KAILUA-KONA — Konawaena has long preached that their system is built upon taking advantage of what the opposition gives them.
In Friday night’s BIIF opener against Kealakehe, that was a whole lot.
The Wildcats (1-2 overall, 1-0 BIIF) capitalized on more than a half-dozen Waverider turnovers and used a new-found balance on offense to roll to a 46-16 win over their cross-town rivals.
“We flew to the ball and looked like that Konawaena defense people are used to — aggressive and swarming,” Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto said. “ Our offensive line played well. That was a big point for us coming in so we would be able to run our offense the way we wanted to.”
Before the offense had even took a snap, Konawaena hushed the Kealakehe (0-3, 0-1) supporters who were among the standing room only crowd of 2,000-plus at Waverider Stadium with two momentum swinging plays.
Alex Muti returned a fumble for a touchdown on the second play of the game, and Jarvis Kalili blocked a Kealakehe punt on the second drive that was returned by Paka Cacoulidis inside the Waverider 15-yard line.
“Those two plays really set the tone for the game,” Uemoto said.
More often than not, Cacoulidis was involved in big defensive plays and was among a slew of Wildcats that set up camp in the Waveriders’ backfield. From his defensive end spot, he forced two fumbles and recovered two more.
“He’s an emotional leader for us,” Uemoto said of Cacoulidis. “Once the lights turn on, he does his thing and can help carry that defense.”
Offensively, quarterback Austin Ewing was the usual suspect as the catalyst at the helm of the Wildcats offense. The two-time BIIF Offensive Player of the Year had by far his best showing of the young season, passing for 308 yards and five touchdowns. He exited midway through the third quarter and the Wildcats were content to keep the game grounded the rest of the way.
The biggest difference from the preseason to the BIIF opener for the Wildcats offense was an expanded roster, which included multiple starters returning from injury or academic probation.
Senior Tyler Libarios caught his first passes of the season and notched over 100 yards receiving, including a 44-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter.
The improved depth also allowed the Wildcats a little more flexibility on offense, moving Chauncey Mariani-Louis over from the defensive side of the ball to take over the running back role for an injured Dominic Delacruz.
Mariani-Louis found a lot of success, tallying 118 yards rushing and three total TDs (one rushing, two receiving).
It allowed the Wildcats to have much-needed balance, which was most notably missing in a 64-attempt game by Ewing against Saint Francis on Aug. 19.
“Not having to play defense really affected how (Mariani-Louis) ran the ball. Last week we could tell he was gassed,” Uemoto said. “This week you could see he was fresh and it gave us a good balance.”
Konawaena will look for back-to-back wins next week against Keaau, which opens a three-game home stand for the Wildcats.