Hilo already had to wait 27 days in between games, and that was before Friday night’s BIIF football opener was delayed almost an hour because Hawaii Prep got caught in traffic.
When the game finally did kick off, the Vikings took it back for a touchdown only to have it wiped out by a penalty, the first of their two scoring returns negated by a flag.
Oh, and the five-time BIIF Division I champions threw four interceptions in the first half.
Clearly, instant gratification – one of the hallmarks of the last season’s HHSAA title run – was not meant to be on this night for the Hilo, which instead grinded away and eventually eased to a 32-0 victory at Wong Stadium. Junior Kyan Miyasato overcame those four picks with three touchdown passes, two of the catch-and-run variety hauled in by emerging playmaker Fiki Aguiar.
“Up and down,” coach Kaeo Drummondo said of his team’s execution. “There are a lot of things we did well, and there are a lot of things we need to get fixed.”
Aguiar provided his offense and quarterback with quick-fixes. Both of the junior’s touchdown receptions covered 58 yards. On the first one, he won a jump ball, broke a tackle and turned to the corner to give Hilo (1-1, 1-0 BIIF Division I) a 13-0 lead. In the third quarter, he lauded the effective blocking he got from his offensive line on a screen play.
“Just everything falling into place,” said Aguiar, who reeled in 165 receiving yards.
But even he was left wanting more.
“There is a lot improvement (needed), even on my part,” said Aguiar, who also accounted for two scores in an Aug. 4 loss at Campbell. “I dropped like three passes.”
One of his drops might have cost Miyasato another touchdown and it was followed by an interception.
“I could have had four touchdowns,” Aguiar said. “Like coach says, it’s never as good as you think and never as bad as you think.”
First-year HPA coach Albert Cummings reminds his team to be ready to overcome obstacles, but what he didn’t have in mind was the traffic jam north of Hilo that kept Ka Makani (1-1, 0-1 BIIF D-II) idle on the road for 40-something minutes.
When HPA did show, it emerged from the locker room to cheers, dressing 41 players, almost double the amount that it did during a win against King Kekaulike on Aug. 10.
“That’s what we were hoping for,” said Cummings, noting many of those players just became eligible and still are working their way into the lineup. “Keep everything positive and the boys will come back out. Rebuild it, and they will come.”
HPA managed just 3 yards rushing on 25 carries, most from senior Sheldon Aribal.
On paper, the game had the potential to a mismatch. However, Ka Makani, with one combined BIIF win the past two seasons, kept it close early and trailed 19-0 at halftime, a dramatic improvement from the 62-point hole it faced against Hilo after two quarters in the 2017 opener.
Cummings is not much for moral victories, but “we’re more than capable of hanging in throughout the season,” he said. “The score doesn’t really tell the whole story. There were a lot of broken-down things, no doubt. If we minimize those things, I think we’ll be OK.”
HPA also turned the ball over four times, including three interceptions thrown by senior Seth Beach, who found some success in the short passing game and finished 12 of 24 for 105 yards.
Taking over the full-time reins of the spread offense for the first time, Miyasato was 9 of 24 for 228 yards, including a 19-yard strike to senior Guyson Ogata to open the scoring.
The Vikings’ offense was in the clear, but never all that clean, totalling 172 yards on the ground.
Todd Hill, Hans Limstrom, Jaysen Bragado and Justin Lina picked off passes for HPA.
“A couple were just errant throws,” Drummondo said. “We have to watch the film and see what was going on.
“They schemed a little bit and they did a pretty good job. You like to think we can make the correct reads all the time, but it happens. Live with it, move on and hopefully the defense can get the ball back.”
Limstrom’s interception gave HPA a first-and-goal at Hilo’s 9, but junior Kainalu Lewis snuffed the scoring chance out with an interception at the goal line.
Junior Kalen White picked off Beach in the second quarter and returned ball the 50 yards to HPA’s 1, setting up Kaleo Ramos’ touchdown. The senior led the Vikings with 75 yards on 11 carries.
Sophomore Kaimi Tiogangco powered the Vikings’ final touchdown drive, scoring on a keeper from 13 yards out.
“Kaimi ran a different part of our offense and ran it well,” Drummondo said. ““Our base offense, it is what it is; we need work,”
HPA 0 0 0 0 – 0
Hilo 7 12 7 6 – 32
First quarter
Hilo — Guyson Ogata 19 pass from Kyan Miyasato (Masila Siua)
Second quarter
Hilo — Fiki Aguiar 58 pass from Miyasato (kick failed)
Hilo — Kaipo Ramos 1 run (run failed)
Third quarter
Hilo — Aguiar 58 pass from Miyasato (Siua kick)
Fourth quarter
Hilo – Kaimi Tiogangco 13 (run failed)
