Keaau – Hilo doesn’t lose a BIIF football game often, so when it does there is little in the way of recent evidence as to guess how the Vikings might respond.
The answer on Friday night was back to basics, which for Hilo meant Kahale Huddleston returning to his touchdown-scoring ways.
The senior scored four times, including the go-ahead touchdown with 3:22 remaining, and the Vikings beat Kamehameha 28-14 at Paiea Stadium.
The decisive score was set up by the Warriors’ first turnover, a bad snap that Hilo (4-1 BIIF Division I, 5-1) recovered at Kamehameha’s 28. On the next play, Kainalu Tiogangco hauled in a pass from Kaleo Apau to put the ball to the 3.
Playing without first-string quarterback Kaimi Like, Kamehameha (4-1 BIIF Division II, 6-2) saw its six-game losing come to an end.
Huddleston accounted for only one touchdown, on a pass, last week as the Vikings lost 24-14 at Konawaena, their first league blemish since 2015, but he was back with a vengeance, making big plays in the running (110 yards) and the passing game.
With Hilo backed up with a third and long on the final play of the third quarter, Huddleston beat tight coverage along the right sideline and caught a perfectly thrown ball for Apao for a 92-yard scoring play, giving Hilo a 14-7 lead.
Kamehameha answered with a shocking play of its own.
Israel Bowden ran 44 yards on what was essentially a fake punt to Hilo’s 15, leading to Paniau Lindsey’s touchdown, which tied the game with 5:22 remaining.
Michael Jumalon threw for a score for the Warriors, and Bowden ran for 61 yards, caught three passes for 52 yards, completed pass and unleashed a 60-yard punt.
Hilo’s Micah Bello returned an interception to the Warriors’ 1, leading to Huddleston’s final touchdown
There were no shortage of flags in the first half, and both teams took advantage of penalties to extend touchdown drives as the game went to the half 7-7.
After Kamehameha’s second consecutive three-and-out to begin the game, Huddleston elected not to call for a fair catch on a punt return and was nailed by multiple tacklers, but the play only served to excite him.
He ripped off a 61-yard run down the right sideline, and two penalties on third down extended the drive, giving Hilo first-and-goal at the 4, where Huddleston carried the ball into the end zone for his 20th touchdown of the season.
The Warriors’ touchdown drive covered 49 yards, and Kamehameha was given new life on a 15-yard leading-with-the helmet penalty on third down. On the next play, Jumalon hit Izayah Chartrand-Penera for a 17-yard score.