HILO – Opponents may not see it, perhaps because it’s written in fine print much like that of a product disclaimer, but Hilo’s football team has its own definition of adversity these days.
Difficulty, in Vikings’ terms, involved being caught off guard enough on defense to allow a few first downs, and that combined with a sluggish offense that went scoreless on its first three possessions Saturday night, turning the ball over twice, led to a surprisingly scoreless first quarter.
Still, it only seemed like a matter of when not if Hilo would get rolling, which it did, beating Keaau 42-0 behind a five-touchdown second quarter in a BIIF Division I game at Wong Stadium.
“What we try to tell these guys is adversity isn’t always bad, adversity is a good opportunity to go do something special,” coach Kaeo Drummondo said. “Some people look at adversity like it’s difficult situation and they don’t really want to go and face it.
“What is adversity? It’s tough situation, an opportunity for you to go and do something great.”
Adversity may be hard to read, but the resiliency was easy to see.
“No one was stressing,” junior running back Shesley Martinez said. “We made adjustments after (the first quarter). We were all spazzing and stuff. I guess from the hot (practice) week we had.”
After a limited week of practice because of a school trip, senior quarterback Kyan Miyasato (10 of 15, 157 yards) came off the bench and threw three touchdown passes, giving him 21 him TDs and just three interceptions – numbers, offensive coordinator Chris Todd said, that stack up as the best in the state. Kaimi Tiogangco started at quarterback, threw an interception to Damon Sharp, and ended with two touchdowns, 44 yards rushing and 43 receiving.
Meanwhile, Hilo’s defense heads to October having not been scored on since August. Waiakea, Honokaa, Konawaena and Keaau went 0-for-September. The Vikings (6-0 BIIF, 7-0) head up the Hamakua Coast on Friday night to play the Dragons having scored 255 unanswered points.
During its scoreless streak, Hilo’s defense has produced nine touchdowns, including Kayden Alameda’s fumble recovery in the end zone against the Cougars (2-4), who kept the game scoreless heading into the second quarter thanks to a spirited goal-line stand after the Vikings had first down inside the 3.
“Hats of to them,” said Drummondo, who credited also Keaau for coming out with an unbalanced, heavy offensive formation.
Cougars quarterback Bryant Respicio-Mercado ripped off an early 13-yard gain, and running back Duncan Castro had a couple of nice runs, but Keaau was held well short of 100 yards of offense.
“They came out with a different game plan, and we practiced absolutely zero reps for it, which is on me,” Drummondo. “To me, I actually think it’s a good thing, it caused us to adjust mid-drive and mid-game.”
Hilo’s first game of the second half of the 10-game regular season might be a foreshadow of things to come. Teams aren’t just going to roll over. They’re going to try something new.
“I expect the second round to be more of a challenge,” Drummondo said. “We all have film on each other. I expect a lot of teams to utilize (Keaau’s) blue print. They are going to try and shorten the game.”
Guyson’s Ogata’s 35-yard touchdown catch made it 21-0, then Stan Mwarey’s interception set up Donald Moody’s touchdown run. Fiki Aguiar made two catches for 55 yards.
Afterward, Drummondo and Todd were asked to produce a player for an interview, and Martinez was “surprised they called on me.
“Most (attention) goes to Fiki, Kilo (Haasenritter), others,” he said.
There are a lot of balls to go around, and lately Martinez has lost carries to Lyle Silva, who ran for eight times for 52 yards. In the fourth quarter, Martinez slipped out for his first career touchdown reception.
“I wouldn’t grumble,” he said. “I have to show my hands a little bit more, block harder.”
