Win or lose, it was destined to be a festive game day and the beginning of a new era in Kapaau.
“It was great to have football back in Kohala,” coach Reggie Tolentino said.
The Cowboys lived up to the hype Saturday, earning their first Big Island Interscholastic Federation eight-man victory. Isaiah Villacorte scored three touchdowns in a 47-0 victory against Pahoa.
Villacorte caught two touchdown passes from Hana Caravalho and also ran for a score, and junior Zerex Abellera scored twice defensively, once on a pick-six and also on a fumble recovery.
“Our seniors really stepped up, but so did the younger boys,” Tolentino said. “It’s nice to know what we have to work with.”
He said the fast-paced game started to slow down a bit for Kohala (1-1 eight-man, 2-1) which found its footing coming off a 34-12 loss to Ka‘u last weekend. Villacorte accounted for both of his team’s touchdowns in the loss in Pahala.
“That really motivated the boys to come harder,” Tolentino said.
Seniors Dalyn Kupukaa and Caravalho added rushing touchdowns for the Cowboys, who had to drop their 11-man program for two seasons.
The Daggers (0-1, 0-2), meanwhile, were playing their first regular-season BIIF game since 2001.
“They put their best effort out there, but a lot of mistakes and too many turnovers,” coach Chris Midal said. “For whatever reason we weren’t able to perform as well as last week (a 50-6 loss to Hilo’s junior varsity), when I thought we played much better.”
Midal said defensive end Ernest Stinett had one or two sacks.