Special teams, a special group and a special season for the Wildcats

The Konawaena Wildcats sing their alma mater after defeating Hilo in late October for back-to-back BIIF Division I titles. CJ Caraang | SL

Year 101.

State championship No. 1.

The Konawaena football team etched its names into the history books with a stellar season in 2022, which culminated in the school's first state title with a 38-28 win over Waipahu in late November.

The Wildcats cruised through Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I play — outscoring league opponents, 557 to 20 — before gutting out hard-fought matches in the state tournament against Aiea and the Marauders.

It was a total team effort that saw contributions from many areas, with special teams providing to be the difference in Konawaena's postseason run.

The most glaring example of this came in the championship game when the Marauders lined up to attempt a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter to potentially cut into the Wildcats' lead to make it 14-10. The end result was a blocked kick that senior Chray Flanary took the distance 81 yards to give Konawaena a 21-7 advantage.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].