in the season was evident Aug. 12 when they visited Molokai, falling behind only to come back to win 34-27 in what was an eye-opening experience for many of the players.

“We just wanted to get there and challenge them, and we ended up winning,” Midel said. “It was a good trip for the team, because Molokai is a lot different than here. They don’t even have 7-Eleven’s or street lights in some places.”

Harris will give the Daggers plenty of direction himself. He broke through for 289 yards and three touchdowns in the win against the Farmers, inheriting the workhorse running back role as well as the No. 6 of his brother, Kaniala Harris.

Waiolama enters his first year as quarterback. A former lineman, the junior has good size and hopes to blend the attributes of Pahoa’s past two quarterbacks – Lava Benn was a more passer, while Justin Castro looked to pick up yards on the ground – as a duel threat.

“The coaches like me because of my passing,” Waiolama said. “You can already see benefits of the trip to Molokai on the field.”

Ryan Silva-Oliveira and Matthew Ortega also will get carries in the offense, while Duane Correa, William Velez and Paris Hayes-Kia are among the top pass-catching targets.

Pahoa opens its season Saturday against a Ka’u team that is sure to present a physical challenge.

‘They are big,” Midel said.

So is freshman Kumukoa Adolpho. Midel estimated Adolpho at 6 foot, 1 inches and north of 325 pounds, making him perhaps the biggest player on Pahoa’s roster the past four seasons.

He’ll play on both sides of the line. Jack McCormick and Roscoe Board-Melander are options on the offensive line.

Sealing the edge defensively was a problem last season as well as in the Molokai win.

“We have to stay with our (assignment) and not let opponents get the edge,” Midel said. “Teams go right around us sometimes.”

At the same time, the Daggers don’t want to be soft in the middle.

It’s a double-edged sword, but returning starters Matthew Meyer and Logan Anderson can help on both accounts. Anderson will play defensive tackle, while Meyer will be at linebacker alongside Gabriel Martin and Gary Orr.

Kalapana Archuleta will play defensive end, while Christian Omalza returns to help out in the defensive backfield.

“We could use Keala back there, too, but we’d like to rest him when we can,” Midel said.