Kaulana Kaluna Jr. and the Kaimuki Bulldogs visit the Waialua Bulldogs Saturday evening. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Less than a month has gone by in the prep football season, but the year is already over for a handful of Waialua Bulldogs.

Season-ending injuries have hit Lincoln Barit's squad hard in 2019, his 17th as head coach at his alma mater. Among those who have been afflicted is senior quarterback/defensive back Justyce Lacar, who went down in a 28-7 loss to Roosevelt two weeks ago.

In Lacar's absence, senior linebacker-turned-quarterback Kyler Dicion has thrown for 341 yards and four touchdowns. He passed for 261 yards and Kai Hoekstra was on the receiving end of three of his TD passes in a 43-27 win over Vincent Massey (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) in a non-game contest last week.

Hoekstra finished with four receptions for 106 yards and is averaging 19.6 yards per catch on the season. He also recorded two interceptions on defense last week, including one in the end zone.

While Waialua (2-1 overall, 1-1 OIA D2) bounced back from its lone loss on the season last week, its opponent Saturday will be looking for a bounce-back victory of its own.

Kaimuki (2-1, 1-1) outscored its first two opponents by an average of nearly 30 points per game before it was dealt a 34-24 defeat by 14th-ranked Iolani last Saturday.

Fifth-year coach David Tautofi's bunch was unable to overcome a 20-point third quarter by the D1-Raiders, despite a heroic effort by senior running back Naomas Asuega-Fualaau (19 rushes for 145 yards, two catches for 67 yards), who ran for a 77-yard touchdown.

Asuega-Fualaau has run for 375 yards and 5 TDs on the season and is averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

Sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava has also been steady with his play. He has thrown for 610 yards with seven TDs and two INTs, while completing 54.5 percent of his passes. Maiava went 15 of 30 through the air for 246 yards with two scores and no picks in the loss to Iolani.

We caught up with both coaches a few days before their teams face off Saturday night.

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word and explain.

David Tautofi, Kaimuki coach: "Focused. I'd say the one word that describes where we are as a team is focused. Focused on getting better and focused on team goals."

Lincoln Barit, Waialua coach: "Injuries. We have five players out for the season and two (others) had concussions. Those guys can come back, but five guys are lost for the year, so we're back down to 28 (total players)."

What have you learned about your team in the first few weeks of the season?

Tautofi: "What I've learned in the first few weeks of the season is that our boys are better at understanding their part on the team and the team realizing that what they contribute to the team as a player is every bit as important for the common goals on the team."

Barit: "I learned that they're a strong, family-oriented team. They work together as a team, there's no one individual player, I noticed that they have each other's back, they play for each other and they help out each other."

Which game this season proved to be most beneficial, regardless of result?

Tautofi: "So far we've played three games and every game has been a benefit to us in every way, but one game that sticks out the most was our recent game against Iolani. We fell short in that game, but one thing stood clear to me was the courage, faith and confidence they displayed on that field, fighting until till the end. We made some costly mistakes in that game, but the grit and determination that the team played with kept them in the game. It displayed the level of maturity the boys are at in the early part of the season."

Barit: "I would have to say Roosevelt. Even though we lost, we came in real close, just injuries just killed us that night. We had a lot of boys went down that night, the emotions took over, you know."

Who has been a pleasant surprise amongst your players thus far?

Tautofi: "Amongst our players there are two that stand out to me as a pleasant surprise. Senior (defensive lineman/offensive lineman) Tasi Komiti and sophomore (linebacker/tight end) Sione Taufa have really stood out both on defense."

Barit: "There's a few players. One is Zeke, Ezekiel Sheridan. He's a first-year player and he surprised me when we played (Vincent Massey). He had six tackles, four of ‘em for losses and then our backup quarterback, Kyler Dicion. We had him on defense and that Nanakuli game he had choke tackles, couple for losses, so we played him one way because we needed him on defense and then our quarterback (Justyce Lacar) went down in that Roosevelt game and we asked (Dicion) to step in and he did and he's been a surprise."

What are your thoughts on this week's opponent and what it presents?

Tautofi: "Waialua is a very talented and dangerous team. They've got some playmakers that could change a game in a heartbeat and they've got experience that can hold them throughout the season with an edge."

Barit: "Big. They have a lot of size and I don't think they have that much players but they make it up with size and coach David is a good coach and he has everything going good over there."

What will be the key matchup within the game Saturday?

Tautofi: "The key matchup within the game this Saturday will be our secondary and their receivers. They've got a talented core of receivers who are arguably the best in the conference that can be a nightmare for any defensive game plan."

Barit: "The key matchup will probably be if our offensive line can block and give the quarterback time to throw, then we'll be in good shape."

Kaimuki cruised to a 46-6 rout of Waialua in their last meeting, which took place on Sept. 14, 2018 at Farrington's Edward "Skippa" Diaz Stadium. It racked up 511 yards of total offense, including 300 rushing with both Jonah Stephens (128 yards, TD) and Asuega-Fualaau (105 yards, 2 TDs) eclipsing the century mark.

Kickoff Saturday is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Waialua's Toshiyuki Nakasone Field.