Somewhere, Ken Yamase will be smiling.
Waiakea opened its doors in the 1970s, and Saturday it will finally get a chance to open the gates to its own football field.
The Warriors will christen Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium, capacity approximately 1,400, against rival Kamehameha in the only game involving BIIF teams during the first weekend of the high school preseason.
For the record, no, Waiakea coach Moku Pita will not miss Wong Stadium, which the Warriors shared with Hilo High.
“There are a lot of reasons this move is good,” he said.
But he’s also looking forward to another debut, that of offensive coordinator Kai Ako. Ako previously assisted Cal Lee at St. Louis during Lee’s dominating reign of the Oahu Prep Bowl.
“He’s bringing in the run-and-shoot offense, and he likes what we have in Gehrig (Octavio),” Pita said.
The fleet-footed Octavio, a senior, holds an ample amount of experience at quarterback, but much of that came as Waiakea was running the read option.
With a background at another Oahu powerhouse, Kahuku, Pita came to Waiakea with high expectations, but his three previous Warriors teams produced a total of six wins.
“This year they seem to finally be realizing that they are playing for each other and playing together the whole time,” Pita said.
Waiakea would like nothing better than to win its first game on its new turf field, but Pita said he would treat the game as a scrimmage, especially since only 22 varsity players are set to suit up.
“We have to play ironman football,” he said. “We’ve got a full squad, but some haven’t had enough practices (10 in pads are required to play in a game), and some are on (academic probation).”
Last weekend, Waiakea and Kamehameha each got in scrimmages against Lahainaluna as well as other BIIF teams. The rival Warriors open the regular season against each other Aug. 26 at Paiea Stadium in Keaau.
All home games this season at Waiakea will start at approximately 1:30 p.m. after a 11 a.m. junior varsity game.
A dedication to the new field will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday. Yamase, who died in 2008, was a former Waiakea athletic director and BIIF executive secretary, and current Waiakea AD Tom Correa credits Yamase for tirelessly lobbying the state Legislature to make the new stadium a reality.
• Honokaa was to have opened its preseason Saturday against the OIA’s Wailua, but the game was cancelled.
