Today through Saturday will see four BIIF football games take place on the isle’s east side.
As the midseason comes into full swing, the results of this weekend’s matchups will provide a much clearer picture of what the BIIF playoffs will look like.
•••
HPA VERSUS PAHOA
Ka Makani (3-2) will return to Puna for the second straight week, this time taking on the Daggers (2-3) at 6 p.m. today at Kea‘au HS.
After suffering its worst loss of the season last week (49-0 to KSH), HPA will look to repeat its early-season success from its first meeting with Pahoa — when Ka Makani crushed the Daggers 33-0.
HPA excelled on both sides of the ball during the pair’s first matchup, and much of its offensive success came from its run game — as HPA’s runningbacks averaged nearly ten yards per carry.
Last week, KSH did an excellent job of stopping Ka Makani’s run, and held its offense to less than 100 yards overall — dealing HPA several three-and-out’s.
Now that they have more film, more reps under their belt and some experience against Ka Makani — Pahoa also has the opportunity to study KSH’s run defense, slow down HPA’s drives and go for the win.
Pahoa leads the former eight-man teams in DII — defeating Ka‘u at the start of the season and Kohala last week.
•••
HONOKA‘A AT KSH
On Friday, the Warriors (6-0) will host the Dragons (4-1) — kicking off at 5 p.m.
Though the standings look very similar to last season’s, there is one important difference — KSH beat Honoka‘a in the pair’s first bout this year, and it was a big win. Three weeks ago, KSH traveled to Honoka‘a’s home turf and won 30-7.
During last year’s first bout between the Dragons and the Warriors, HHS emerged victorious, 27-23, from the back-and-forth battle.
This gives the Warriors the edge going into Friday, but one absolutely cannot count out the Dragons in this rivalry. The pair each had one victory over one another last year going into the BIIF championship, during which Honoka‘a prevailed 19-9.
The Dragons have defeated everyone else in DII so far this season, and will enter Friday’s game riding the high of a three-game winning streak — during which they routed Kohala 40-7, Pahoa 45-6 and Ka‘u 44-6.
There is a lot at stake for both teams in Friday’s test.
If KSH wins, it will have all but secured a berth in the BIIF championship. All that the Warriors will have to do is win again against HPA, Pahoa, Kohala and Ka‘u — all of whom they have defeated by 40-point margins, except Pahoa, which forfeited.
The same will go for Honoka‘a if it wins on Friday — but if it loses, it will need to be much more careful throughout the rest of the regular season. The Dragons barely scraped by HPA, winning 13-12 during the pair’s season opener. If Honoka‘a has two losses to KSH, HPA could claim the other BIIF championship berth by pulling off a big win over the Dragons during their next encounter — unless HPA ends up suffering a loss to any of the former eight-man teams before the end of the season.
•••
KONAWAENA AT HILO
So far, the Wildcats (5-1) have had another dominant season, crushing every other BIIF DI opponent and averaging a whopping 64.25 points scored and 3.5 points allowed.
Konawaena’s only loss was a preseason test against nationally-ranked visitor Long Beach Poly, during which the Wildcats were upset 60-28 after leading through the first quarter.
Hilo (3-1) fell 55-8 during its first game against Konawaena this season.
Friday’s odds are stacked in the Wildcats’ favor — but the beauty of football is that anything can happen on any given Friday, or Sunday — or whatever.
The Vikings have showed a great amount of grit and persistance this season, most notably during their comeback victory against Kea‘au earlier this month — when Hilo tied the score during the last minute of the second quarter, then outscored the Cougars 15-8 during the second half to come away with a 29-22 victory.
•••
KEA‘AU AT WAIAKEA
During this pair’s last matchup, the Cougars won 42-0 —leading 36-0 by halftime.
Though they are not without heart, Waiakea’s young and mostly inexperienced players have struggled this season. However, unlike the last game against Kea‘au, they have a bit more experience — and this could be a much closer game.
Coming off of two straight losses and a bye week, Kea‘au (2-3) will be looking to get back to business and add another win.