KEAAU – Confidence can be cool, confidence can be cocky, or it can lie somewhere in between.
For Kamehameha’s football team, confidence is gained from the self-assurance that comes from a team that feels it’s well-prepared.
It’s clear the Warriors think they’ve done all they can to get ready to face Kaimuki on Saturday night in the HHSAA Division II playoffs at Paiea Stadium.
“I think we’re going to demolish them,” Kolten Kaaihue said. “We’ve been working for two weeks and constantly watching film every night.”
The Warriors (6-2) held a similar positive vibe about them two weeks ago heading in the BIIF title game at Konawaena, and that one worked out well. Kamehameha earned its first league crown since 2014, which is also the last time the Warriors hosted a state playoff game, back when Warriors seniors such as Teva Reynolds were in the eighth grade.
“I just remember they were really physical and really big and stuck together,” said Reynolds, a two-way starter on the interior lines. “Honestly, that set the tone for me coming to high school. It kind of made me work harder trying to be like them.”
To match those 2014 pioneers, who beat Nanakuli to give the school its first state victory, the third-seeded Warriors will have to handle the OIA runner-up Bulldogs (8-3), who by all accounts enter as the more physically imposing and battle-tested team. Kaimuki has had two weeks to think about a 28-18 loss to Roosevelt in the OIA title game in which it lost a lead in the fourth quarter for its first league loss. The winner travels to No. 2 Kapaa on Kauai next Saturday.
“I think we’re well-tested,” Kamehameha coach Dan Lyons said. “Beating Konawaena on its home field, that’s a test. It means we can play off of a bye week, it means we can travel, it means we can play on bad field conditions. I think we’re tested fine. It will be a matter of how we have prepared the guys and given them the proper scheme.”
The year before Lyons took the helm at Kamehameha was the last time these two teams met, with Kaimuki winning 14-9 in a 2010 state first round game at Paiea.
“We won’t be beat because we haven’t prepared,” Lyons said. “We’ll either be beat by a better team or a better-coached team.”
While the Warriors recognize Kaimuki will be the biggest team they’ve faced – they didn’t play Hilo this season and the lost to Kealakehe 49-42 – they also don’t think they are going to be beat by a faster team.
“A lot of big players (on Kaimuki),” said Kaaihue, a senior who will line up at receiver as well as linebacker and strong safety on defense. “We can get around it with speed. We have a lot of speed guys on our team, and I think we can just outrun them.”
Said Lyons: “If we are going to win, it has to be the speed that makes the difference.”
That said, he’s thinks the Bulldogs’ inside zone scheme will be just as problematic to for his defense to face as their heavy running packages.
Kaimuki features two running backs who have surpassed 750 yards on the season and reached double-digits in touchdowns in Jonah Stephens (5-foot-8, 168 pounds) and Naomas Asuega-Fualaau (5-10, 185). Junior quarterback Jonah Fa’asoa has completed more than 50 percent of his passes and thrown for 1,820 yards with 14 touchdown strikes, according to Hawaii Prep World.
To combat Kaimuki’s size, Lyons said, “We’ll have to use technique and have an idea of where we want to be and have gap-sound defense.
“We’re going to count on our speed. That’s one of the (reasons) we’re happy to be on our (turf) field, we’re not as good a team on grass as we are on our field. … On grass, there is a caution (in our play).”
On both sides of the ball, Reynolds and his linemates will have to contend with Sama Paama, a 6-4, 355-pound behemoth who has committed to play at Washington.
“In practice, we’ve been focusing on technique and using that more than size,” Reynolds said.
The Warriors could be without a key piece in injured senior linebacker Thaze Gomes.
Lyons called the four-year starter an “if.”
“Probably not, but let’s hope that he can,” Lyons said.
After winning his first BIIF title Oct. 27, Reynolds said he gave himself a few moments to savor the win, then he turned his attention to Saturday … and beyond.
“We have to go for that state title,” he said.
