From Bedrock Sports Hawaii, Dec. 10, 2022
Editor’s note: Since Bedrock’s relaunch Sept. 1, we are looking back at some big moments from the archives while preparing to publish all-new stories for our readers.
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They’re still feeling the euphoria in Waimea.
Two weeks ago, the Menehunes capped an amazing revival with a dominant 45-6 victory over King Kekaulike in the Division II title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships.
There was a huge concert for the team on Friday night (Dec. 9), they’ll be honored at the town’s annual Christmas parade next weekend, and sometime in January, there’s going to be a banquet to top it all off.
Yes, this type of stuff is a joy for these boys after a job well done all throughout the fall under the guidance of coach Kyle Linoz, who is Bedrock Sports Hawaii’s choice for state coach of the year.
What’s more is now Waimea and its fans can say forevermore that the Menehunes were the first football team from Kauai to go all the way at states.
Hungry to make their presence known in state competition, Waimea (9-2) kicked off its season with two wins against teams from other islands, including a 21-10 affair against the team the Menehunes would vanquish in the state championship game — those Na Alii from Maui.
Even though Waimea came out on top in that nonleague game, King Kekaulike earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye at states, while the Menehunes needed to play in the first round and win two games just to get their shot at beating Na Alii again.
“We’re still celebrating,” Menehunes defensive lineman Kaizen Castillo told Bedrock Sports Hawaii earlier this week. “It’s still sinking in.”
Success was a long time coming — 19 years in fact — for the school that won 12 Kauai Interscholastic Federation championships in a row from 1992 to 2003.
This year, two fortunate events came to pass that helped Waimea get back to the big stage for the first time since ’03.
One: Linoz came on board for his second stint as head coach before the 2021 season.
Two: KIF rival Kapaa gave the Menehunes a road map by capturing the D-II state title a year ago.
Linoz, a former Menehunes quarterback, reinstalled a system based on tough defense and ball control, and the team’s trademark fundamentals and discipline harkened back to the school’s proud roots put down years ago by coaches Tommy Rita, Pat Pereira and Jon Kobayashi.
With Kapaa moving up to the D-I state classification this year, the Menehunes went on the warpath, not only in an attempt to get to and win states, but also to take over supremacy of the KIF.
That latter part, however, was unsuccessful. After splitting two games against Kapaa, the rubber match for the league championship went the Warriors way in a close-to-the-vest 3-0 slugfest.
In order to get a full grasp of Waimea’s relative strength statewide, take a look at what Kapaa did in the upper class after nudging past the Menehunes for KIF supremacy. Those Warriors took a 22-point lead against Waipahu in the state D-I first round before falling 49-41, and don’t forget — those winning Marauders made it all the way to the state D-I title game, losing 38-28 to Konawaena.
By winning so handily in the D-II state final, it’s possible Waimea showed it belongs up one division in the future, if not next year.
“Kapaa opened our eyes by winning it all last year,” Castillo said. “And even more so after we beat them (7-3) in the first league game. We had two downhill games against them that if we came together we would have beaten them. But it all came to a good ending — the ending we wanted. Next year, we’ll do even better.”
Fitting the pieces together is something Linoz did exceptionally well, according to Castillo.
“He coached a lot of us boys (in youth football) for so long, so he knows our strengths and weaknesses and puts us in positions to where we can do our best. He sees stuff in us that we don’t see in ourselves. He helps that power rise up in us. That’s a great quality to have.”