KEALAKEKUA — Konawaena held crosstown rival Kealakehe to 26 yards of offense and rode 228 rushing yards from its stable of running backs to a 20-0 Big Island Interscholastic Federation win Friday night at Julian R. Yates Field.
The Wildcats (5-2 BIIF, 6-2) held the Waveriders (3-4, 3-5) to negative yardage until late in the fourth quarter and constantly pressured the Kealakehe quarterbacks.
On Konawaena’s first scoring drive, Algene Kelekolio accounted for 39 yards and Tate “Baba” Hing dragged a host of Kealakehe defenders into the end zone for a score.
The Wildcats opted for onside kicks three times in the second half, recovering two of them — including the second half opening kickoff.
Konawaena’s bold second-half statement didn’t end there.
After putting the ball in the air 21 times in the first half with quarterback Shelton Grace, the Wildcats came out of the break in a jumbo set with Cameron Howes at quarterback and Bubba Ellis-Noa as the primary running back.
Ellis-Noa led the way on Konawaena’s second scoring drive, trampling for 28 yards on two carries behind the extra blockers, and then Howes went right up the middle for 5 yards to put the Wildcats up 14-0.
Hing intercepted Kealakehe quarterback Markus Degrate on the next Waveriders possession. A few plays later Kelekolio busted loose down the sideline 42 yards for a score — the longest play of the night.
The onside kicks, combined with the smash-mouth running game draining the clock, limited Kealakehe to just two plays in the third quarter.
Kaimi Wilson came in at QB late and sparked a long drive down to the Konawaena 8-yard line. The drive stalled after two consecutive sacks and the Waveriders failed to convert on a fourth-and-goal from the 12.
Kealakehe 0 0 0 0 — 0
Konawaena 0 7 13 0 — 20