It was shocking, eye-opening, historic and, for many that witnessed it first-hand, a painful spectacle to watch.
Five weeks after Hilo dropped 104 points on Waiakea in a shutout that matched a 96-year-old state record for margin of victory, the Vikings and Warriors will meet again Saturday afternoon at Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium.
Immediately after the Vikings (7-0 BIIF Division I, 8-0) sang their alma mater Sept. 7 at Wong Stadium, Hilo coach Kaeo Drummondo called the epic blowout “unfortunate.”
“We’ve addressed the first game and what transpired and we’ve made a conscious effort to move past that,” he said in an email to the Tribune-Herald on Thursday. “That’s not something we think about as we prepare for this upcoming game.”
As word of the 104-0 whitewashing spread in the community, many wondered, or just assumed, the Vikings ran up the score. Warriors athletic director Tom Correa and coach Neil Azevedo weren’t among that group, pointing to Waiakea’s ball security issues as the primary problem. Hilo scored touchdowns on 10 of the Warriors’ 11 turnovers.
Drummondo may have wanted to change a thing or two about how he managed the first meeting, but he’s long since grown tired of talking about a game that got so far out of hand so fast that BIIF athletic directors moved quickly to amend the league’s mercy rule.
“Our focus,” he said, “remains the same every week no matter the opponent: A – Our approach to preparation; B – playing for the brotherhood and bonds; C – being better communicators on and off the field; D – being more disciplined on and off the field; E – improving in our technique and execution.
“We need to focus on all of the little things, and the things that we can control. Everything else outside of our control will take care of itself and we live with the results.”
A triple-digit sequel isn’t very likely.
Even if the Vikings want to match their 83-point first half onslaught, they probably won’t have time. In every BIIF game since in which a 35-point differential has been reached, a running clock has been immediately implemented, not just in the second half as under the previous rule.
While still struggling, Waiakea (0-7, 0-8) has executed better of late and hasn’t allowed a team to break 50 points in its past four games.
The Vikings continue to roll.
Honokaa’s second-quarter touchdown last Friday broke Hilo’s streak of scoring 292 consecutive points dating back to a 51-21 victory against Kealakehe on Aug. 30.
The short-handed Vikings were hit by the flu and injury bug and missed a slew of offensive play-makers, but All-BIIF senior Guyson Ogata scored three touchdowns, one on a punt return, to highlight a 56-6 victory.
“It was really nice to see Guyson have a breakout game,” Drummondo said “We know that he’s very talented and capable. We all understand that it’s tough sometimes with having a number of playmakers and just one ball to go around.
Elijah Apao caught a touchdown pass from Kyan Miyasato (7 of 10, 174 yards, three TDs), and the senior also scored Hilo’s 10th defensive touchdown in the past five games on a fumble return. Lyle Silva added two rushing touchdowns.