HONOLULU — Waipahu came into the HHSAA Division I championship with more size on both sides of the ball: an average of 252 pounds on the offensive line against Hilo’s 190 pounds on the D-line.
The Marauders (10-4) played smash-mouth football on offense, charged into the backfield with relentless pressure and sacked Hilo quarterback Kyan Miyasato nine times. The OIA champion rushed for 201 yards on 43 carries, a healthy 4.8-yard average.
The Vikings (9-2), the six-time BIIF champion, couldn’t stop the run and couldn’t run the ball. They ran for 35 yards on 31 attempts. Kaleo Ramos led the way with 45 yards on 14 carries, a 2.9-yard average.
When that happens, a lopsided score is usually in order. And the Marauders hammered the Viks 42-22 on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium, dethroning the defending state champion and winning their first title.
The Marauders rushed four, mixed their secondary coverage and got more than enough pressure on Miyasato, who finished 11 of 23 for 213 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Fiki Aguiar had eight catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. But his Viking teammates, Kalae Akui (63 yards), Guyson Ogata (14 yards), Ramos (seven yards), all had just one reception each.
Meanwhile, Alfred Faliauga ran behind a punishing offensive line and gained 156 yards on 21 carries, a 7.2 average, and quarterback Cody Marques went 8 of 15 for 150 yards with two touchdown and two picks.
From the start, Waipahu’s size, at least on the O-line, made a difference.
Hilo couldn’t get any pressure on Marques, who fired a 35-yard pass on third down to Saxon Tote. Five plays later, Matthew Fiesta scored on a 29-yard reception on a post route.
The size wasn’t much of a difference on the other side of the ball. Waipahu’s D-line averaged 264 pounds on against the Vikings’ 242 pounds on the O-line. But the Marauders, for the most part, gave up the short ball on underneath routes and made more open-field tackles than Hilo.
Waipahu played a single safety and a cover 2 with two safeties responsible for one half of the field. The Marauders kept switching their presnap looks and didn’t really need to rush their linebackers, who flooded the box to snuff out Hilo’s running game.
On the Vikings’ first possession, they went three-and-out. Waipahu then marched down the field on an eight play, 65-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard scoring strike from Faliauga to Tote on a halfback option.
Tote was all alone in the end zone. The Marauders capitalized on Hilo’s aggressiveness to stop the run. But Hilo immediately bounced back on its next drive.
Hilo cut the score in half on its next possession when Miyasato threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Akui to polish off a three-play, 65-yard march.
In the second quarter, Waipahu pass-blocked well, gave Marques a comfortable pocket, and Tote caught a 41-yard pass. One play later Branson Reyes scored on Marques’ second TD pass for a 21-7 cushion.
On Hilo’s next possession, Waipahu’s Deacon Kapea jumped a route for a 38-yard pick-six and a 28-7 cushion with 9:58 remaining.
The Vikings got called for a penalty after the kickoff and had the ball spotted on their 8-yard line. Miyasato was unshaken and threw a pair of out routes to get the chains moving to midfield. But a pair of sacks forced another punt.
Late in the second quarter, Hilo’s Kalen White picked off Marques to set up the ball at the Waipahu 44 with 13 seconds left. Another Waipahu sack splashed water on an attempted Hail Mary shot in the end zone before halftime.
“We had misreads, misalignments and couldn’t capitalize,” said White, who finished with a team-high 11 tackles. “Some plays we didn’t communicate. We gave up too many big plays.
“This team is very young. Next year, we should be all right. Things happen. Hopefully, we’ll be back next year.”
To start the third quarter, the Vikings went right at the Waipahu defense, rushing seven times on an 11-play, 61-yard drive, capped by Miyasato’s four-yard scoring strike to Aguiar.
The Marauders answered with their brand of smash-mouth football. They ran the ball all 11 times to cover 69 yards, including Faliauga’s two-yard walk into the end zone for a 28-14 lead.
The key was Marques’ three-yard run on fourth-and-3 from the Hilo 17. The Waipahu O-line kept putting substantial weight on Hilo’s defense and offered body blows. Marques delivered the standing eight-count while Faliauga got the knockout three plays later for a 35-14 cushion heading into the final eight minutes.
Reyes scored on an 11-yard run to boost Waipahu’s advantage to 42-14 with 10:26 to go, to punctuate a quick-strike, seven-play drive.
Late in the fourth quarter, Hilo gave its fans something to cheer when Miyasato whipped an 80-yard TD pass to Aguiar and completed a two-point conversion to Akui.
The Vikings’ Elijah Apao recovered the onside kick with 3:33 on the clock, but the offense couldn’t muster much.
“We knew coming in that they had a bigger team than us, and that played a big role,” said Hilo offensive coordinator Chris Todd. “Waipahu is the second biggest team we’ve played against, and they showed the result of that.”
Hilo coach Kaeo Drummondo took the loss as another life lesson.
“It hurts when you don’t accomplish what you want,” he said. “But that’s a part of life. We have to learn how to rebuild.
“I’m sure their size, through four quarters, played a role. They did a good job on the inside lanes, making us uncomfortable and getting to our QB. We had some shots over the top and got them a few times. But we also had to protect, too.”
That was the dilemma. Against other teams, when an opponent took away something, Hilo headed in another direction. The Marauders had everything covered.
What does a Big Island powerhouse do?
Get back to work: hit the weight room hard to get bigger, faster, and stronger.
“From a personnel standpoint, we’ve got a ton of talent coming back,” Drummondo said. “On defense, we’ve got 10 coming back and seven back on offense. After the blackout period ends, we’ll see who’s willing to put the time in.”
Of course, Drummondo already knows the answer to that.
The Vikings have been workaholics. That’s been their blueprint. They’ll be all working hard.
“Next year, looks promising,” Drummondo said.
Waipahu 14 14 7 7 — 42
Hilo 7 0 7 8 — 22
First quarter
Waipahu — Matthew Fiesta 29 pass from Cody Marques (Brycen Amorozo kick), 9:05
Waipahu — Saxon Tote 15 pass from Alfred Faliauga (Amorozo kick), 4:43
Hilo — Kalae Akui 63 pass from Kyan Miyasato (Joshua Rosario kick), 3:42
Second quarter
Waipahu — Branson Reyes 15 pass from Marques (Amorozo kick), 10:25
Waipahu — Deacon Kapea 38 interception return (Amorozo kick), 9:58
Third quarter
Hilo —Fiki Aguiar 4 pass from Miyasato (Rosario kick), 7:22
Waipahu —Faliauga 2 run (Amorozo kick), 2:38
Fourth quarter
Waipahu — Reyes 11 run (Amorozo kick), 10:26
Hilo — Aguiar 80 pass from Miyasato (Akui catch), 3:34.