When Konawaena starting quarterback Austin Ewing went down after a questionable, hard hit to the head against Kealakehe on Friday night, there wasn’t any panic along the Wildcats’ sideline.
It was simply time for the next guy to step up — a motto that Konawaena (4-0 BIIF DII, 6-0 overall) has been living by since the offseason.
Senior backup Tristan Fleming-Nazara entered the game and threw a 26-yard touchdown strike to Cameron Howes on his first pass attempt. From that moment on, it was relatively smooth sailing for the Wildcats in the 39-9 win over their west side rivals.
“When I saw Austin go down, I knew I had to get ready,” Fleming-Nazara said. “The coaches have kept me prepared for a situation like this all season in case something happened. I give all the credit my team — one family, one mind. I give my lineman props for blocking and the wide receivers for hauling in those passes.”
Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto came away thrilled with Fleming-Nazara’s production — 11-of-22 for 214 yards and two scores. He said the main issue with Fleming-Nazara playing behind center was the loss of his production elsewhere.
“The irony of it all is that we lose him at slot and tight end. A large part of our playbook goes out the window when he is not out there,” Uemoto said. “He is a senior captain with great character. There probably could not have been a better guy to step in for us.”
As for the hit on Ewing — which was flagged as targeting — Uemoto got a pretty good view from the sideline.
“He got hit high, but according to the referee, he didn’t think it was a deliberate blow,” he said. “It is what it is though. It’s very unfortunate for Austin, but our motto has been next guy up. Tristan came in and did a great job.”
It wasn’t just at quarterback where Wildcat players were stepping up. Justin Banagan-Brock filled in at center and held off the Waverider rush with three-year starter Zach Kaiwi out with a back injury.
In the defensive trenches, Austin Santos-Johnson was almost unblockable, collecting 15 total tackles — four for loss — in his biggest performance of the season.
For the most part, both sides quieted the rivalry talk before the game. The teams play in different divisions, and the contest did not have direct implication on either squad’s BIIF title aspirations.
But while coaches may be timid to slap a definitive “rivalry” tag on the game, the highly attended contest is most certainly not a normal game. There were more than a handful of heated moments, including a Kealakehe player jumping the snap as Konawaena was taking a knee to close out the game.
“I think it’s big. These kids see each other all the time. Inside, they all want to win this game, but we tried to treat it as just another game,” Uemoto said. “I was worried about emotions, and our guys getting too caught up in the game and getting suspended. But we always preach to play with class and integrity. I think they embrace that. “
Fleming-Nazara echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“We knew we had to stay humble. We didn’t want to get caught up in any extracurricular stuff,” Fleming-Nazara said. “At the end of the day, it’s just football.”
Teams enter divisional play next week. Konawaena has drawn defending BIIF DII rival Kamehameha-Hawaii (2-2, 5-2) for the first week, which could be a preview of the title game.
“We are a little banged up. We have to get in on Monday and see where we are in terms of injuries,” Uemoto said. “We are going to go over there and give it our best shot and try to take control of Division II. These kids have done nothing but show up, so they will be ready.”
