If form holds, Hilo will jump out to a quick lead Friday night against Waiakea, coast to a 35-point victory and celebrate its fourth consecutive BIIF Division I football championship at Wong Stadium.
Drive home safely, everybody.
The recent trends are not in the Warriors’ favor as they seek their first BIIF title since 2001.
“First thing we need to do is make sure we make plays on defense,” Waiakea coach Moku Pita said. “Then we have to do it on offense. We have to make plays.”
Waiakea (3-4 BIIF, 3-7) and Hilo (7-0, 7-1) already have secured berths to the HHSAA tournament, and the Warriors already have shown improvement this season, reaching three wins for the first time in Pita’s fourth season at the helm.
Waiakea enters short-handed. Makoa Andres, a key cog in the offense whether he’s running or throwing, suffered a season-ending injury last Saturday in a double-overtime loss to Honokaa, and running back Austin Deperalta also will be sidelined.
Of late, this has not been a rivalry in which you can follow the “throw the records out” saying.
The Vikings have won the each of the past three meetings by 35 points, including a 42-7 win Sept. 30 at Wong in which Hilo followed a familiar formula in the series: quick starts fueled by big plays, with relentless defense.
When Pita talks about his team needing to make plays, he points to Kahale Huddleston’s 73-yard touchdown run for Hilo in the opening minute of the first meeting, and Lukas Kuipers’ long reception from quarterback Kyan Miyasato a few minutes later that set up another score.
“We can’t let that happen,” Pita said, “where we can’t even try to tackle them.”
Most coaches talk about trying to get their teams to treat every opponent the same, and the Vikings, under coach Kaeo Drummondo, appear to have gotten to that point as Miyasato, a freshman, gets more comfortable distributing the ball.
Strong in all three phases, Hilo has been ultra-consistent in winning five consecutive games by a cumulative score of 186-20, posting between 35 and 42 points each time. During that span, the Vikings defense has outscored opposing offenses, producing four touchdowns.
Andres’ injury puts added pressure on Waiakea quarterback Gehrig Octavio to create plays with his feet and arm. The fleet-footed senior ran for 92 yards and a score in the first meeting as the Warriors often featured a jumbo backfield.
Wes Amuimuia will get more carries in Andres’ absence, and Pita said Waiakea will operate out of the spread more than in the past.
“I think we’ve learned some things since the last game and some different strategies,” Pita said, “so hopefully we can give them a better game.”