High school football is back, and so are the close games and exciting finishes! Even though Oahu football fans were treated to a good amount of blowouts and one-sided contests, fans on the big island were fortunate enough to see several close contests that came down to the final few minutes of the game. Since neighbor island football doesn't get a lot of coverage, a lot of you miss out on some of the key results and standout players who don't get to make it on TV or play at Aloha Stadium.

Over the course of the season, I'll be here to share some of those stories with you and give you a better idea of how things are playing out on the BIIF gridiron by giving you three key storylines from each weekend's action.


The Two-Man Race for Top Quarterback on the Island

It's actually no surprise that the top quarterbacks on the island, Tyler Yates and Warner Shaw, play for schools with dynamic offenses. Both Kealakehe and Kamehameha-Hawaii run spread offenses that feature a good balance of the run and pass. And, the quarterbacks that run the offense at those schools have the right combination of athleticism and awareness that make them so good at their position.

After throwing for over 3,300 yards last season, Yates returns for one more shot at a Division I league championship. His biggest strength is his ability to make plays out of the pocket with his legs, and his biggest improvement over the last couple of years has been his arm strength. That combination has made him a must watch quarterback in West Hawaii. His five touchdown effort (three passing, two rushing) against Kailua on Saturday night in a 36-34 win at home is just another day at the office.

Meanwhile at Kamehameha-Hawaii, Warner Shaw has quietly become one of the top players at his position, and showed off his improved game on Friday night in a 31-28 win over Kauai. Shaw completed his first eight passes of the night and showed off his improved cannon early in the game with a few touchdown passes of over 40 yards. Kamehameha-Hawaii's solid offensive line gave him plenty of time early on, and he capitalized by making big plays without forcing passes and taking chances.

Ironically, both quarterbacks will be squaring off with one another on Saturday night when the Division I Waveriders host the Division II Warriors in non-league action at 7 p.m.


New Head Coaches Get Off to a Strong Start in 2011

Six of the ten big island schools have new interim or full-fledged head coaches this season. Five of them were on the field coaching up their squads this weekend, with Kohala's Carlos Adams waiting until September 3rd when his Cowboys open up their season against Kamehameha-Hawaii in league play.

Of the four head coaches who won in their debuts this weekend, none may have been more impressive than Konawaena's Cliff Walters and his short-handed Wildcats traveling to Kea'au and picking up a 32-0 win. Walters took over the Wildcats and spoke openly about playing a more exciting brand of offensive football while stepping up the aggression on defense. All of the x's and o's should be on the back burner this week when you realize that Konawaena played with only 23 players due to academic ineligibility, injuries, illness, and several players on trips for other sports. The Wildcats will have an extra week to prepare for their final non-league game against Division I Hilo on August 26th.

Kamehameha-Hawaii's interim head coach Dan Lyons, who got the job offer the Monday before practice started, got his first win on Friday against Kauai. He has spent many years as a Water Polo coach at the high school level, but has a background as a former quarterback in his younger days. Kealakehe interim head coach Sam Kekuaokalani, who is filling Gary Clarke's position while he is away tending to family matters, picked up his first win against Kailua. He is also the school's head basketball coach, with Clarke serving as an assistant. And, Honoka'a head coach Bobby Embernate, who took the position after Fred Lau left to take the reins at Waiakea High, scored his first victory against Division I Hilo at home. Embernate has served as a defensive coach for many years at Honoka'a before moving up to head coach this season.


Kealakehe is still the favorite in Division I

Before this season, several "experts" looked at Lau's arrival as a sign that Waiakea could return to the prominence that they once saw decades ago. Under Lau, Honoka'a used their run-heavy offense to make the Division I state tournament in 2009, and was competitive in Division II in 2010.

After Week One of this year, those same "experts" may need to cool down on the hype. Waiakea lost to a 26-man Waimea squad which saw eight starters on both sides of the ball. The Warriors' starting quarterback was out due to academic ineligibility, and the ground game dominance they had to start the game cooled down slowly as the game went on.

The Waveriders may have an interim head coach, but they still have talent on both sides of the football that make them dangerous to play against. Big island fans have been used to seeing Kealakehe dominate on the gridiron over the last half a decade, and they may have to get used to it again. After all, the other two Division I foes, Hilo and Kea'au, lost to Division II programs in Honoka's and Konawaena, respectively.

Josh Pacheco is a sports talk host and play-by-play extraordinaire for ESPN Radio Big Island and ESPN 1420 Honolulu, as well as a writer for the National Football Authority.