KEALAKEKUA — Over the first month of the 2025 BIIF football season, Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto has emphasized the importance of setting the tone early in games and starting faster. During Friday night’s rainy battle against the visiting Honoka‘a Dragons at Julian R. Yates Field, the Wildcats did just that.
Through a combination of flawless offense and impenetrable defense, Kona (3-2 overall, 3-0 BIIF) made quick work of the guests in their homecoming matchup — winning in a 61-6 rout, which included a 47-point outburst in the first half. The Wildcats won their third straight game after starting the season 0-2, and Uemoto was pleased with the progress the team has made since early August.
“I think there’s a lot of bright spots,” he told the paper postgame. “We came into the season knowing that we’re inexperienced, so we didn’t expect a fast start and as much dominance as we’ve had in the past few years — which is O.K. We want them to grow each week and get better, and see where that takes us at the end of the year when it becomes a one, two-game season. We want these kids to grow and to be able to handle those situations later.”
The night started with Kona getting into gear immediately, as senior receiver Taimane Souza-Fautanu returned Honoka‘a’s kick 99 yards to the end zone on the very first play. Souza-Fautanu was joined by senior receiver Kaiea Thomas, who also had a strong punt return of his own. However, the snap for the extra point was botched.
Uemoto praised the special teams unit for consistently putting the Wildcats in prime field position, pointing to first-year assistant Mark Townsend as a driving force in the group’s success.
“It’s good to have multiple options back there,” Uemoto said of Souza-Fautanu and Thomas. “We’ve prided ourselves in trying to get better in special teams, like in last season’s (state) tournament when it showed up. We’re trying to get better and give ourselves more options to do different things.
“Offensively, I think we picked up a rhythm faster than the last few weeks. But defensively, I think we have to get better at starting games. I don’t think it’s a lack of energy, but maybe a little too much energy. We’re a little bit undisciplined up front, and we have to be able to do our assignments early in games. We won’t have time later in games to settle in on defense, so we have to be more disciplined early on.”
Following the big kick-return score, the Dragons answered back by scoring their only points of the night. Sophomore quarterback Kage Yadao started the game before junior Hapaki Moniz took over, connecting with senior running back Blaze Jardine and freshman receiver Kaenan Martines to enter Kona territory. After Yadao rushed the ball to the one-yard line, Honoka‘a ended the drive with running back Napo Silva punching the ball up the middle for a short rushing touchdown. The Wildcats blocked the Dragons’ extra-point attempt, and the score was even at 6-6.
On the ensuing drive, Kona junior quarterback Keenan Alani connected with Max Taetuna-Fautanu on the first play of the drive, who then took it to the house for a 63-yard touchdown. Honoka‘a tried to match the hosts again on the next possession, but the Wildcats’ front denied its efforts — as junior lineman Zane Fujihara-Fa‘avesi logged a sack to force fourth down. Fujihara-Fa‘avesi was breaking through the Dragons’ offensive line all night, forcing the guests to make decisions immediately after the snap.
From there on out, it was all Konawaena. After Alani threw a shovel pass to freshman running back Shane Domingo for a big gain, the quarterback fired a bullet to Souza-Fautanu — who took it for extra yards for another touchdown.
The Wildcats scored once more to open the second quarter, throwing to Thomas and Souza-Fautanu to move the chains. The drive was capped off after Alani found Taetuna-Fautanu in the right-hand corner of the end zone for another touchdown pass. A few minutes later, Alani threw a touchdown to freshman Ka‘el Johnson to take a 33-6 lead.
Kona freshman quarterback Elston Hooper — who has received significant playing time due to Alani’s shoulder injury — checked in at the midway point of the second quarter. Hooper threw a 43-yard dot to Johnson for a freshman-to-freshman connection, taking it to the pylons for another score.
The Wildcats ended the half with one last strong drive, as junior running back Kainalu Alves had six straight rushes of eight-or-more yards to march the unit down the field. With Alani back on the field, the star quarterback threw his last touchdown of the night to freshman Jahsiah Souza-Armstead.
Hooper started the second half for Kona, throwing a 15-yard touchdown at the end of the third quarter — this time to sophomore Justice Charity, who lost his helmet while making the acrobatic catch. Alves scored the final touchdown of the night at the midway point of the fourth, patiently finding a gap from eight yards out to reach the end zone.
Alani finished the night completing 10 of his 15 attempts for 243 yards and five touchdowns. Hooper completed five of his eight passes for 111 yards and two scores. Alves and Domingo combined for 192 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while Taetuna-Fautanu was the Wildcats’ top receiver with 71 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Souza-Fautanu, Johnson, Thomas, Domingo and Souza-Armstead all logged 40 receiving yards or more. All in all, the green and white netted 548 yards of offense.
Over the last three weeks, Kona is averaging 44 points per game. With a plethora of playmakers, Kona’s offense has looked slightly different than in past years. In 2024, receivers Austin Takaki and Malu Tan did the majority of heavy lifting — but this year, the Wildcats have more options.
“Being able to spread the ball out is a little more effective for us,” Uemoto said. “Last season, we were dominated by two receivers who caught a lot of passes, so it’s a lot better as teams prepare for us. You can’t focus on one or two guys.”
After five straight weeks of games, the Wildcats will get a much-deserved bye week — next returning to the field on Sept. 26 at Kea‘au to take on the Cougars. While Kona plans to enjoy the time off from competition, it plans to attack practice aggressively over the next two weeks, as Uemoto views it as a great opportunity to clean up some previous mistakes.
“We’re gonna go at it during the bye week,” Uemoto said. “In the past, we have rested a little bit more, but we’re definitely going to pad up and get after it a little more than we have in the past. We have some things to clean up, and more reps at practice is the best thing to move forward.”
The Dragons dropped to 2-2 overall on the season and 2-1 in the conference, averaging 22.5 points per game while allowing 19. They’ll look to bounce back against Kamehameha-Hawaii on Friday night in Honoka‘a town.
Players of the game
• Offense: Keenan Alani — 10-for-15, 243 yards, 5 touchdowns
• Defense: Zane Fujihara-Fa‘avesi — 1.0 sacks