SOUTH KONA — Following an offensive clinic against Waiakea in Week 2, Konawaena football continued that momentum against Hilo on Friday night with a 55-8 win at Julian R. Yates Field. The Wildcats scored a touchdown on their first six drives of the game.
Konawaena moves to 2-1 in the early season and is undefeated in Big Island Interscholastic Federation play, while Hilo dropped to 0-1 in the conference.
“I wanted to see good energy, and the boys played well tonight,” Wildcats head coach Brad Uemoto said. “We just have to keep the momentum going.”
Konawaena quarterback Keoki Alani finished the night completing 26 of his 32 passes — totaling 527 yards and six touchdowns. Star wideout Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio hauled in four scores for 214 yards. Receivers Abraham Ogata (123 yards) and Ali‘imalu Tan (91 yards) additionally caught one touchdown each. Running back Keawe Navas Loa ran for two scores of his own for 87 yards. The Wildcats’ offensive line protected Alani consistently all night, not allowing a sack.
It didn’t take long for Konawaena to get things going early. On the first drive of the game, Alani found Anahu-Ambrosio for a beautiful over-the-shoulder throw down the seam for a 65-yard touchdown.
After the Wildcats’ defense stifled the Vikings in the ensuing possession, Alani found Anahu-Ambrosio again the next drive — this time from 22 yards out. To complete the first quarter hat trick, Alani extended a play on the next drive while escaping the pass rush, patiently finding Anahu-Ambrosio once more in the corner of the end zone for a nine-yard score.
Konawaena’s defense made things even easier for its offense in the next drive, with defensive back Carmine Taetuna-Fautanu picking a pass from Hilo quarterback Austin Aguiar to place the Wildcats in Viking territory.
“A lot of the time, our defense gets overlooked,” Uemoto said of the unit’s performance. “They play outstanding football — they show up and get really good results.”
Following a 30-yard pass from Alani to Ogata to put Konawaena inside the 10-yard line, Navas Loa ran it in for a short rushing touchdown — propelling the Wildcats to a four-touchdown lead at the end of the opening quarter.
The second quarter was much like the first for Konawaena. After starting to establish the run game in the opening drive of the quarter, the Wildcats found themselves inside the 20 again, with Alani firing a laser pass to Anahu-Ambrosio for another score.
After Konawaena’s defense held up again, Alani connected with Tan off a screen pass for another big gain to get into Hilo’s territory. Alani then threw another dart to Ogata for a touchdown.
“We got some good timing with our receivers (against Hilo),” Uemoto said. “They gave us different looks, and for (Alani and the receiving core) to adjust was good to see.”
After the Wildcats fumbled the ball on their next drive, the Vikings finally started to move the chains with a big gain from receiver Tazein Sykes to put Hilo in Konawaena territory. However, Konawaena was able to escape the scare by forcing a turnover on downs — holding on to its 41-point lead going into halftime.
The Wildcats continued to pile it on in the second half. Navas Loa ran for his second touchdown from a huge gain through the middle in the offense’s opening drive. Then, early in the fourth quarter, Alani connected with Tan over the shoulder for another big touchdown throw — the Wildcats’ final of the night.
Alani finally took a seat in the midway point of the fourth before Hilo scored its only points of the game in the closing minute.
“We just need to remain focused,” Uemoto said of the team’s mindset going into next week. “No matter what the score is or the down-of-distance, we still have to get better and more disciplined as we head deeper into the season.”
Konawaena will travel to Oahu on Saturday to take on Leilehua on the road.