KAILUA-KONA — Standing on the same field where its season had ended the previous three years, a feeling of thankfulness was the vibe around Kamehameha locker room on Saturday night.
On the track at Julian Yates Field, head coach Dan Lyons delivered hugs — not handshakes — to his players following a 27-22 victory over Konawaena in the BIIF Division II championship, thanking them for their commitment and passion for the game.
“Even more than winning the title, I’m happy I get to spend a few more weeks these guys,” Lyons said. “That’s what it’s about for me. I love these guys.”
The feeling is mutual.
“All the hard work, it paid off,” defensive back Izayah Chartrand-Penera said, who had four interceptions in the game. “We are thankful for the coaches, thankful to be a part of this team. We were here for each other all year and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with any another group.”
It was the last chance for the senior class to claim BIIF gold, which made for a lively celebration. However, the festivities were put on hold for a bit, with the Warriors needing to complete their postgame sprints.
After all, the season is not over yet and the team’s bevy of two-way stars need to keep their conditioning up.
“We’ve been here and lost. It makes me appreciate every minute I have with my teammates and coaches,” said senior two-way standout Kalama Anahu. “This is something we have been working toward our whole careers here.”
The Warriors made plays and showed resilience down the stretch to knock off the three-time defending champion Wildcats, who were seeking a seventh title in eight years.
Kamehameha forced nine turnovers — six interceptions, three fumble recoveries — and Kaimi Like passed for 291 yards and four touchdowns to lead the way to victory.
The Warriors had a few opportunities to put Konawaena away late, but the Wildcats kept clawing back into the picture. First it was a fourth quarter pick-six touchdown that brought Konawaena back from the dead; then the Warriors had a dagger 80-yard touchdown strike called back by a holding call.
For a second it felt like déjà vu of being so close. It stirred up memories of 2016, when Kamehameha was one yard away from a BIIF title but instead tossed an interception in the end zone with less than five seconds on the clock.
But this time, the Warriors authored a new ending to the story. After the long TD was waived off, the team refocused and Like connected with Anahu for what would end up being the winning score.
“We seem to make it so tough on ourselves,” Lyons said. “But to come back and march down the field there is huge.”
Anahu said the Warriors never stop believing.
“That sucked,” Anahu said of the called back TD. “I was bummed but I knew I couldn’t bring any negative energy. I just wanted to keep making plays. We kept our heads and did it.”
Kamehameha has a week off before hosting OIA runner-up Kaimuki in the HHSAA Division II state tournament on Nov. 10. The winner moves on the state semifinals against Kapaa, which received a bye in the six-team tourney.
The last time Kamehameha was in the state tournament, it knocked off Nanakuli 42-20. That victory was historic, and just the third for the BIIF at states. Previously, Hawaii Prep had been the only Big Island squad to record victories on the state stage, winning games in 2004 and 2009.
But now, the Warriors have a hard act to follow, with Konawaena making a run to the state championship last year before falling to Lahainaluna in seven overtimes and Hilo winning the D-I title.
Pressure? No way. This edition of the Warriors is just hungry to make their own bit of history.
“That’s hype,” Chartrand-Penera said. “That’s what we have been working for. Those teams showed everyone last year that the Big Island can play.”
What added a little extra to the victory for Lyons goes back to the final week of the season, when Kamehameha forfeited its game against Hilo, nullifying a home field advantage for the title game it earned with its regular season victory over the Wildcats.
Despite the consequences, Lyons stood by his decision to protect his players from what he saw as unnecessary contact in a game that had no bearing on the postseason.
“I’m happy on making a stance on player safety and having a team around me that supports that decision,” Lyons said. “And then to win on top of that feels good. I would have felt we made the right decision — win or lose. But it is nice to win.”
Konawaena didn’t give up its crown without a fight, but sees its season end in October for the first time in four years under head coach Brad Uemoto.
“When you have that many turnovers, it’s only a matter of time before the defense gets tired,” Uemoto said. “Kamehameha wanted it, so all credit to them. They made plays.”
Konawaena got the ball back with just over a minute left with a chance to drive down the field for the winning score. However, a controversy surrounding the number of timeouts the Wildcats had left delayed the drama.
Uemoto is adamant he had one left, which would have stopped the clock with around three minutes left. That was not the opinion of the officials.
On top of that, it appeared that the Wildcats lost a large chunk of time while the decision was being made.
“I don’t like to complain about officiating, but I get upset when it’s a technical error like that and not something like a judgment call. I know I didn’t call three timeouts and nobody could tell me the three times that I did,” Uemoto said. “But I’m not going to sit here and blame that sequence. We still had an opportunity to go 60 yards to win the game at the end and there were a ton of opportunities we did not capitalize on during the game to keep us out of that position in the first place.”
As they did when they lost to the Warriors in 2014, Uemoto expects his Wildcats to bounce back in a big way next year.
“This is what it felt like to lose and that has to be our motivation,” Uemoto said. “We have to work hard — a lot harder than we did this year. It’s on us as coaches to get these kids ready.”
