Konawaena Remains Unbeaten With Rout of Kea’au

A short week of preparation wasn’t an issue for Konawaena on its homecoming night.

Algene Kelekolio ran for three touchdowns and the Konawaena defense combined for six sacks as the Wildcats burned past Kea’au 54-0 under wet conditions at Julian R. Yates Field in Kealakekua.

“We got to play everybody, which is always a nice thing, especially on a homecoming game when kids typically want to get in and have fun,” said Brad Uemoto, first-year head coach at Konawaena.

Saturday’s win was the second in six days for Konawaena. On Monday, the Wildcats defeated Hilo in a game that was moved back three days because of bad weather.

Konawaena (5-0 overall, 3-0 Big Island Interscholastic Federation) moved the ball at ease against Kea’au’s defense to the tune of 463 yards, well over 200 of those yards in the first quarter alone. Most of the damage was done on the ground as eight different players combined for 349 yards rushing.

Algene Kelekolio and Micah Laban did the brunt of the work. Kelekolio ran for 104 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns, while Laban accumulated 119 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. Mahina Ellis-Noa added a pair of touchdown runs.

Quarterback Austin Ewing was able to move down the ball down the field, too. He finished 8-of-13 passing for 105 yards and a touchdown, which came on a deflected pass in the first quarter and was caught by Kamakana Ching in the middle of the end zone for a 17-yard connection, putting the Wildcats ahead 7-0 with 9:13 remaining in the opening quarter.

Kea’au (0-4, 0-3) failed to handle the pressure brought on by Konawaena’s defense. Quarterback Dillon Santos was sacked six times, four by defensive lineman Vicente Cancino, and threw three interceptions, two of them to Cameron Howes.

The longest play from scrimmage for Kea’au was just seven yards. For the night, the Cougars managed minus-55 yards of total offense for the night.

Two teams around the state remain unblemished. Konawaena will take its perfect record down the road to Kealakehe High School for a rivalry matchup against the Waveriders. The other unbeaten, Kapaa High School on the island of Kauai, is 4-0 and will face Kauai High School next Friday. Several weeks ago, Kapaa defeated Kauai by the final of 53-0.

Kea’au has a rivalry matchup of its own on Friday, meeting Kamehameha-Hawai’i at Pai’ea Stadium for the annual Kipimana Cup showdown. That game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio and KBIG FM.

Kea’au 0 0 0 0 – 0

Konawaena 20 20 7 7 – 54

Scoring summary

First quarter

KON (9:13)  – Kamakana Ching 17 yard receoption from Austin Ewing (Ewing kick)

KON (4:44) – Cameron Howes 26 yard run (Ewing kick)

KON (3:11) – Algene Kelekolio 9 yard run (run failed)

Second quarter

KON (9:50) – Kelekolio 10 yard run (Harry Hill kick failed)

KON (6:16) – Mahina Ellis-Noa 2 yard run (Hill kick)

KON (0:34) – Ellis-Noa 7 yard run (Hill kick)

Third quarter

KON (7:15) – Kelekolio 20 yard run (Hill kick)

Fourth quarter

KON (11:14) – Micah Laban 6 yard run (Hill kick)