It was fitting when the Hilo High football team unveiled its yellow-on-yellow uniforms for its first home game in August.
The Vikings were golden all season long, and they weren’t alone.
Winning happened in abundance again on the Big Island in 2019 in a variety of forms.
One team accomplished the feat for the first time in more than a generation, but it was far from the only one to put an unwanted streak to an end.
The year was almost defined when a team won by too much. In the end, the winning definition came into clearer focus when that very same tame prevailed by the tiniest of margins.
Here is a look at the Tribune-Herald’s top 10 stories of 2019.
1. The kick
Hilo’s High’s football season of domination came down to a 55-yard field goal as time expired.
Keanu Keolanui had it all the way.
The senior’s golden boot tied the state championship mark and lifted the Vikings to a 20-17 victory Nov. 29 against Iolani at Aloha Stadium for its second HHSAA Division I championship in three seasons.
Hilo enjoyed one of the most dominant seasons in BIIF history, outscoring the competition 611-52 in winning its seventh consecutive Division I title. The Viks outlasted Leilehua 19-9 in the state semifinals at home, finally getting over the hump against a team from the Oahu Interscholastic Association, but it ran into adversity against Iolani in the final.
The first half ended in disaster when Hilo allowed a 94-yard punt return and trailed 17-3.
But the Vikings rallied to tie the game, ultimately outgaining the Raiders by 235 yards, setting up Keolanui for his shining moment.
“That was my longest kick,” he told the Tribune-Herald. “I kicked one 57 yards in practice, but it barely made it. When I kick, I don’t look at the number. I look at the goal posts, wait for the snap, take my time and hit it as hard as I could.”
2. 104-0
Those at Wong Stadium on the morning of Sept. 7 may never forget it.
It was unfortunate.
It was awe-inducing.
It was historic.
Waiakea kept turning the ball over and Hilo kept scoring touchdowns.
The score was 83-0 at halftime, and the Vikings’ fifth defensive touchdown in the fourth quarter put them over the century mark.
At that point, many on the Hilo sideline started taking pictures of the scoreboard at Wong that read “4-0” because there was only space for two digits.
The Warriors’ coach and athletic director were quick to say they didn’t think Hilo ran up the score — pointing to Waiakea’s 11 turnovers as the driving force behind a blowout that was the largest in BIIF history and tied a state mark.
A few days later, BIIF ADs voted to amend the mercy rule so that the running clock was implemented immediately once a 35-point differential was reached in a game, not just in the second half.
3. We have a winner
UH-Hilo’s baseball program had showed signs of breaking through, but 2019 was the year.
The Vulcans didn’t just compete, they won, putting 26 consecutive winless seasons behind them.
On April 26, Dylan Spain’s three-hit shutout at Point Loma secured the Vulcans’ first winning season since 1992.
UHH would go on to finish 26-19 and second in the Pacific West Conference, and its .577 winning percentage was the best for the program since the 1989. The season included a 13-game winning streak.
4. Run to regionals
UHH’s volleyball programs was surprised to lose coach Gene Krieger in the offseason, but interim coach Chris Leonard more than filled the void.
Krieger helped turn the program into a winner, but Leonard molded a contender, guiding UHH to its first postseason berth 2011 and just its six overall.
The Vuls gained confidence early in the season in a narrow nonconference loss to national power Western Washington, and their signature win came in five-set home win against PacWest front-runner Azusa Pacific, which capped a 12-game winning streak.
5. The streak is over
Death, taxes and Konawaena girls basketball ruling the BIIF.
The latter finally became an uncertainty Jan. 10 — that’s when Waiakea routed the Wildcats 54-22, ending their 124-game BIIF winning streak.
A few weeks later, the Warriors beat Konawaena again, this time in a much closer contest, dethroning the 10-time BIIF champion to earn their first title since 2008.
6. Every stroke matters
In victory that was as emotional as it was close in July on a picture-perfect day at Hilo Bay, Kai Opua ended Puna Canoe Club’s four-year reign atop the Aunty Maile/ Moku O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Racing Association championships.
Kai Opua not only did it to honor Uncle Bo Campos – the club’s beloved president died in December 2019 at the age of 71 – but Big Blue won its title by holding off Green Pride by a single point.
“(His) picture was there on our organizational desk in the tent,” Kai Opua athletic director Mike Atwood told the Tribune-Herald. “His spirit was definitely there. Before the regatta started, we dedicated it to him.”
7. Golden girl
It’s debatable whether you can call Kamehameha’s Chenoa Frederick the best girls track and field athlete in BIIF history.
What’s not arguable is this: She’s the most decorated.
In May on Maui, Frederick claimed four gold medals at the state championships, outscoring all but two of the 30 girls teams at the meet all by herself. She’s got eight career state golds and counting heading into her season season.
8. PONY power
Coach Shaun Malani had six near misses in mainland youth baseball tournaments and was thinking about hanging it up until his son, Brayden Malani, convinced him otherwise.
The Hilo Pony 13 All-Stars turned out to be the lucky ones.
After conquering state and West Zone tournaments, Hilo advanced to the final day of the World Series in Whittier, Calif. The 13s beat Mexico then rallied to beat a team from Pennsylvania 10-6, giving Hilo PONY its first world title since 2014.
9. True rivalry
The term rivalry can be overused at times, simply because it means nothing when mismatches unfold on the field of play.
Sometime you can’t throw the team’s records out, but you can when Hilo and Waiakea play for the BIIF Division I baseball title.
The Warriors reached the championship series undefeated, twice topping the Viking, but Hilo was better when it mattered. It swept Waiakea, which only made sense since it continue a trend: since 2012, the Warriors win titles in even years and the Viks take them in odd ones.
10. No end in sight for HPA
For the second consecutive season, Kamehameha beat Hawaii Prep for the BIIF Division II girls soccer title.
For the sixth consecutive season, none of that mattered on Oahu.
Ka Makani overpowered the Warriors 4-0 in the HHSAA championship game in February, claiming their sixth consecutive state crown.
Best of the rest
• Hawaii Prep’s Ryo Minakata claims the boys state tennis championship.• UHH tennis reaches nationals again, advancing further than any other Vulcans program in the Division II era.
• Kealakehe dethrones four-time champion Waiakea to earn first softball title.
• Makua Lani claims D-II volleyball title.
• State rifle gold for Hilo’s Gianna Yokoe.
• State judo gold for Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Anela Manuia.
