For Waiakea, it’s a litmus test, a survival test and a playoff readiness test all rolled into one.
For first-year Warriors coach Neil Azevedo, the keys to victory resemble that of any other game, though this one allows him a chance to put his own special imprint on Hilo town’s rivalry.
“Just need to have fun and play hard each and every time we go out there,” Azevedo said. “Whenever it is game week against Hilo, the intensity goes up in practice.”
Waiakea’s home, Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium, has doubled as a fun house this season, but Saturday night the scene shifts to the Warriors’ former home, Wong Stadium, a place they haven’t enjoyed much success lately. The resurgent Warriors (3-1 BIIF Division I football) and dynastic Vikings (3-0) kick off at 7:30 p.m. as Hilo celebrates homecoming.
Hilo coach Kaeo Drummundo came to the Vikings as an assistant in 2012 under former coach David Baldwin, and they promptly swept Waiakea in all three meetings that season at Wong. The Viks haven’t lost to their rival since, on any field.
Drummondo, however, isn’t the only coach to take notice of Waiakea’s improvement this year after a winless 2017 campaign.
“On film, Waiakea looks to have size and athleticism, things you have to account for by being fundamentally sound in alignment, assignment and tackling,” he said. “I think since summer seven-on-sevens you could tell that Waiakea had talent and that they’d be a competitive team.
“They’ll come out excited for this game, much like last week we need to match the excitement and energy.”
Last week, Hilo accomplished all of the above at Kealakehe, forcing five 5 turnovers, two for touchdowns in a 45-23 victory, along with an offense that would make any fantasy football owner happy: quarterback Kyan Miyasato accouned for 4TDs, Kalae Akui and Fiki Aguiar surpassed 100 yards receiving, as did Kaleo Ramos on the ground.
“Defensively, we are still really a work-in-progess,” Drummondo said. “I understand that some big plays were made last week but we still had way too many issues with alignment, consistency with communication and assignments as well. So I’d really like to see a lot of that stuff start to get cleaned up as we progress through our schedule.
“I’m not really sure how far we are from our offensive ceiling, I’d like to hope that we are just at the tip of the iceberg of what the offense can be.”
This week, five-time defending Division I champion Hilo faces another challenger.
“Very disciplined team. Well-coached, and they execute their plays well,” Azevedo said.
In theory, Waiakea is playing with house money.
The Warriors can make a huge statement and move into first place with a breakthrough win Saturday night. But if not, they still have a meeting with the Waveriders next week that would go a long way to determining the playoff race.