SOUTH KONA — Up 21-7 in the first half which showcased superb play from quarterback Keoki Alani, Konawaena football was outscored 53-7 in the remainder of the game to fall to Long Beach Poly (California) by a final score of 60-28 in its season opener Friday at home.
In an exhilarating first half in which the Wildcats looked in control, the Jackrabbits made plays on both sides of the ball to help open the floodgates in the final two quarters to run away with the victory.
Konawaena’s (0-1) loss marked the defending Division I state champion’s first since Week 1 of 2022, where they fell to Granger (Utah) 30-7.
“You schedule teams like this for obviously the experience,” Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto said of Long Beach Poly postgame. “I’m proud of how we competed. Attrition got to us a little bit in the second half, but it’s always something that we can work on.”
Alani finished with 455 passing yards and four total touchdowns — three passing and one rushing. The senior shared the wealth when throwing to his receivers, hitting Austin Takaki (181 yards), Abraham Ogata (103 yards) and Armenio Blanco (100 yards) for scores.
On the Wildcats’ defensive side, lineman Elias Malapit (8.5 tackles, fumble recovery) and linebacker Keawe Navas Loa (3.5 tackles, fumble recovery) led the unit.
On Long Beach Poly’s side, quarterback Darius Curry threw for three touchdowns, while defensive back Quimari Shumwell recorded two pick sixes in the second half. Wide receiver Ezekiel Orozco had three total touchdowns and Kamarie Smith returned a kickoff for a score.
The first two quarters featured a back-and-forth affair from both schools on both ends of the field. Long Beach Poly struck first with a rushing touchdown from running back Joshua Cason that was set up from two consecutive offside penalties from Konawaena’s defense.
This was the first of a few circumstances where the Wildcats committed penalties that gave the Jackrabbits better field position to set up a score, although multiple flags were thrown for both teams all game long.
“We’re gonna teach them to be aggressive early on, and then it’s always easier to pull them back a little bit,” Uemoto said of the penalties. “It’s just discipline, and as the season goes on, it’ll get better.”
Konawaena’s offense responded the next drive with an up-tempo offense that was utilized all game, with Alani electing for multiple screen passes followed by a 24-yard dot to wide receiver Carmine Fautanu-Taetuna to put the Wildcats on the 1-yard line. Alani then ran the ball in from the flat on the next down to get Konawaena on the board — although the extra point was missed.
After throwing multiple blitz coverages at the Jackrabbits offense in the ensuing drive, the Wildcats got the ball back and scored again — this time from a beautiful over-the-shoulder heave from Alani to Blanco for a 32-yard touchdown. Konawaena converted the two-point conversion and owned a 14-6 early lead. Alani then found Ogata in the corner of the endzone for another touchdown to go up 14 in the second quarter — the Wildcats’ largest lead of the game.
But once Smith returned the ball the following play for Long Beach Poly for an easy six points, the Jackrabbits never looked back. They scored 53 consecutive points to put the nail in the coffin in South Kona — including two rushing touchdowns (one from a botched Konawaena special teams play), three touchdown passes from Curry and three pick sixes off of Alani. Alani threw a touchdown pass to Takaki to get Konawaena back on the board for the last points of the evening.
Despite the result, Uemoto views the loss as a building block for how the Wildcats will paint the rest of the season in their title defense, and that his players will get right back to work.
“We’re gonna have to take this experience and build it through the season,” he said. “And then hopefully win a BIIF title off of it, and then compete for a state championship with very similar opponents.
“We’re just getting back to work tomorrow — we’ll look at film and talk through some things. This is a great group with great potential, and I’m excited for them going forward.”
Konawaena will be back Saturday against Waiakea in Hilo for Week 2.
Kamehameha 20, Kealakehe 7
KONA — In a game where early-season rust played a part, Kealakehe football lost to Kamehameha in its season opener Saturday at home by a score of 20-7. The team returned to Waverider Stadium for the first time in two seasons due to construction of the new blue track circling the field. The Waveriders will begin the year 0-1.
However, there were bright spots from Kealakehe, who showed fight throughout the evening— such as impressive plays on the ground and through the air from freshman quarterback Lawai‘a Nahakuelua, frequent pressure from the defensive line and forcing turnovers consistently.
The flashes of potential were there, and Waveriders head coach Wyatt Nahale agreed.
“It’s now about building off of the positive stuff, watching film and then trying to evaluate how we can make adjustments,” Nahale said postgame. “There’s a lot to clean up this week, but there was a lot of good stuff, too.”
Nahakuelua finished with a touchdown pass and four interceptions in his first-ever start at quarterback. Defensive back Ikaika Gouveia had a strong defensive showing with two picks while Kawika Gouveia caught a touchdown pass for the Waveriders.
On the Warriors’ side, quarterback AdamPerry had two touchdown throws — one to Javan Ferry and the other to Jacob James-Ramos — and two interceptions. Running back Ethan Bowden added a rushing touchdown.
Kealakehe began the game by forcing a fumble, but the offense failed to initiate a complete drive — marching down the field multiple times sparked by Nahakuelua extending plays with his legs and finding receivers Kainalu Willis and Alika Rigaud downfield. However, the Warriors always found a way to deny the Waveriders from scoring — picking off Nahakuelua twice and forcing a fumble in the opening two quarters.
Bowden scored the only touchdown of the first half with a 1-yard run.
The Warriors started to figure out the Waveriders in the third quarter. On the opening drive, Kamehameha moved the chains with quick screen passes from Perry and strong runs down the middle from Bowden. Despite Kealakehe’s constant defensive pressure, Perry found James-Ramos for a touchdown pass to extend the lead.
Following another Nahakuelua interception in the Waveriders’ territory, Perry connected with Feary for a consecutive Warriors’ touchdown.
Kealakehe finally broke through at the 11-minute mark in the fourth quarter, when Nahakuelua found Kawika Gouveia for a deep over-the-shoulder throw for the Waveriders’ first and only score of the night. Kamehameha squashed any hope of a late-game Kealakehe comeback by picking off the Waveriders once more at the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
With the opening-night loss being a learning experience, Nahale expects his group to turn the page quick for next week’s matchup.
“I don’t think I have to rally them too much because they look like they’re hungry,” he said. “I know that they’re very competitive — and knowing this group, I think that they are willing to (bounce back).”
Kealakehe will seek redemption against Keaau on Saturday at Waverider Stadium.