WAIMEA — On the drive from Kona to Waimea on Highway 190, bright green grass has started to sprout at an astounding rate, filling in the dark holes left by last month’s large brush fire.
The growth could be a metaphor of sorts for the Hawaii Preparatory Academy football team, which has more than doubled in size since its first preseason game thanks to a bevy of eager — but green — talent.
First-year head coach Albert Cummings expects to have 44 Ka Makani players suited up for Saturday’s home opener against Waiakea. That’s a far cry from last season, when Ka Makani had to forfeit its final game of the season due to lack of numbers, and even just a few weeks ago, when Hawaii Prep held off King Kekaulike 20-19 with 21 players for its first home victory since 2015.
“Not bad, right?” Cummings said with a laugh. “That was the first goal, to bring the fire and interest back to the program. We have guys coming out of left field that want to play. It’s a little crazy and in some ways a double-edged sword. We have a lot of guys that have never played ball before and overall we are a young team. But these guys have plenty of heart. A lot of this is new and we are just looking to get things rolling.”
The growth of the roster and the increase in excitement around the program has Cummings happy, but far from satisfied after opening the season with a 32-0 loss to defending Division I state champion, Hilo. It was closer than most expected, except Cummings, who scoffs at the idea of it being a moral victory.
“We hung in there. Our guys got to see how they matchup and nobody else got that privilege against the defending D-I champs in Week 1,” Cummings said. “We have to take it for what it’s worth.”
Hawaii Prep showed some good things against the Viks. The defense picked off four Hilo passes and made the Vikings grind for every yard. But the offense had their own problems with turnovers, and a couple mistakes on defense translated into points for Hilo — most notably a pair of 58-yard touchdown passes that busted the game open.
“A football game is usually won by the team that makes the least amount of mistakes. Against Hilo, that wasn’t us,” Cummings said. “Overall, it was a good experience and now we know what we have to work on.”
Waiakea is celebrating a little resurgence of its own, having busted an eight-game BIIF losing streak that extended back to 2016 last weekend with a 21-19 victory over Honokaa.
And the Warriors will be hungry for a bit of revenge. Last year, Ka Makani’s only league win came against Waiakea, 14-13.
Despite that, the majority of faces on both sidelines are new, including the head coaches in Cummings and Neil Azevedo for Waiakea. With the opportunity to see another D-I opponent, Cummings said Ka Makani are just focused on continuing the upward trajectory.
“The season is still young, so we are still trying to clean things up heading toward where we want to be when we start seeing the other D-II teams,” he said. “ I know we bring a lot to the table and these guys are hungry. Change is what they wanted to see and they are pushing hard for it.”
The afternoon kickoff between Hawaii Prep and Waiakea is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Hilo at Honokaa, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Coaches Kaeo Drummondo at Hilo and Noeau Lindsey at Honokaa enter their Week 2 matchup looking for their teams to make the necessary tweaks and improvements.
The five-time defending champion Vikings (1-1, 1-0 BIIF Division I) were never threatened in beating Hawaii Prep 32-0 last Friday, but four interceptions left work ahead for Hilo and its base offense.
“The most important thing we need right now is continuity in our units to work together for multiple weeks in a row,” Drummondo said. “Right now, that’s an issue for us. We are rotating various players in and out of the rotation on a weekly basis for a number of different reasons.
“It’s something that we’ll have to get fixed and just work through until it’s fixed.”
The Dragons (1-1, 0-1 Division II), meanwhile, are coming off a stinging 21-19 loss at Waiakea in which they blew a pair of two-score leads, came away with just 94 yards on the ground and committed four turnovers.
Despite all the mistakes, quarterback Malu Kanekoa made enough plays to give Honokaa a chance.
“We definitely do not want to be one dimensional,” Lindsey said. “Malu is a really good QB, super level-headed and more than capable of making good plays. We also have an outstanding receiver group. We need to establish the run but we also need our quarterback and receivers to make those plays that will help to even out our offensive attack.”
Kealakehe at Kamehameha, 7:30 p.m. Friday
This could well be the game of the week, though if it rains some may remember that a fumble-fest ensued in 2016 that last time the teams met at Paiea Stadium – 3-0 Waveriders victory.
Kealakehe (1-1, 0-0) heads into its league opener as somewhat of a mystery after traveling to Utah last week and losing 42-0 to Desert Hills.
The teams scrimmaged in August, with Kamehameha coach Dan Lyon coming away happy with the way his playmakers moved the ball. The Warriors (1-0 Division II) were a 21-14 winner at Keaau in Week 1.