Waiakea High’s football team was routed 74-0 by Konawaena High during the pair’s BIIF DI play opener on Saturday in Hilo.
The defending state champion Wildcats scored on all but two offensive drives, and caused a total of 10 turnovers.
The Warriors’ mostly-inexperienced roster could not have opened its season against a tougher local opponent, but there are benefits to be found in such an ordeal.
“We got experience and exposure to a high level of play,” Waiakea head coach Junior Toa said. “We got to see where we’re lacking, where we need to get back to the chalkboard and fix our mistakes. At the end of the day, it gives us experience playing against a high-caliber team.”
After stopping the Warriors on the opening drive, Konawaena scored a touchdown three minutes into the first quarter when quarterback Keoki Alani delivered a 10-yard pass to Abraham Ogata in the endzone. Carmine Fautanu-Taetuna made the PAT kick for a 7-0 Konawaena lead.
During Waiakea’s subsequent drive, a high snap sent the ball live and rolling toward the 10-yard line, where Konawaena’s Laanui Meyers recovered it. Alani connected another short, endzone pass to Ogata for their second touchdown.
Things began to truly fall apart for the Warriors halfway through the first quarter, when Wyatt Wehrsig recovered a fumble for a 50-yard scoop-and-score. After the kick, the Wildcats’ lead was 21-0.
Just before the end of the quarter, Alani and Austin Takaki connected for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Konawaeana was up 28-0 going into the second quarter.
The second quarter got off to another bad start for WHS, as Meyers notched his second fumble recovery. This was followed by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Alani to Zed Anahu-Ambrosio.
Up 35-0, the Wildcats caused another fumble on the kickoff, which Akoni Binney recovered. Anahu-Ambrosio caught his second touchdown after catching a 25-yard pass from Alani.
Halfway through the second quarter, the Warrriors were still struggling on offense. Takaki got an interception, then Alani and Anahu-Ambrosio notched a hattrick with their third straight touchdown pass, this time for 35 yards.
Up 49-0, Konawaena’s score went up by another six points after Carmine Fautanu-Taetuna intercepted a pass and ran it back 45 yards to the endzone. However, the kick was no good.
Waiakea’s first highlight came along when linebacker Jesus Aguilar recovered a fumble in the redzone. The Warriors’ fortune was short-lived, though — as shortly after, Keawe Navas Loa stripped the ball from the carrier and ran it in for another Konawaena touchdown. The PAT kick was wide again, making for a 61-0 lead.
Five minutes into the third quarter Fautanu-Taetuna got his second pick-six, followed by an accurate PAT kick to boost the lead to a whopping 67-0.
Anahu-Ambrosio notched his fourth touchdown and first defensive touchdown of the game during the next drive — intercepting a pass and running it back 15 yards to the endzone. The kick went in for the final point of the game.
Around the end of the third quarter, Konawaena pulled most of its starters, and Waiakea started racking up highlights.
Micah Lopez made a tackle for a loss just before the end of the third quarter, then the Warriors made their first defensive stop at the start of the fourth quarter.
Konawaena’s Keau Higashi intercepted a pass, but Waiakea stopped the Wildcats again. Alek Podriguez made two TFLs, and Hayzden Gaspar and Lima Leilua-Valoaga each also made tackles for losses.
When the Wildcats were at fourth and goal on the two-yard line, Tracksan Pasion got an interception and ran the ball back 60 yards before he was brought down. With less than a minute left on the clock, Waiakea attempted a Hail Mary but the pass was deflected.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do offensively, defensively and on special teams,” Toa said, “but I think the most important thing is to find our heart and play with heart out there. I don’t believe that we are a 74-0 team. I’m not taking anything away from Kona — they’re a great team, they work hard and they’re used to playing in that caliber.
“A lot of the mistakes today were on ourselves. If we minimize these mental mistakes, we’ll find an opportunity to be successful.”
After a short recovery period, Waiakea (0-1) will play away at Keaau HS at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Konawaena (1-0 BIIF, 1-1 Ovr.) will host Hilo HS at 6:30 p.m. on Friday for the Vikings’ first outing of the season.
