Josh Pacheco

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Josh Pacheco

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Waiakea hosted its very first on-campus football game Saturday afternoon when it hosted Kamehameha-Hawaii at the newly-christened Ken Yamase Memorial Stadium.

While the visitors came away with a 41-0 win over the home team, Waiakea athletic director Tom Correa said it was still an "electric atmosphere."

"We had a good crowd. It made for an exciting event," said Correa, who estimated the crowd at approximately 1,000 to 1,100 people in the 1,400-seat stadium. "I was very happy with the amount of people we had and still didn't overflow our parking lots. We still had more than enough parking, but definitely bring an umbrella because you'll either get rain or hot sun."

The 1:30 p.m. start time made for a sultry afternoon, according to ESPN Hawaii's Josh Pacheco, who was in attendance Saturday.

"It was so hot the trainer, in between filling the water jug, was grabbing the hose and spraying people in the stands, which was different. I had never seen that before," Pacheco said. "It was really hot, but then again, it's summer, it's one of the hottest summers we've had and we had (Tropical Storm) Howard blocking the trade winds, so I think all those factors made it really hot, but it was still a really nice atmosphere."

There are no lights at the stadium and no plans are in the works to install lights, Correa said, meaning all games played there will be under the sun.

"We anticipate that as the season goes along and the weather gets a little cooler, it'll get a little more comfortable," Correa said. "We're just thankful that we have something."

Prior to the completion of the stadium, Waiakea shared Dr. Francis Wong Stadium as its home field with cross-town rival, Hilo.

"We had to pay the county a use-of-facility fee, plus lights and a fee to set-up the concession to use Wong, so this is much more economical for us, not to mention it's not as backbreaking to truck everything for the concession down there, pack it all up and move it back to the school," Correa said. "It's a lot less taxing."

The game also served as the prep football opener on the Big Island.

"You got some good excitement because it's a new venue, you got some good excitement because football is back, so it's nice to have another venue in East Hawaii and it was a very long time coming for Waiakea because Ken Yamase was trying for a very long time to get monies for that venue, so I'm very happy for those guys there."

The stadium is named for Yamase, the former Waiakea athletic director and Big Island Interscholastic Federation executive director. Yamase served in the Department of Education for 36 years before passing away while spear fishing on the South Kohala coast in August of 2008.

"We're very pleased with the construction of the stadium and very appreciative of the efforts of Ken Yamase to secure funding in his drive of 17 years to get it done," said Correa, who took over for Yamase in 2007. "We also appreciate the many politicians and the administration of Waiakea High who continued the push to finish this stadium after Ken left us."

Yamase graduated from Maui High in 1967 before earning a bachelor's degree and professional diploma from the University of Hawaii. He taught at Ilima Intermediate in Ewa Beach and coached baseball at Leilehua and Campbell before moving to Waiakea in 1982 to teach and coach baseball and girls basketball. Yamase, who was vocal advocate for Neighbor Island programs, became AD at Waiakea in 1987 before ascending to the top administrative post in the BIIF in 2007.

Correa said the site will also play host to soccer games in the winter sports season and track meets in the spring.