Joe Nahale would have been proud of his son, Wyatt, and grandson, Sheynen-Wyatt Nahale, the second and third generation Waveriders for the Kealakehe football team.
The Waveriders are tied for first place in the BIIF Division I standings after a 54-34 win over Keaau at the Cougars stadium last Friday night.
“I liked a lot of things out there. I liked our offense, which started to get rolling,” said Wyatt, a Kealakehe coach like his father. “The credit goes to the offensive line up front. They work extremely hard. Their offensive line coach pushes them hard. The success in the backfield is coming from upfront. Hats off to the guys upfront.”
Sheynen-Wyatt, a senior Waverider quarterback, was 28 of 43 for 441 yards and four touchdowns, including three TDs to Ayzen Cummings and one to Hunter Acia. He also rushed for 20 yards on three attempts. TJ Arakawa had 21 carries for 255 yards and three touchdowns.
Kealakehe (3-0, 2-0 BIIF) visits seven-time defending BIIF champion Hilo (1-1) on Friday and then hosts rival Konawaena (2-0) on Friday, Nov. 19 before the start of the four-team playoffs.
First a little about Coach Joe. He was Kealakehe’s first coach back in 1998, was diagnosed with cancer a year later and stepped away. He died March 27, 2017 at 60 years old, much too young, but he left an imprint in the sand.
Coach Joe never won a BIIF championship, though he was a longtime Konawaena assistant and touched the lives of many. His legacy is much greater than any gridiron success. It was the way he always treated people, never too high after a victory, never too low after a loss. Coach Joe was always warm and welcoming. He was the definition of the Aloha spirit. He was always the same guy.
Coach Joe would be proud because his son is the same way. Under a stadium light, he even looks like Coach Joe and talks like him, too.
“My dad impacted me, and I’ve got players whose dads played for my dad,” Wyatt said.
When Wyatt and his wife, Lorna, were first dating, Coach Joe was at Kealakehe. She remarked that it’s a circle of life that her husband is now the Kealakehe coach. She’s part of the Waveriders as a member of the stats crew, along with daughter Shayla.
Wyatt may be the coach, but Lorna is the boss. Her cousin Shannon died before her son’s birth, so she came up with his first name to honor her cousin and the hyphen part “Wyatt” to honor her husband. At least Shayla has the first two letters of her first name as a connection to her quarterback brother.
Sheynen-Wyatt is 5 feet 11 and 190 pounds, good size for a running back. But he’s a QB who can sling it. His best skill is throwing on the run, making something happen when a tree route goes off script.
“He’s come a long way since his freshmen year. He wouldn’t be doing things like that as a freshman, but now he’s grown and developed,” Wyatt said.
It’s easy for college coaches to scout that throw-on-the-run skill because those quarterbacks keep their eyes downfield when they’re scrambling. Sheynen-Wyatt did exactly that when he found Cummings for a 65-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter.
Combined with Arakawa, the Waveriders had the balance that coaches often desire, Sheynen-Wyatt and Arakawa combined for almost 700 yards and seven touchdowns.
t“TJ is such a strong runner. He’s one of those guys if you need yardage he’ll put his head down and fight to get yardage,” Wyatt said. “A lot of his big yards are coming after contact. He make contact, and the next thing you know he breaks tackles and gets another 10, 20 yards, so that shows the strength he has as well.
“Defensively, Duke Becker, our defensive end, played a great game. Hunter Acia played both ways and at corner had an interception. Shane Kalahiki at safety brought a lot of intensity and flew to the ball. That presence helped us.”
Much like Coach Joe, Wyatt wouldn’t look ahead to the rivalry game against the Wildcats. His only focus was on the rebuilt Vikings, who have the same attacking flow with new coach Chris Todd, who was the offensive coordinator. The guy may be a politician, but he was born with a great play-design mind. When you’re expecting fastball, Todd dials up a changeup. A blitz gets neutralized with an unexpected draw or bubble screen.
However, Hilo had all sorts of penalty issues, mental mistakes and undisciplined play in a 49-6 ugly win over Waiakea last Saturday night. The Vikings were their own worst enemy. Fortunately, their firepower compensated for their self-inflicted miscues.
“In order to win the BIIF championship, you have to go through Hilo. Hilo is still the team to beat on the Big Island,” Wyatt said. “We’ve got to prepare, not only physically, but mentally, too. We’re going to keep our boys mentally focused on this week. Like anything else, when you play great teams, you’ve got to be ready to go.
“It’ll come down to the team that makes the least amount of mistakes. Just having our boys mentally focused will be big for us.”
Wyatt sounded so much like Coach Joe. It was the same guy talking.
In other games:
Ka’u (0-2 BIIF D-II) at Kamehameha (2-1, 2-0 BIIF D0II), 5 p.m. Thursday: The Warriors, who haven’t allowed an offensive touchdown in two league games, welcome a Trojans team that is yet to reach the end zone.
Pahoa (1-2 BIIF D-II) at Honokaa (1-2 ), 7 p.m. Friday: The Dragons look to build off their first win of the season as the continue to refine their triple-option attack. When it came to offensive options last week at Kamehameha, the Daggers were much more inclined to pass.
Konawaena (2-0 BIIF D-I) at Waiakea (0-3), 11 a.m. Saturday: The Wildcats figure to have one last tuneup before a stretch run that includes a game against Kealakehe and the playoffs. Because the Warriors have already lost to Keaau and Hilo, even a win likely wouldn’t help them reach the playoffs thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Hawaii Prep (3-0 BIIF D-II) at Kohala (1-2), 1 p.m. Saturday: The Cowboys had to forfeit their first home game this season, and in this one they’ll try to become the first team to score an offensive touchdown on Ka Makani.