BIIF football: Ewing, defense lead Konawaena past Kamehameha

KEALAKEKUA – Teams that commit three turnovers and force none, and make a mockery of the punt game, aren’t supposed to win, let alone win going away against a quality opponent.

The convenient take Saturday night after Konawaena’s 35-12 victory against Kamehameha was to heap praise upon quarterback Austin Ewing and his get-behind-your-man fleet of receivers for allowing the Wildcats to live dangerously.

Coach Brad Uemoto didn’t disagree, but save some praise for the defense, he said, in allowing Konawaena to secure home-field advantage in the BIIF Division II title game.

“Them playing great was what it came down to,” he said. “They kept covering up our deficiencies all night.”

While Ewing was Ewing in dissecting one of the BIIF’s best defenses time and again, Kamehameha wasn’t able to establish any running game to keep the junior standout off the field. The Wildcats (5-1 BIIF, 6-1) came up with six sacks in holding the Warriors to minus-14 yards rushing.

That became problematic for Kamehameha as sophomore Kaimi Like was just a touch out of sync with his receivers save for a third-quarter stretch, finishing 14 of 33 for 126 yards.

“We pride ourselves in stopping the run and forcing other teams to get out of their comfort zone,” Uemoto said.

The Warriors (4-2, 6-2) had the size advantage on the line of scrimmage, but senior Tyler Kahananui often came crashing in from his free safety position to provide run support.

“I just loved coming up and taking those guys out,” he said. “Yes, they were bigger (up front), but we powered through and we just play harder than they do.”

The turning point in the game came in the third quarter when the Warriors, buoyed by consecutive touchdown passes by Like to pull them within 19-12, appeared to have all the momentum after recovering a fumble around its 40.

But as was the case for most of the game after a Konawaena mistake, its defense had the answer, quickly getting on and off the field.

“No matter how bad the adversity becomes, we still push through,” Kahananui said.

Paka Cacoulidis was a disruptive force, getting credit for at least two of Konawaena’s sacks, and Kevin Gladden tackled Like in the end zone for a safety.

And so the chess match begins ahead of the rematch on Oct. 21 or Oct. 22 back at Julian R. Yates Field in the title game.

Kamehameha coach Dan Lyons’ message to his team after the game: Let’s get better.

“We fought back and got it back to within one score, but gave up too many big plays,” he said. “This is all a precursor to two weeks from now. Hopefully we learn.”

The fixes will likely begin with nagging offensive mistakes and shoring up a defensive backfield that was routinely torched.

“We left a lot of plays out there on offense,” Lyons said. “We have to to be able to complete passes and give our receivers balls they can catch.”

Konawaena took advantage of one-one-one matchups to gain yardage in chunks, including nine pass plays of 20 yards or more. Ewing dazzled, shrugging off bad snaps, dropped passes and seven sacks to finish 23 of 45 for 433 yards and four touchdowns with an interception.

“We’ve got to get some help back there on defense,” Lyons said. “They are a big-play offense and we have to minimize their big plays.”

It’s a double-edged sword, however, in defending Ewing, who knows how to by time in the pocket to extend plays and pick up deflating first downs.

“There is the one (version) where gets the ball and runs all over to make plays or sees something and audibles and makes the right decision,” Uemoto said. “There is the one (version) where he just has to get rid of the ball quick and he puts it in a good place for our kids to succeed.”

Both teams have games this weekend to end the regular season that are essentially meaningless. Kamehameha visits Hilo on Friday night, and at the same time Konawaena travels to Keaau.

Lyons pointed out that last season the Warriors beat the Wildcats convincingly at home in the regular season, only to lose the rematch on the Wildcats’ home field in the championship game.

“We’re not thinking we can’t come back and win this, but obviously we have to play better,” he said. “I think we can learn something between then and now.”

Expect Konawaena to tend to an adventurous punting game that muffed a punt return, airmailed a punt snap – leading to Kamehameha’s first touchdown – and allowed a punt to be blocked.

At least during Round 1, the Wildcats were able to get away with it.

“For the next two weeks, we’ll just try to work harder than they do,” Kahananui said.