Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Keoki Alani

Konawaena football  •   #10    

Keoki Alani is a young man of few words. Instead, the Konawaena senior quarterback lets his play on the football field do all the talking for him.

Alani, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound third-year starter for the Wildcats, is off to a torrid start this fall. Through three games this season, Alani leads the state with 1,285 passing yards and 15 touchdowns through the air. He has completed 75 percent of his passes and is coming off of his best outing thus far in a 55-8 win over Hilo Friday night.

"I felt he made the right decisions all night," Wildcats coach Brad Uemoto said of Alani, who completed 26 of 32 passes without an interception against the Vikings.

"We talk to him a lot about being patient, not taking the deep balls right away, just hitting the underneath stuff and letting our athletes do work in space and letting things open up as far as how the defense are playing you," Uemoto said.

Uemoto, the reigning All-Hawaii Division I Coach of the Year, noted that Alani has a multitude of weapons at his disposal offensively, including standout wide receiver Zed Anahu-Ambrosio, who earned All-Hawaii D1 Offensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2022.

"We remind Keoki all the time that there's so many mouths to feed and they're all so good and deserve targets and not to force things to a guy who's maybe not involved right away, but just to be patient and we're going to hit the open guy and the next receiver, his big game might be the next one," Uemoto theorized. 

Alani's 527 passing yards Friday night is a career-high mark; His previous career-best was 467 yards on 29-of-39 passing in a win over Hilo on Sept. 2, 2022.

Uemoto estimated that Alani has a firm grasp on "ninety-nine percent" of the offense.

"I think it's just his ability to make certain throws and he's starting to understand where to place balls in certain coverages and just the ability to adapt and adjust on the fly," he said. "For our offense, we get thrown a lot of different (defensive) coverages and at times, teams mid-series or mid-quarter will change things up on us and his ability to adapt and recognize the coverage and make the right decisions makes him special."

Alani's ability to process information quickly and make the right adjustments has translated to a high-powered offense already in mid-season form. The Wildcats are averaging more than 52 points and 516 yards per game, including nearly 450 yards through the air.

"He's gotten better every year and you saw last year in the state tournament that when our tempo offense is running, it gives us a big advantage and a lot of the advantages that we do get running tempo is on his pre-snap ability: taking signals, making line calls, helping with protections and being able to recognize if all of his receivers and running backs are lined up where they should be. It's a big task, especially running tempo because he has just a few seconds in between (plays) to create all of it," Uemoto detailed.

Alani's second touchdown pass to Anahu-Ambrosio Friday night was telling of how in-tune he is with the Wildcats' offensive scheme.

"We had trips (receivers) to one side and I made a horrible (play) call down near the goal line and (Alani) ate it, bought some time and rolled to the single-side receiver and hit Zed coming across the field," Uemoto recalled. "In the past I think he forces that throw into the trips side in coverage, but he was just smart enough to buy time and if it's not opening up, he's throwing that thing away and that's the impressive part, how his decisions have really improved because of his maturity."

In his first season as the starter, Alani threw for 1,654 yards with 20 TDs against 14 interceptions. He made a monumental jump in production as a junior, when he recorded 3,408 yards through the air with a staggering 50 TDs against 12 INTs. Alani's completion percentage increased from 58.5 percent as a sophomore to 71.4 percent the following year.

Konawaena's banner season in 2022 included an 11-1 record that culminated with the program's first state championship. Alani earned All-Hawaii First Team honors.

But Uemoto is cautious not to use last year as a measuring stick, specifically when it comes to the play of his quarterback.

"We talked a little bit and the season that he had, throwing 50 touchdowns and for all those yards, it's not something that you're gonna expect to do every year and we talked about how ‘it's OK if you don't hit those numbers because that was a one of a kind season' and he doesn't have to do that for us to be successful," Uemoto said. "I told him that his stats this year won't signal anything in terms of what kind of year he has (nor) the potential of our team, to just stay within himself and just to play football and have fun."

Alani's stellar start to the season is reflected by the numbers, just don't expect to hear him tooting his own horn any time soon.

"He's really quiet. It's hard to get anything out of him, just very short answers. He's very quiet and short amongst his teammates, just real reserved," Uemoto said. "On the sideline he doesn't say much — sometimes I have a hard time finding him — but he's definitely respected by his teammates. He was one of the leading vote-getters when the players voted for their captains, so it says a lot about who he is in the locker room and he's just a hard worker and a really good kid."

Alani and Konawaena, which moved up a spot to No. 8 in this week's ScoringLive Power Rankings, will visit Leilehua this weekend for a non-league matchup.

Kickoff between the Wildcats (2-1) and Mules (2-1) is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Hugh Yoshida Stadium in Wahiawa.

FOOTBALL

Kilinahe Aki, Farrington — Scored on a 42-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Nanakuli

Liatama Amisone, Kapolei — Threw for 258 yards and five touchdowns on 18-of-34 passing without an interception and ran for 158 yards and three more touchdowns on 22 carries in a win over Waipahu 

Zed Anahu-Ambrosio, Konawaena — Caught eight passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Hilo 

Timothy Arnold, Leilehua — Caught five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Campbell 

Ethan Biondine, Mililani — Recorded four tackles, intercepted two passes and returned one 20 yards for a touchdown in a win over Radford 

Chase Camarillo, Kapolei — Ran for 95 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and recorded 2 1/2 tackles, 1 1/2 for losses, and an interception in a win over Waipahu 

Richard Federico, Nanakuli — Caught seven passes for 122 yards in a loss to Farrington 

Makoakai Fierro, Waialua — Ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in a loss to Kaimuki 

Kalei Harbottle, Kamehameha — Recorded 4 1/2 tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks in a win over Waianae 

Kamalu Jordan, Kalaheo — Caught four passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a win over McKinley 

Davyn Joseph, Mililani — Scored on a 65-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Radford 

Kaimana Kaluhiokalani, Mililani — Recorded three tackles and a sack, intercepted two passes and returned one 40 yards for a touchdown in a win over Radford 

Kaina Kamohalii, Kapolei — Caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Waipahu 

Josiah Kia, Punahou — Recorded a sack and scored on an 18-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Moanalua 

Iosefa Letuli, Kaimuki — Threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 11-of-16 passing without an interception and ran in another touchdown in a win over Waialua 

Ty McCutcheon, Punahou — Threw for 196 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-20 passing without an interception in a win over Moanalua 

Sitani Mikaele, Farrington — Ran for 209 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries in a win over Nanakuli 

Abraham Ogata, Konawaena — Caught seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in a win over Hilo 

Zayne Pasion, Kapolei — Caught eight passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in a win over Waipahu 

Diego Pettypool, Keaau — Threw for 234 yards and four touchdowns on 9-of-18 passing without an interception in a win over Kealakehe

Joseph Pomele, Pearl City — Recorded three sacks and a fumble recovery in a win over Roosevelt 

Everest Rodriguez, Farrington — Recorded two tackles for loss and two interceptions in a win over Nanakuli 

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Campbell — Threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-31 passing with one interception in a win over Leilehua 

Eric Stephens, Waipahu — Scored on a 95-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a loss to Kapolei 

T'nias Tavale, Campbell — Made five tackles, including four for losses and two sacks in a win over Leilehua 

Jonah Togafau-Tavui, Campbell — Caught eight passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Leilehua 

Atunaisa Tongotea, Kailua — Scored on a 25-yard fumble return in a win over Castle 

Sean Ucciardi, Kalaheo — Recorded three sacks in a win over McKinley 

CJ Villanueva, Iolani — Threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-21 passing without an interception in a win over PAC-5

Jeremiah White, Kaimuki — Caught six passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Waialua 

Zion White, Punahou — Caught three passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in a win over Moanalua 

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Shay Beals, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 11 kills, 14 digs and one ace in a three-set win over Waiakea 

Arianna Helekahi, Hana — Had 10 kills, 11 aces and two digs in a three-set win over Haleakala Waldorf 

Maela Honma, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 16 kills, 12 digs and four aces in a three-set win over Waiakea