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It's not yet Thanksgiving, but Danny Matsumoto is counting his blessings. His Wai'anae football team was the beneficiary of Kahuku having to forfeit its season and now the Seariders - who would have been on the outside looking in - find themselves hosting a state tournament game Friday at Raymond Torii Field.
 
Wai'anae (4-7), ranked eighth in the latest ScoringLive-OC16 Power Rankings, will try to capitalize on a "second chance," when it takes to the field against Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Kealakehe (10-1) in a 7 p.m. first-round game of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I State Tournament.
 
The Seariders have lived on the edge all season. They were on the wrong end of four of their first five games, including three consecutive losses to open the year. A 3-3 record in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's Red West Conference gave Wai'anae a first-round bye in the league tournament, where it advanced to the semifinal round before losing to Mililani, 38-28.
 
Last Saturday Wai'anae lost to Leilehua, 28-20, in a consolation game that was to determine the OIA's third and final state berth. However, following news of Kahuku's forfeit, both the Seariders and Mules gained entry to states. Leilehua, the league's No. 2 seed, travels to Maui for the first round and will meet Maui Interscholastic League champion Baldwin for the fourth consecutive year.
 
"Most definitely, we feel like this is a second chance for us," Seariders' head coach Dan Matsumoto said. "If things were different, we would have been out. We're just fortunate to be here."
 
Quarterback Pule Wilson is a second-year starter and has accounted for over 1,500 yards of offense this year. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior has thrown for 1,091 yards with 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions and ran for another 439 yards with 10 TDs. In a 49-7 win at Kailua in the quarterfinal round of the OIA Tournament, he threw for 239 yards and five TDs on just 8-of-9 passing.
 
The Seariders average over 277 yards and 23 points per game, but allow nearly 294 yards and 23 points each time out.
 
"We're going to pretty much keep things the same, there's no sense in doing things differently at this point," Matsumoto said. "We just have to focus on what we need to do."
 
Matsumoto has seen little on the Waveriders, but the teams have met in previous state tournaments, with the Seariders winning each time. But, most of all, he is grateful for another home game.
 
"It's beautiful. Not having to travel is a big deal," Matsumoto said. "To travel with a team and to think about a football game on top of that is an extra burden, so we're thankful that we don't have to go through that and we're at home."
 
No Big Island team has won a state tournament game since its inception in 1999.
 
"We're certainly aware of that and we're going to try our best to do that," Kealakehe coach Gary Clark said. "That's been a challenge (for us) in playing quality teams all the time. We try to schedule O'ahu teams because we know we need good games, so hopefully this will be the year."
 
The Waveriders' lone loss came in a 30-16 non-league game against Skyline of Utah on Sept. 3. They are unbeaten in the BIIF, winning by an average of 23 points per game.
 
Among the playmakers for Clark's team is receiver Jacob Ontiveros, defensive end Samson McCandless and linebacker Conner Costales. Seniors Jordan Debus and Kekoa Hu play both receiver and defensive back while Clark says safety/linebacker Peni Vea may be his best player. Junior Tyler Yates is the trigger man on offense, but senior Dominick Trevino may also see action and quarterback when not at tight end or defensive end.
 
"Most of our experienced players are on defense," Clark said. "Offensively, we like to pass the ball, but we do whatever we can to move the ball and move the chains."
 
Clark said his team is playing its best football right now.
 
"This is where we want to be," he said. "If we're going to win, this is the time to do it."