Brooklyn Baggett
Staff Writer
MVHS’s powerhouse varsity football team traveled to Kealakekua, Hawaii, in August and defeated Konawaena High School, dominating the field for almost the entire game.
On August 23rd, the Diablos played in a non-conference game against the Wildcats in Kealakekua, located on the west coast of the main Hawaii island.
Along with the team’s victories against Santa Margarita, Villa Park, La Habra, their summer victory in Hawaii grants the team their current overall record of 4-0, ranking of 9th in California, and ranking of 56th in the entire nation.
While Mission flew through the first two quarters of the game, going 14-0 in the first quarter and 35-0 in the second, Konawaena fought back and scored a pair of touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters.
Leaders of this game include starting passing quarterback Peter Costelli, rushing quarterback Jacquez Robertson, and receiver Joshua Welles on Mission. On the Konawaena side, passing quarterback Kainoa Jones, rushing quarterback Riley Sato, and receiver Kaden Baptista all led the game.
In the first quarter, TJ Roelen scored the first touchdown of the game with a 28 yard pass from Costelli. Additionally, Tyson Scott scored a touchdown with a 1 yard run. Both of the touchdowns in the first quarter came off Lopez’s kick.
With the Wildcats yet to score in the second quarter, the Diablos continued to blitz them by scoring three touchdowns. Costelli made another touchdown with a 42 yard run, Scott with 26 yards, and Ryder Fitch with a 28 yard interception return.
As a team, Mission notched 179 rushing yards in the first half, but the scoreboard did not tell the entire story on the defensive side. While the Wildcats were able to play with the Diablos for the majority of the first half, they were unsuccessful in preventing the big plays which resulted in a barely beatable 35 point lead for MV.
The second half of the game went by very quickly, as there was a running clock, but Lopez managed to make a 38 yard field goal in the third quarter.
Near the end of the third quarter, Konawaena used three consecutive completions and two 15 yard flags on MVHS to gain a 22 yard touchdown by H. Anahu-Ambrosio off of a pass from Jones.
Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter, Mission failed to score and the Wildcats added another score when A. Muti recovered a fumble far in the Diablos’ side and Jones passed to J. Roback who made an 8 yard touchdown.
In the end, MV won the game by 24 points, with 5 touchdowns. After their victorious game in Kealakekua against Konawaena High School, they proceeded to take on Santa Margarita 21-10, La Habra 23-6, and Villa Park 59-0.
The Diablos’ next game will be a home non-conference game against Saint Mary’s High School (from Stockton) on Friday, September 20th, for their homecoming game. It is clear that the Diablos will continue to give it their all, and hopefully many more victories are in store for this season!
