Gridiron Preview: No. 2 Seeds Up for Grabs in Both Divisions
Week six of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation football season will finalize the league’s postseason schedule with influential games across the island.
Already set is one half of the semifinals in each division. Hilo High has clinched the top seed in Division I and will face Kea`au, the fourth seed, on Fri., Oct. 18. The Vikings took the only regular season meeting between the teams with a 35-7 victory on Sept. 7.
In Division II, Konawaena solidified the top seed with its win last week at Waiakea. The Wildcats will host fourth-seeded Honoka`a on a date to be determined. Konawaena blanked the Dragons 45-0 on Sept. 6.
The second semifinal in each division will be determined this weekend.
Hawai`i Preparatory Academy (5-2 overall, 3-2 BIIF) at Kamehameha-Hawai`i (4-3, 3-2) – 7:00 p.m. Friday
The winner of this game will lock up the second seed in Division II and will host the loser in two weeks. If HPA wins, the game will be played on Sat., Oct. 19. If the Warriors leave with a win, they will host Ka Makani on Fri., Oct. 18.
Ka Makani senior Bobby Lum sits just 54 yards away from reaching 1,000 rushing yards on the season. He collected 202 yards last week in a home victory over the Kea`au Cougars. As much as Lum has blazed a trail through league defenses, though, HPA has gotten better through its improved passing attack. That was shown last week when quarterback Koa Ellis Jr. completed 12 of16 passes, four of them for touchdowns.
The Warriors defeated Honoka`a 41-0 last week on the road. Running back Ina Teofilo hit his season high in rushing yards with 188 on 26 carries with a touchdown run. That upped his total to 745 yards on the season.
Hilo (6-1, 5-0) at Konawaena (6-1, 5-0) – 7:30 p.m. Friday, ESPNHawaii.com
The Wildcats were the only team to slow down the top seed out of Division I this season. Konawaena beat Hilo 38-24 in a preseason game on Aug. 23.
Konawaena’s defense picked up four interceptions against Hilo quarterback Donovan Kelley, who completed just one pass on the night. Kelley was also sacked six times by three different Wildcats.
Hilo got its toughest test since the Konawaena game last week when they squeaked out a 6-3 win over Kealakehe. The Vikings won despite five turnovers
Honoka`a (0-6, 0-5) at Kea`au (0-5, 0-5) – 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Both schools were scheduled to play a preseason game this year, but it was cancelled because low numbers kept Honoka`a from being ready to play in the game.
The Dragons have struggled to put points on the board throughout the season. Since scoring 15 points against Waiakea in the final non-league game of the season, the Dragons have been kept off of the scoreboard ever since, a drought lasting at least 20 quarters.
Kea`au was shutout by HPA 28-0 last week.
Waiakea (2-5, 2-3) at Kealakehe (2-4, 2-3) – 7:30 p.m. Saturday
The winner of this game will host the rematch on Sat., Oct. 19 at 7:00 p.m. BIIF Executive Director Lyle Crozier said earlier this week that the game would be played on Saturday to avoid an unnecessary amount of missed class time for the school that has to travel across the island.
Waiakea’s problems have been with ball control. The Warriors turned the pigskin over five times in last week’s loss to Konawaena. Two weeks prior, they committed eight turnovers in a lopsided loss to HPA.