If Kahale Huddleston’s first half was average — by his lofty standards — for Hilo, his scintillating third quarter was anything but that.
If Kahale Huddleston’s first half was average — by his lofty standards — for Hilo, his scintillating third quarter was anything but that.
It was almost good enough for Huddleston to reach his even-loftier touchdown average.
The standout senior running back ran for three touchdowns in the third and 247 yards overall Saturday night to break open a tie game at halftime, and the Vikings broke away from Kealakehe 42-29 at Wong Stadium to secure home-field advantage in the BIIF Division I football championship game.
Quarterback Kaleo Apao, the other member of Hilo’s big-play backfield, also accounted for three touchdowns, and the four-time BIIF champion Vikings (6-1 BIIF, 7-1) forced the game’s only three turnovers.
“The game was basically starting all over again,” Hilo coach Kaeo Drummondo said of the outlook at halftime. “Nothing needed to be changed. Guys just needed to relax and focus on doing their jobs.”
Huddleston’s is simple: score touchdowns
When the teams reconvene at Wong with the title on the line Oct. 22, the Waveriders (4-3 BIIF, 4-6) will look to duplicate a first-half effort in which they largely kept Huddleston — who has five four-touchdown games to his credit — in check.
The third quarter was a different story, and Huddleston rolled up 195 yards on ground in the second half as Hilo began to wear down Kealakehe, which saw a four-game winning streak end.
“We just wanted to get this “W,”, said Huddleston, who has accounted for 30 touchdowns this season. “We been through this before and we wanted to keep pushing.”
Anthony “Head” Trevino subbed in at quarterback for the Waveriders and accounted for three touchdowns — two came after Hilo opened a 42-14 lead. The senior threw for 161 yards, including scoring strikes to Kalani Piltz and Koari’i Atkinson-Sioloa, and added 91 yards on the ground.
The teams combined to score touchdowns on three consecutive plays in the first quarter, with Bryton Lewi’s 91-yard kickoff return for Kealakehe sandwiched in between Apao’s 69 yard pass to Guyson Ogata and Apao’s 80-yard scamper.
Hilo was opportunistic in the second half, and it rode Huddleston.
“Huddleston is a handful,” Kealakehe coach Sam Kekuaokalani said. “We wanted to try and bottle him up a little bit, but he’s explosive.”
Elijah Apao’s long punt return set up Huddleston’s first touchdown, a 35-yard run, giving Hilo the lead for good. Kalen White’s fumble recovery led to Huddleston’s third score from 36 yards out — he had a 46-yard TD run in between — and Isaac Liu came up with the Vikings’ final turnover on an interception. Hilo capitalized when Apao plowed in from 2 yards out.
The first half was tight as Kealakehe’s defense was up to the challenge.
Hilo came up with the first turnover of the game when White intercepted Michael “Kekoa” Ilagan-LeBlanc, but after allowing a couple of first downs Kealakehe snuffed out the drive by stuffing Apao on fourth-and-1 and its 18.
Trevino came in the game at quarterback and Waveriders moved the ball for the first time on their fifth drive. The senior hit Piltz for 55 yards on third-and-long, and the two hooked up again on third down from Hilo’s 19, this time for a touchdown, sending the game to the half tied at 14.
Kealakehe 7 7 0 15 —29
Hilo 14 0 21 7 — 42
First quarter
Hilo — Guyson Ogata 69 pass from Kaleo Apao (Keanu Keolanui kick), 8:03 r
Kealakehe — Bryton Lewis 91 kickoff return (Anthony”Head” Trevino kick), 7:48
Hilo —Apao 80 run (Keolanui kick), 7:28
Second quarter
Kealakehe — Kalani Piltz 19 pass from Trevino (Trevino kick), :28
Third quarter
Hilo — Kahale Huddleston 35 run (Keolanui kick), 6:29
Hilo — Huddleston 46 run (Keolanui kick), 4:27
Hilo —Huddleston 36 run (Keolanui kick), 2:07
Fourth quarter
Hilo — Apao 3 run (Keolanui kick kick), 9:19
Kealakehe — Koari’i Atkinson-Sioloa 51 pass from Trevino (Trevino kick), 6:41
Kealakehe —Trevino 1 run (Jorden Himalaya pass from Trevino), 1:13