KEAAU – Football coaches have been known to give their teams all of 10 to 15 minutes to celebrate a big victory before the focus turns to the next one.
The Hilo Vikings hardly had that much time to exult Friday night before a momentary hush hovered over the proceedings at Keaau High.
The lights were turned off. It was time to go home.
No matter, the glare will shine much brighter on the Vikings (9-1) the next time they take the field at Aloha Stadium on Nov. 24 in the HHSAA Division I championship game against Waipahu.
“I told them I was proud of them,” coach Kaeo Drummondo said after Hilo earned a chance at a repeat with a 35-24 victory against Maui in the state semifinals. “It’s been a long journey. It’s been a very long journey. It’s been fun and it’s been stressful, but it’s been fun. The kids have progressed, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Speaking of fun and stressful, welcome to the third quarter.
The Viks had the lead, but they also had an issue.
They. Couldn’t. Stop. Putting. The. Ball. On. The. Ground.
“Coach prepares us for the worst,” senior safety Kahiau Walker said. “It was frustrating, we rely on our (offense).”
In the end, Hilo hopes it will have been an uplifting experience. The Vikings withstood six turnovers, including a momentum-changing four fumbles in the third quarter, and lived to tell about it.
Those who made mistakes, Kyan Miyasato threw two picks and Kaleo Ramos fumbled twice, were coached up on the sidelines and put back on the field.
“You have to ride the guys who got you here,” Drummondo said. “At this point in the season, whatever (Maui’s) record is (5-6), they are a league champ.
“We’re going to have positives, they’re going to have positives. We need to move on and be mentally tough and move on from adversity.”
Miyasato, who threw for three touchdowns, and Ramos, who nearly reached a season high with 139 yards on 25 carries, fit the bill.
Junior receiver Guyson Ogata said he didn’t mind the miscues all that much. His 39-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter was his third score of the night and gave Hilo a 34-10 lead … but only for a instant. A flag negated the score, and three turnovers later it was suddenly 28-24.
“We wanted a good game, we didn’t want an easy game,” Ogata said. “That’s a good thing to happen to us. We can pick each other up and execute throughout the game.”
Defensively, Hilo shrugged off the turnovers and a 70-yard touchdown on a screen pass that Drummondo said the coaching staff hadn’t given the players the adequate preparation. The Vikings forced four turnovers, three in the fourth quarter. Klyson Kaiwi and Elijah Apao had interceptions in the fourth.
Walker said the semifinal played out much like a season in which nothing has come easy for the six-time defending BIIF champions.
“With this group we worked super hard,” Walker said. “We kind of earned it.”
Offensively, Hilo was in good hands because of its good hands. Ogata, Kalae Akui and Fiki Aguiar combined to haul in 17 catches for 187 yards and three scores.
Drummondo sent his team into the night and told them to have a good weekend and return to practice Monday.
Aguiar and Ogata were set to attend a branding event on the Aguiar’s ohana ranch.
It’s a new endeavor for Ogata, but “I think I got it,” he said.
Aguiar played on special teams last season as Hilo beat Damien in the state title game, but the senior was looking forward to taking a prime role in two weeks against the OIA champion Marauders (9-4), who came from behind to edge Iolani in Friday’s other semifinal.
“Just being on the field, it’s crazy being on the field,” he said. “It’s really good experience.”
Said Ogata: “I’m looking forward to going back-to-back this year.”
He was the star of the first half, and Aguiar came on during opening drive of the third quarter, hauling in five catches, including a 1-yard score.
During a first-and-goal in the fourth quarter, Aguiar took the snap and ran the ball four times, finally ramming it in from the 1 to put the Vikings back up by two scores.
“Every single game we just learned more and more,” he said. “All the pieces came together and everything ran smoothly.”
Hilo’s biggest lesson Friday night?
That’s an easy one.
“Hold onto the ball,” Aguiar said.
