KEALAKEKUA — It wasn’t the start Konawaena had imagined on homecoming night, but the Wildcats won’t argue with the finish.
Behind a big second quarter and a stingy defensive effort, Konawaena celebrated its homecoming by rolling past Waiakea 41-7 at Julian Yates Field on Friday night.
Konawaena freshman quarterback Sheynen Nahale passed for 277 yards and a trio of touchdowns against the Warriors to lead the way through the air. However, he also tossed three of interceptions — one that was returned 100 yards for Waiakea’s only score of the game.
Nahale spread the ball around, with six Wildcats recording a catch. His favorite target was Jesse Canda, who caught eight balls for 112 yards. Marc Basa had a pair of touchdown grabs and totaled 68 yards receiving.
The story of the game for the Wildcats was defense. Despite having a handful of chances in Konawaena territory, the Waiakea offense failed to produce points. Boaz Ayers, Kalai Santiago and Noah Bredeson had interceptions for the Wildcats. Bredeson notched his second pick of the game late in the fourth quarter, returning it for a score. Ayers added a game-shifting punt return early in the second quarter.
Fans of the passing game came away satisfied from the contest. The teams combined for 82 passes (Konawaena 42, Waiakea 40), completing less than 50 percent of those throws.
After a rare scoreless first quarter, Basa put Konawaena on the board with a 27-yard catch from Nahale. Just a few minutes later, Ayers — the homecoming king — returned a punt 50 yards to make it 14-0 in favor of the Wildcats.
Konawaena had a chance to go up 21-0 midway through the second, but Samura jumped in front of a pass on the goal line and returned it the length of the field to give the Warriors life, making it 14-7.
It didn’t take long for Konawaena to respond. Nahale completed three passes for a combined 58 yards to lead the scoring drive, which concluded with an Orion Smith run from six yards out. The Wildcats entered the break with a 21-7 edge.
Konawaena’s offense looked like a well-oiled machine in its first drive out of the half, with Wehrsig tapping his toes in the back of the end zone for a score. Two-way lineman Tevin Canda lined up at QB for the trick two-point conversion, finding Boaz Ayers in the back of the end zone.
The efficiency, however, would not become a theme. It wasn’t until late in the game that Konawaena was able to put Waiakea away. Nahale connected with Basa for their second TD connection of the night, and Bredeson strolled into the end zone with just over a minute left on his pick-six to deliver the final dagger.
Konawaena 0 21 8 12 — 41
Waiakea 0 7 0 0 — 7
Second quarter
KONA — Marc Basa 27 pass from Sheynen Nahale (Harry Hill kick)
KONA — Boaz Ayers 50 punt return (Hill kick)
WAIKEA — Isaac Sumera 100 interception return (Kaikeao Kane-Kalua kick good) 3:24
KONA — Orion Smith 6 run (Hill kick)
Third quarter
KONA — Hunter Wehrsig 18 pass from Nahale (Tevin Canda 2-pt pass to Boaz Ayers)
Fourth quarter
KONA — Basa 27 pass from Nahale (Kalai Santiago kick failed)
KONA — Noah Bredeson 48 interception return