HILO — Hilo kicker Kalei Tolentino-Perry admits he was a little nervous when he lined up for the game-winner on Saturday night at Wong Stadium, but once it left his foot, there was never a doubt.
Tolentino-Perry drilled a 29-yard game winning field goal with 51 seconds left to give his Vikings a 23-21 win over Konawaena in the BIIF opener for both teams.
“I lined up, got a nice piece of it and it went right through,” Tolentino-Perry said. “It was amazing.”
While clutch, the game-winner might not have been Tolentino-Perry’s most impressive kick of the night. He went 3-for-3 on field goals, including a 48-yarder in the first half.
“It’s a great weapon for us to have,” Hilo head coach Kaeo Drummondo said.
Hilo (1-0 BIIF, 1-1 overall) went up big early, but had to battle back in an adversity-filled second half, which included multiple injuries to key players.
“They could have quit, but they didn’t. The boys came back, played it out and stuck with it,” Drummondo said. “We were just two points better. We can enjoy it for a little and then move on to the next one.”
A lot of eyes have been on Konawaena (0-1 BIIF, 1-1 overall) to start the season, with many considering the Wildcats the top contender in the state for the Division II crown. While the early loss has little impact on Konawaena’s ultimate goal of winning the BIIF and eventually getting to that state stage, some things are expected to change.
“Like I told the boys after the game, all the No. 1 ranking stuff is over now,” Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto said. “But I think that’s the way we would rather have it. We were given a lot of recognition early on, but now we have to earn it. That’s what Konawaena is all about.”
Hilo opened up the game with 20 straight points, including a 91-yard run by Skylar Brede and multiple long connections between quarterback Ka’ale Tiogangco and Lukas Kuipers.
The Vikings were in firm control of the game, but knew never to count out the Wildcats with their quick strike offense.
Konawaena had some red zone chances, but didn’t score for all 24 minutes of the first half. It took a trick play on an untimed down for Konawaena to break the shutout before the break.
On the play, quarterback Austin Ewing motioned out left and waved his arms in the air like he was drowning. Running back Micah Laban took the snap and looked to run before pulling up and lobbing a pass into the arms of 6-foot-3 wide receiver Kamakana Ching.
“We have a few trick plays we run regularly in practice. We actually ran that same play against Hilo a few years ago,” Uemoto said. “That seemed like the time to use it, but now it goes on the backburner for a few years.”
After halftime, Konawaena’s offense looked unstoppable. In a span of just over five minutes, the Wildcats took a 21-20 lead thanks to a pair of touchdown strikes from quarterback Austin Ewing to Ching and Laban.
“We jumped on them early but this was exactly the type of game I expected,” Drummondo said. “I didn’t think we were going to run away with it. We knew they were a resilient group and that offense is still very efficient. They come at you at a pace that is hard to keep up with.”
With the Wildcats in control, Hilo’s problems and injuries started to mount. First, Kuipers — who had torched the Konawaena secondary for 117 yards and a score — went down with an injury along the sideline. Then, it was senior quarterback Tiogangco who was taken off in a cart after a hard hit on a sack. Already down a starting running back, the Vikings needed to dig deep in the depth chart to stay in the game.
Enter, freshman quarterback Kyan Miyasato. His first pass went 46 yards the other way on a pick-six, but it was called back because of a flag. The rest of the game, the 5-foot-8, 130-pound frosh did just enough against an aggressive Konawaena defense to get the Viks the win.
“It’s expected that he would be a bit nervous, but we trust him to run this offense,” Drummondo said. “He doesn’t bring the same thing that Ka’ale does with his legs, but as far as the passing game goes, we trust him with our stuff and expect him to execute. Hopefully he will build on this game and come into the next one with more confidence.”
While thrilling, the game was marred by a bevy of penalty flags. Two players were ejected, and long gains routinely had 15 yards added on.
“Without watching the film I don’t know what to say yet,” Drummondo said. “I can say that I’ve been a part of football my entire life — playing and coaching — and that’s probably the most penalty yards I have seen in a game.”
The biggest call of the game came as the Wildcats tried to run out the clock. Set up around their own 35-yard line, Ewing scrambled far back in an attempt to shake pursuing defenders. In the chaos, a blindside block was called on Konawaena. The player was ejected and the flag was a spot foul, placing the ball just outside the Konawaena goal line.
With their backs to the wall, the Wildcats decided to go with the unconventional 3rd down punt, hoping to catch Hilo without a punt return crew on to get a few extra yards. In theory, it was a great plan, however, the ball went nearly straight up in the air and Hilo took over already well within Tolentino-Perry’s range.
“We thought it was the right call,” Uemoto said. “We thought if we punted without their return set up we would be able to get a little more out of it. It just didn’t work out.”
After the field goal, Konawaena still had a shot, although it would take some time to get on the field. Hilo kicked the ball out of bounds three consecutive times before Konawaena took over at midfield. Ewing took a few shots, but the Viks came up with a pick that ended the contest. The standout junior QB finished the game 18 of 37 passing for 246 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Looking ahead, Hilo faces another stiff test against undefeated Kamehameha-Hawaii (1-0, 3-0) next week.
“We have to heal the kids up and give them support, but as far as football goes, it’s next man up for us,” Drummondo said. “The season is not going to stop for us to get healthy.”
Konawaena travels to Keaau (1-0, 1-0) to face a Cougar team on the upswing after getting the program’s first win since 2013 against Hawaii Prep on Saturday.