Football
Hilo-Lahainaluna-Kamehameha-Hawaii scrimmage notes




Island-hopping Lahainaluna and league rival Hilo took to Paiea field on the Keaau campus of Kamehameha Schools to face the Warriors in a tri-team scrimmage on Friday afternoon.

The controlled scrimmage between the three programs had teams alternating on offense and defense in ten-play rotations. No score was kept.

Here are a few notes on the Vikings, Lunas and Warriors from Friday.

HILO

» Quarterback Kaale Tioganco looked comfortable as a pocket passer, going through progressions on a number of occasions to find his second and sometimes third receiver on plays. His mobility, however, might be his greatest asset offensively. On a play that culminated in a 65 yard race to the end zone by Kalehaila Tolentino-Perry, Tioganco deftly escaped pressure with a rollout to his right and fired a perfect rainbow over the top to a streaking Tolentino-Perry for a score. He also, showed excellent burst and shiftiness on a number of keeps and extended plays with his elusiveness to create time for pass catchers to come open.

» The deep ball threat for the Vikings this year looks to be Lukas Kuipers. Tioganco connected with Kuipers on at least two long pass plays, including a 30+ yard connection on the very first play of the scrimmage. Tolentino-Perry also seems capable of stretching defenses opposite of Kuipers.

» Kahale Huddleston lined up behind Tioganco and showed some nice power and burst at the running back position. With the departure of Pono Landford and Isaac Lerma to graduation, Huddleston poised to be a nice backfield complement to Tioganco.

» As a defensive unit, the Vikings may not have a ton of size, but they certainly make up for it in team speed, particularly in their lateral pursuit. Both the Warriors and the Lunas found minimal gains when attempting to stretch plays to either sideline.

LAHAINALUNA

» Kahoaka Phillips was fearless as an edge rusher, recording two sacks in one series against the Warriors. The senior is a big undersized, but has a great motor and some real speed off the edge.

» Sophomore quarterback Etuati Storer took most of the snaps in the second series for the Lunas, one that featured passing plays in four of the ten possible ran in the series. The Lunas still ran more than the didn't, but perhaps more passing is in store for Lahainaluna opponents this year.

» Ball control was definitely an issue for the Lunas. I counted at least five fumbles during the three offensive series I obeserved. Perhaps some of that is chalked up to a young squad just starting to get up to speed in an offense that definitely has a lot of moving parts.

KAMEHAMEHA-HAWAII

» The Warriors have some nice weapons at receiver, a tight end-like target in Wayne Dacalio and a edge threat in Makana Manoa. Quarterback Kaimi Like found a wide-open Dacalio in space and one play, and Dacalio bulled his way forward for another 5-7 yards dragging defenders along the way. Manoa lined up against much shorter defenders almost all afternoon, and caught a pair of passes on 10 yard out-routes.

» Just a sophomore, Like looked fairly comfortable running the controls for the Warriors, but admittedly the playcalling seemed designed with that in mind as most of the throws Like attempted were of the short variety. With lots of losses to graduation on the offensive line and the inexperience that comes with it, throwing time might be at a premium.

» Running back Abishal Campbell ran hard between the tackles and his ability to grind out 3-5 yards per carry is just the kind of chain mover to help keep defenses from teeing off on Like.

» Defense is looking to be the strong suit for the Warriors this year. Nainoa Rosehill, Dacalio and company did a pretty good job of controlling the line of scrimmage, though the secondary did give up a number of big passing plays against the Vikings.



Reach Brien Ing at [email protected].




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