KEALAKEKUA — Clinching island titles have never been No. 13 Konawaena football’s ultimate goal, but head coach Brad Uemoto admitted that Saturday night’s Central Pacific Bank/Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I Championship win over Kea‘au was a step in the right direction for where the Wildcats ultimately want to be at the end of the season.
“At the end of the day, we have to win a BIIF title before we start thinking about a state title, and the boys came to play tonight,” he told West Hawaii Today postgame. “So it was great for us.”
Kona blanked the Cougars 36-0, winning its fourth consecutive BIIF title and punching its ticket to the HHSAA Division I Football Tournament. The Wildcats’ first state opponent is yet to be decided, as tournament brackets are expected to be released this weekend.
It was also Kona’s third time beating Kea’au this season.
“Kea‘au came to play tonight,” Uemoto continued. “It was physical, and I think our kids adjusted well. It was great to see them (adjust) in this magnitude of a game (as we prepare) for the state tournament.”
Both teams started slower than usual, as torrential downpour sprinkled over Julian R. Yates Field for the entirety of the evening. With dropped passes and miscommunications on both sides due to the weather, the Wildcats and Cougars had to slightly adjust their gameplans.
“It’s hard for the offense to play in the rain, get a grip on the ball and have good ball security — and we often don’t have the same speed,” Uemoto explained. “But I think we took good care of the football.”
Known for scoring right out of the gate, Kona’s first touchdown came near the end of the first quarter after a series of Keenan Alani passes to receivers Austin Takaki and Malu Tan, along with some strong Hercules Nahale rushes out of the backfield. Once the Wildcats found themselves in Kea‘au territory, they capitalized — as Alani found Takaki on a short touchdown throw to secure the first points of the evening. Once Tan blocked Kea‘au’s punt to secure a safety to go up 9-0 a few minutes later, the green and white didn’t score until the four-minute mark of the second quarter — when Alani caught a touchdown reception from Hayden Nishida in the back-right corner of the endzone from a designed trick play.
Alani then found Tan for a 10-yard touchdown reception with seven seconds left in the opening half to go up 23-0.
Uemoto praised the sophomore Alani’s growth in his debut season as the team’s starting quarterback, as the young star has posted 43 touchdown passes and just four interceptions in 2024. Alani finished the night with four total touchdowns — three passing and one receiving to go along with 185 passing yards.
“He grew up so much this year,” he said of Alani. “From our first scrimmage of the year, to our first game against Punahou, to the Kahuku game — he just made leaps. And I’m proud of him. He’s going to be a great player.”
Tan caught his second touchdown pass of the evening on the opening drive of the third quarter, catapulting the Wildcats to a 29-0 lead. Soon after, Kona defensive lineman Elias Malapit forced Kea‘au quarterback Diego Pettypool to fumble inside the Cougars’ 5-yard line — setting up a short Jiohvani Soto-Ramos run for the final touchdown of the evening.
Takaki finished with 12 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown — now at 1,113 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season. Tan finished with four catches for 42 yards and two scores. Tan is currently over 700 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in 2024.
Defensively, the green and white collected five sacks.
The Wildcats currently stand at 9-2 overall, ending their BIIF season at 9-0. They are averaging over 45 points per game while allowing less than seven. The Cougars end their season second in the BIIF for the second straight year — finishing 5-4 in conference play and 5-5 overall. Kea‘au averaged nearly 31 points per game while allowing just under 24.
Although Kona is unsure of who their first state tournament opponent will be, Uemoto believes he has the squad to make a deep run once again.
“I’ve been a part of a state championship team and two runner-ups, and this group has something special,” he said. “If we can execute, put it together, get the right draw and beat some tough teams, I think this group has a great chance.”
See the paper in the coming days to find out which opening-round state opponent the Wildcats will get.
