PAHOA — On fourth-and-35, Kohala quarterback Hana Caravalho rolled leisurely to his left, had plenty of time to survey a wide-open field and flicked a ball deep into the waiting arms of Isaiah Villacorte, who picked up a block and scored a touchdown.
On a third-and-13 play near midfield, Caravalho pitched to Villacorte on a sweep. He cut into the middle, and a burst here and one broken tackle there was all he needed to find room to roam to the end zone.
And then there was Josiah Pacheco, who made the play of the day when he took a short pass and reversed field for a 56-yard catch-and-run.
After years as a Big Island Interscholastic Federation also-ran, the Cowboys could definitely get used to this eight-man football thing.
“Once you get in the open, you can make magic,” said Villacorte, who scored four touchdowns Saturday in Kohala’s 71-6 victory against Pahoa.
Forget the red zone. The Cowboys (2-1 BIIF, 4-1) were thinking end zone any time they snapped the ball near midfield.
Of Caravalho’s nine completions, seven produced touchdowns and five of the scoring tosses went for 38 yards or more. Pacheco and Dalyn Kupukaa each hauled in two touchdown catches and finished with three scores.
“I always remind them when they’re doing a 5-and-out, if you hit the sideline just cut up already,” said Caravalho, who was 9 of 16 for 271 yards.
Pahoa (0-3, 0-5) was playing its first home football game in 13 years, and Joaquin Ridgway gave the homecoming crowd something to cheer about with a 90-yard touchdown return on a kickoff in the third quarter.
The Daggers found some success running 266-pound Ernest Stinnett up the middle, and Kawika Andrian completed a 29-yard pass to Kody Lee for their longest play from scrimmage. But Pahoa was hampered by bad snaps from the shotgun and finished with just 21 yards of total offense.
“They should be mad at themselves,” coach Chris Midel said. “They didn’t put their hearts into it. Definitely excited to play at home, but they didn’t show it on the field.”
Midel said he’s had only one player move away because of the lava flow, and he expects the Daggers to be able to complete their first eight-man season next Saturday at home against Ka‘u.
The Cowboys also resurrected their program through eight-man, and the format feels like basketball on grass to Caravalho. The senior plays for basketball coach Don Fernandez, who prefers an uptempo, pressing style.
“Cause we run a lot in basketball,” Caravalho said. “Our basketball and football are pretty similar because we condition really hard.”
A baseball comparison could be made as well — Kohala simply played pitch and catch, and the Daggers paid every time they lost a step.
“Our defensive backs were getting burnt,” Midel said.
And when they did, there was no extra safety on the field to lend support after Caravalho hit streaking receivers.
“This is way better (than 11-man),” said Villacorte, a junior who’s listed at 5 feet, 5 inches and 125 pounds. “Eight-man is faster and more space. It’s not about size, it’s about speed.”
Pacheco returned a punt 37 yards for a touchdown, and had an interception.
Caravalho played for Kohala Chargers’ Pop Warner teams that competed for two island championships while he was in middle school. But he didn’t try to play in high school early in his career because the Cowboys were often overmatched in 11-man.
“This is easier for us,” Kohala coach Reggie Tolentino said. “A level playing field instead of us playing the Konawaenas and Kealakehes.”
Villacorte is also a Chargers alum in his first year of high school football, though there are still a few seniors left who played on Kohala’s last 11-man team, which went 1-9 in 2011.
“They say just to be humble,” Villacorte said. “They hated losing, so they wanted to pick this up.”
Tolentino said it’s evident Kohala is starting to adjust to the eight-man learning curve. In their season-opener, the Cowboys lost 32-12 loss at Ka’u (2-0, 3-1), which is playing its second eight-man season.
The rematch is Oct. 11 in Kapaau.
“Ka‘u is the pioneer,” Tolentino said. “After that game we went back and made a whole lot of adjustments and changed around positions.”
“Honestly, in that first game I think we just got outcoached. They were ready.”
Kohala30131513—71
Pahoa0060—6
First quarter
Koh — Dalyn Kupukaa 29 run (Austin Salvador-Racoma kick), 11:13
Koh — Kupukaa 7 pass from Hana Caravalho (kick blocked), 7:47
Koh — Safety, punter tackled in end zone, 5:56
Koh — Josiah Pacheco 56 pass from Caravalho (Bohdi Amar pass from Caravalho), 3:20
Koh — Pacheco 37 punt return (Salvador-Racoma kick), 1:40
Second quarter
Koh — Isaiah Villacorte 47 pass from Caravalho (kick blocked), 10:46
Koh — Villacorte 48 pass from Caravalho (Salvador-Racoma kick), 5:40
Third quarter
Koh — Villacorte 38 pass from Caravalho (Salvador-Racoma kick), 8:10
Pah — Joaquin Ridgway 90 kickoff return (pass failed), 6:45
Koh — Kupukaa 48 pass from Caravalho (Caravalho run), 3:21
Fourth quarter
Koh — Pacheco 1 pass from Caravalho (kick blocked), 10:35
Koh — Villacorte 48 run (kick blocked), 3:34
Ka‘u 32, Kamehameha JV 24: Cy Tamura put the Trojans ahead late in the fourth quarter with a a 58-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, as Ka‘u tuned up for the stretch run with a nonleague victory Friday night in Pahala.
The Trojans trailed 16-8 in the third quarter until Jordan DeRamos threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Emmsley-AhYee and Tamura ran in the two-point conversion.
Kupono Palakiko-Leffew added a 15-yard TD run in the first quarter.