It was much more than a preseason football game between host Waiakea and Kamehameha on Saturday at Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium.
It was much more than a preseason football game between host Waiakea and Kamehameha on Saturday at Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium.
The score — Kamehameha 41, Waiakea 0 — gets second billing behind the beauty of the stadium, which seats 1,400 and sort of resembles Kamehameha’s Paiea Stadium.
Yamase Stadium’s seats are a little lower, which gives spectators the feel of being closer to the field.
Also, Yamase Stadium has no lights and probably won’t every have any unless there’s a benefactor who’s willing to fork over $2 million.
Plus, Waiakea would adhere to the Aloha good neighbor policy. There are houses below on the makai side and would be bothered by bright lights and noise.
The day was really a tribute to the hard work of the late Yamase, the former Waiakea athletic director and BIIF executive director, who lobbied the Legislature 17 years for construction of the stadium.
“We’re really pleased with the facility. A lot of legwork was done by Ken,” Waiakea AD Tom Correa said. “Different politicians and administrators at Waiakea stepped forward to perpetuate Ken’s dream. It’s a great venue to watch games.”
Kamehameha coach Dan Lyons was the Waiakea swimming coach during Yamase’s tenure and was pleased to be a part of the grand opening.
BIIF soccer games were first played two years ago at the stadium, but it was the first official football game with bleachers.
“The stadium is beautiful and what a great tribute to Ken,” Lyons said. “Ken really fought for kids. His heart was for kids and his heart was for sports.
“He would be very happy with this. This stadium was a dream of his. It couldn’t be any better.”
On the football side, it wasn’t so pretty for Waiakea, which, basically, got dominated on both sides of the ball.
Kamehameha had 16 tackles for loss; Waiakea had none. The visiting Warriors shut down the inside running lanes with strength and numbers and the perimeter with sheer speed.
Lyons’ Warriors sacked Waiakea quarterback Gehrig Octavio three times. The slippery senior played the part of a magician and escaped from over a half-dozen sacks.
In the second quarter, Octavio ran 20 yards backward, zigging and zagging, to avoid a sack, and bolted past the line of scrimmage for a 7-yard gain.
If he wore a watch to track his walking distance from all his mad scrambles, Octavio would have piled up close to a half-marathon.
Lyons tipped his hat to Octavio, who was entertaining every time he danced away from hard-charging defenders.
“It was about finding organization and getting an idea what we were doing,” Lyons said. “Our defense made calls, and our guys made plays. But how tough is Gehrig? He was able to get away, and luckily he didn’t destroy us.”
Waiakea’s offense production was snap the ball to Octavio and watch him run for his life.
He gained 37 yards on 18 carries and completed 4 of 12 passes for 14 yards with two interceptions, including a 56-yard, pick-six by linebacker Ethanjames Ramos, who was all over the place.
It’s difficult to gauge Waiakea’s progress because more than 20 players didn’t suit up for lack of practice time and academic issues.
Kamehameha will host Waiakea on Friday, Aug. 26 to open the BIIF season and with a lack of players the home Warriors weren’t going to open up their playbook.
Waiakea ran a vanilla rushing attack — straight dives and the occasional halfback toss, mainly to burly Dayson-John Keahi-Broad, who’s listed at 5 feet, 8 inches and 285 pounds.
When the junior Warrior gets a bit of momentum, Keahi-Broad turns into a tough-to-tackle bowling ball.
He finished with 37 yards on 18 carries, often crashing into a pack of Kamehameha defenders who anticipated the run.
Besides Octavio’s mad scramble for 7 yards, Waiakea’s other highlight for the sun-burned home crowd was his 33-yard run in the first quarter.
Kamehameha blitzed, didn’t fill one hole, and Octavio found it for a long and thrilling gain to the 28-yard line.
Meanwhile, the visiting Warriors excelled in all three areas: offense, defense, and special teams.
Sophomore running back Paniau Lindsey (5-6, 150 pounds) changed directions for 94 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns, and sophomore QB Kaimi Like was 10 of 18 for 140 yards and three TDs and no interceptions.
Last year, DallasJ Duarte played quarterback for Kamehameha but decided to concentrate on baseball. The junior catcher is a strong candidate to play Division I ball.
“We have so much confidence in Kaimi,” Lyons said. “He’s a low-key guy and doesn’t get rattled. He makes great decisions with the ball.”
On defense, senior lineman Nainoa Rosehill plugged the middle in the trenches, James’ nose kept tracking the ball and Richard Lindsey had the other pick.
For the special teams, Justin Kenoi returned a punt 55 yards in the third quarter to set up Paniau Lindsey’s eight-yard score for a 27-0 lead.
Joseph Hooper, Aukea Hooper, Teva Reynolds, Grayson Cosier, and Jeremiah Schubert didn’t score any points or compile any tackles but made a mighty impact.
Those five are Kamehameha’s new offensive linemen. They kept Like’s jersey clean. They didn’t allow a sack and gave him all day and a bit of tomorrow to throw the ball.
“I thought our offensive line was awesome,” Lyons said. “We were able to run the ball, and Paniau was very impressive with his patience running the ball.”
Again, Waiakea had to play ironman football, going both ways, and the oven-like temperatures eventually took a toll.
Lyons liked his receivers’ route running and credited assistant coach Kana Silva’s tutoring. The Warriors made adjustments to the defense’s alignment and got good separation.
In the first half, Like threw touchdown strikes to Abishai Campbell (28 yards), Makana Manoa (27 yards), and Ayston Motta (2 yards).
Junior QB Kekona Naipo-Arsiga took over in the second half with the score 21-0. He went 0 for 4 with a pick but rushed for 12 yards on three carries and drained the clock.
Waiakea senior linebacker Brandon Stewart had an interception, but Kamehameha still won the turnover battle, 2-1.
For its second preseason game, Waiakea will travel to the Garden Isle to take on Kauai High on Saturday. Kamehameha doesn’t have a preseason game this week.
Kamehameha 7 14 13 7 — 41
Waiakea 0 0 0 0 — 0
First quarter
KSH — Abishai Campbell 28 pass from Kaimi Like (Justin Kenoi kick)
Second quarter
KSH — Makana Manoa 27 pass from Like (kick failed)
KSH — Ayston Motta 2 pass from Like (Paniau Lindsey pass from Like)
Third quarter
KSH — Lindsey 8 run (kick failed)
KSH — Ethanjames Ramos 56 interception return (Kenoi kick)
Fourth quarter
KSH — Lindsey 1 run (Kenoi kick)