Hilo senior defensive tackle Tysen Kaniaupio made the Polynesian Bowl, an all-star football game featuring elite players of Polynesian heritage and other ancestries.
The 6-foot-2, 260 pound line is uncommitted, but he’s on a roster filled with Poly players committed to big-name Division I programs, such as Saint Louis safety Kona Moore, who’s committed to UH-Manoa.
The 2022 Polynesian Bowl is usually played in January at Aloha Stadium, but the site has been banned to due safety issues, including corrosive rust. The Rainbow Warriors have moved their home games to T.C. Ching athletic complex.
Kaniaupio and the rest of his Vikings teammates restart practice Monday without five key players — senior linebacker/running back Lyle Silva, senior lineman Jase Ambrosio, junior quarterback Ricky Mamone, and sophomore linebacker/running back Keenan Freeman and slotback/cornerback Landon Figueroa — who all moved to Utah to play football.
In 2019, Hilo smashed Konawaena 42-18 for its seventh straight BIIF Division I title.
The Vikings edged Iolani 20-17 for the state championship when Keanu Keolanui kicked a 55-yard field goal.
Konawaena took a harder hit with the loss of its three best players: junior safety/linebacker Kiah Anahu-Ambrosio and freshman slotback/running back Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio, and senior quarterback Garrison Higgins. They are all playing football in Utah.
The Anahu-Ambrosio brothers attended BYU’s camp, were named the MVPs at their positions and were offered scholarships on the last day of the camp in July. Zedekiah is the first BIIF player to be offered a Division I scholarship as a freshman.