HONOLULU — A few times on Saturday, play was stopped for a reason that had never drawn a penalty in a football game at Eddie Hamada Field.
Impeding the runner.
That was one of many new twists as girls flag football completed its debut week in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, part of an overall rollout of the sport across the state. Kamehameha, playing its second official league game, came back to beat Iolani 13-12.
Warriors quarterback Hayden Kaahanui-Cera lofted the go-ahead 38-yard touchdown pass to Kailla Miller at the start of the fourth quarter and safety Bella Alo grabbed the game-clinching interception in Raiders territory with 16 seconds left.
[Note: See below for more photos of Kamehameha-Iolani girls flag football.]
“It honestly is truly something that I can't wait for this upcoming season to be winning each and every single game with this team behind me, and I trust each and single one of these girls,” Kaahanui-Cera told Spectrum News. “These girls are great competitors.”
The teams’ head coaches, Kamehameha’s Wendell Say and Iolani’s Delbert Tengan, come from a background of decades in standard football.
The stress and intensity of the game is the same, Say told Spectrum News after his team moved to 2-0.
“When you come from coaching boys, where you know you gotta you know block, or you gotta stop the (run), you know you gotta use more physicality — this is more skills, avoiding,” said Say, a Kamehameha assistant athletic director and the former longtime coach at Aiea. “So as I told the girls, a lot of it is, first of all, your attitude, second your skills, and then your knowledge of the game.”
A couple hundred supporters were on hand for the day game at Iolani’s Kozuki Stadium, with the field restriped to the flag dimensions of 80 yards with preset 20-yard first-down increments.
Play was reasonably smooth for a sport with a fast-moving pace; the 12-minute quarters are running clock until the last 2 minutes of each half. The game was completed in under 90 minutes. Kamehameha players had soft-shell helmets and mouthguards, while Iolani players did not.
ILH teams began their first practices about three weeks ago. Iolani got in a single preseason game against Moanalua.
“I thought it was awesome,” Tengan said of his team’s first official game. “I think the number one thing was the fan base out there for both teams was super the support, the people coming out, supporting the girls, the excitement, I think, on both sides of the field was great.”
The Raiders jumped out to a 12-0 lead with two first-quarter receiving touchdowns by Hailey Fernandez. The basketball point guard is one of several standout athletes on the Raiders roster known for their exploits in other sports.
For his team that has "very little" flag experience, Tengan was grateful to have championship-level know-how from volleyball and basketball players like Callie Pieper and Mia Frye (the latter of whom was away on a basketball trip).
As for himself? A "rookie," he said.
“It's a total different ball game,” Tengan said. “We're learning just like our players are learning go along with the rules and the little nuances of the game.”
The officiating crews are learning as well, he added.
Miller caught an overhead ball along the left sideline, turned and sprinted past defenders for the winning touchdown. The freshman served as the starting goalkeeper for the Warriors’ soccer team this season.
Kaahanui-Cera, however, has been a flag football athlete for almost her whole life. She started playing at age 4 and has played in coed club leagues for years.
Per ScoringLive statistics, Kaahanui-Cera was 18-for-26 passing for 213 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
“Having so much flag football experience is something that elevates the team, and then now coming on to playing within an all-girls season, this is honestly something I've been waiting for, and it's truly a blessing, Kaahanui-Cera said.
Haley Balantac was 16-for-31 for 155 yards, two touchdowns and a pick for Iolani.
ILH teams are playing a six-game schedule in this pilot season with no tiers of classification, with two teams advancing to the state tournament. Kamehameha (2-0) routed Sacred Hearts 33-0 on Tuesday.
The Oahu Interscholastic Association will make its official league debut on Tuesday when Moanalua takes on Roosevelt at the Rough Riders’ Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium at 6 p.m., followed by McKinley versus Kaimuki at 7:30. Gov. Josh Green and DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi are expected to take in the doubleheader.
Around the state, other leagues got underway as well. On Maui, most MIL teams opened competition Saturday at Kamehameha-Maui, with some schools getting in two games. Baldwin, for example, picked up a 40-9 win over Maui High and a 29-6 win over Lahainaluna.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
