On the opening kickoff, Hilo fumbled the ball against Kealakehe on Friday night at Wong Stadium, bringing up an immediate thought: “Oh no, it’s going to be one of those football games.”
No worries, Viking diehards. The defense came to play and was stifling in Hilo’s 21-12 victory over the Waveriders in a BIIF Division I showdown that basically set up playoff seedings.
Hilo defensive coordinator Maui Ramos and overseer Ed Rocha, who used to be Waiakea’s coach way back in the day, came up with a brilliant game plan, almost as if they had all the answers to the test.
The Vikings (2-1) shut out the Waveriders (2-1) in the first half, and, better yet, limited Kealakehe’s dangerous quarterback and running back duo in the first 24 minutes.
Under consistent pocket pressure and sticky secondary coverage, Sheynen-Wyatt Nahale was just 3 of 13 for 14 yards in the first half while TJ Arakawa bulldozed for 54 yards on nine carries.
“I loved my team’s effort. We had a lot of guys go both ways. They never gave up, and they fought,” Kealakehe coach Wyatt Nahale said. “It’ll help us get better. We’ll reevaluate where we are personnel wise and team wise. Hilo will make us better. We’ll go back to the drawing board, and work on things to beat a team like Hilo. We had a lot of missed tackles and some things we need to clean up.”
Of course, the Vikings didn’t make it easy on themselves. They lost the turnover battle, 3-0, and had 11 penalties for 110 yards. The Waveriders had just five yellow flags for 40 yards.
“Nothing goes quite according to plan,” Hilo coach Chris Todd said. “It was a big, physical battle, and our guys responded really well to that challenge. We did a really good job at preventing those big plays that can really kill you. It’s a testament to our defensive backs and coaches for scheming that out really well.”
At least none of Hilo’s penalties canceled a touchdown on Senior night, which honored WR/DB back Damien Kai, WR/DB/QB Koa Akui, WR/DB Isaiah Nakapaahu, RB/LB Keanu Hamada, RB/LB Jayden Pasco, WR/LB Naoi Richardson, LB Isaiah Montoya, LB Kahiapo Silva, DL/OL Daylan Letisi, OL Deion Pe’a-Whitney, DL Treystan Une, OL Lani DeSilva-Racoma, OL/DL Austin Urabe, DL/OL Tyson Kaniaupio, OL/DL Phillip Funaki, and DB Kanalu Mathey-Bona.
In the second quarter, a Kealakehe personal foul and a Damien Kai 31-yard reception from Kimo Ibanez Jr. set up a 6-yard scoring run by Ibanez. After Tre Nelson-Langacker booted the PAT (he made three PATs), the Vikings led 7-0.
Ibanez was 9 of 15 for 108 yards. Kai had three catches for 75 yards and Naoi Richardson four for 30 yards.
The Viks leaned on their ground game to wear down the defense and drain the clock. Pasco rushed for 133 yards and one TD on 26 carries while Ibanez added 24 yards on nine carries, and Mr. Versatile Koa Akui had 37 yards and one TD on five carries. That helped Hilo to 202 yards on 44 attempts for a healthy 4.9 yard carry average.
Akui, who’s also the backup QB, scored on a 30-yard run for a 14-0 lead that carried into halftime. When Ibanez went out for a bit with a hit to the knee, Akui changed the dynamic of the offense with his Wildcat ability.
“He’s very twitchy, very polished athlete, makes really good decisions, and it’s a luxury to have when you’re in that kind of spot,” Todd. “He’s really special. I don’t know if we’ve ever had someone who has worked that hard. Koa’s freshman year he was 5 foot 2 and 105 pounds. He’s a legit 5-10, 165 pounds, solid. It’s a really big deal to see how far he’s come and how hard he’s worked to get where he is. I think a lot of colleges will take notice soon.”
In the third quarter, the Waveriders marched on an 80-yard, 12-play drive that was capped by Nahale’s 16-yard scoring strike to Javiyen Cummings. The PAT was no good (the other one, too), and Kealakehe trailed 14-6.
Nahale hit short routes and found his comfort zone and was 10 of 20 for 127 yards in the second half. He finished 13 of 33 for 141 yards with one touchdown and one pick.
Arakawa finished with 97 yards on 14 carries. Ayzen Cummings, the older brother of Javiyen, had four catches for 78 yards and one score. Hunter Acia had 26 yards on four receptions.
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings manufactured a clock-draining 68-yard, 13-play scoring drive that milked 9:20 off the clock. Pasco bulldozed in for a 1-yard TD and a 21-6 lead.
On the Vikings’ next possession, they went for it on fourth down near midfield, didn’t make it, and Nahale threw a 44-yard touchdown to Ayzen Cummings, who was tackled by two defenders at the 10 but slipped out and scored to get Kealakehe within 21-12 with three minutes left.
Todd knows people were crying the sky is falling when Hilo lost to Konawaena to start the season. But like Akui, the Vikings are growing and getting better.
“We had very little experience coming in. We’re going through those growing pains,” Todd said. “We’ll look at the film on some of these penalties, and see if this is something we can nip in the bud because this is becoming a reoccurring theme. But we’re trying our best on that. They responded well, and worked hard. That’s all you can ask.”