Lahainaluna Football: Preseason v. Keaau Cougars W35-14 - August 17, 2012

THE LUNAS TAKE THE FIELD FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR THE
2012 FOOTBALL SEASON AT WONG STADIUM, HILO, HAWAII.

It didn’t look good for me regarding getting football pictures at the start of the season. The Imu was not available for games because of supposed construction work to install bleaches. So no preseason games at the Imu this year. The only preseason game was to be at Keaau on the Big Island on Friday, August 17, 2012.  Because of a preplanned vacation to San Diego the weekend of August 25, 2012, I realized I would not be able to attend the MIL football opener against King Kekaulike.  For a while there, it didn’t look like I would be able to shoot football until the Kamehameha Maui game on Friday, August 31^st – the day after I get back from San Diego!

Thankfully , my prospects began to clear up. My work schedule the week of August 13^th cleared up. I learned that August 17^th is a holiday (Admissions Day) so I would actually be off from work that day. More importantly, my wife agreed to let me travel to the Big Island for the game! So even though I was going to miss the MIL opener against King Kekaulike, I would still be able to get game photos of their preseason game against Keaau.

LUNAS WAITING TO BOARD THEIR FLIGHT TO HILO

I was lucky enough to catch the same flight to Hilo as the team and coaches. The flight crew greeted the team warmly with an announcement during the flight. Upon arrival, I learned that the game was not going to be played at Keaau School because their stadium was undergoing reservations. Instead the game was to be held at Wong Stadium in the heart of downtown Hilo. I was disappointed because Keaau is a newer school and I knew they had nice facilities there for better pictures. I had no idea what Wong Stadium was like.

Upon landing, I had time to kill so I decided to try to find where Wong Stadium was located. Believe it or not, I had the hardest time finding it! I thought War Memorial was old, but this was REALLY old. The one good thing is that it is literally across from the hotel I was staying at, so real convenient.

I did make my way to Keaau High School to see what I was missing:



EXTERIOR: KEAAU HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD



INTERIOR: KEAAU FOOTBALL FIELD RENOVATIONS.

 

I figured I'd get to the game early to get myself acclimated and comfortable. I was going to utilize two cameras (my D7000 and my wife's D3200) and was going to use the RapidStrap double-harness sports straps for the very first time. I was also going to try my new Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 lens. The D3200 has wireless capability, so the plan was to transmit photos during halftime to the Maui News.

 

Anyway, to my horror, I thought I was two hours early but I guess the game was rescheduled for an earlier time, too! The team was already there and people were filing into the stadium. My name wasn't on the Pass List but with all my gear on, they let me in. The Lunas were waiting in the dugout (Wong Stadium is primarily a baseball stadium) and the actual playing field was out in the outfield. Unfortunately for the spectators, they were stuck back in the stadium seating which was far far away! I was glad I could shoot down on the field.

 

 

 

The stadium itself is part of a bigger Hilo complex that includes baseball fields, a huge pond and the place where they hold the Merrie Monarch festival every year. I tried to get a nice shot of the team warming up with the iconic Merrie Monarch place in the background.

 



I had no idea what to expect from this year's edition of the team. The defense was going to be their strength. Last year, the offense was decimated by injuries. Hopefully, this year the kids will be healthy.

COACH GARRET TIHADA ADDRESSES THE TEAM PRIOR TO KICKOFF

CAPTAIN TYTUS LUCAS TAKING A MOMENT BEFORE KICKOFF.

The Lunas won the game 35-14. The defense was dominant. Keaau rarely got positive yards. Their only scores came off a pick 6 from a pass by Kiko Fonohema. The other touchdown came after punter Sam Filiai mishandled the snap and was downed inside the Lunas' 20 yard line.

The offense looked good. Jared Rocha, Misi Filikitonga, and Christian Whitehead looked great. Aside from the pick, Kiko directed the offense well. On the plus side, our kicking game is no longer a weakness. With soccer player Chrisitan Cardenas booming kickoffs into the end zone and making extra points easily, things look bright. And if anything should happen, Jared Rocha and Reece Sinenci are accurate kickers as well.

LUNAS DEFENSE SHOWING THE BIG ISLAND WHAT GANG-TACKLING IS ABOUT
(L TO R: #23 Jared Rocha, #43 Misi Filikitonga, #54 Connor Mowat, #32 Tytus Lucas)

MISI FILIKITONGA

HERCULES MATAAFA

#10 MARK ALAMON AND #44 BRONSON KAINA

KIKO FONOHEMA FAN CLUB (HILO CHAPTER)

MISI FILIKITONGA

JUSTIN HONG

HERCULES MATAAFA

#66 LOA PUTENI AND #43 MISI FILIKITONGA GIVING #2 KIKO FONOHEMA SOME TIME

L TO R: PAKINETI VAKA, CHRISTIAN WHITEHEAD, LOVAI HONG, BRONSON KAINA, BRANDON KAINA

KEAAU CHEERLEADERS

THE TEAM PERFORMS THE ALMA MATER FOR THEIR FANS.

My Two Cents

The Nikon D3200 wireless function was a total waste. It did not sync up to the wireless of my cell phone during halftime and I was not able to transmit photos to the Maui News. Instead, I had to upload and send to Maui News from my hotel room.

The Sigma 120-300mm is a beast of a lens - made of metal and heavy! Still, I thought the pictures were kind of soft and not as sharp as I want them to be. The 120 minimum is too big for me. On my crop sensor D7000, that actually comes out to 180mm minimum. I may still stick with the Sigma 50-500 f/4.5-6.3 for daylight games and my Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 at night. The other camera had my Nikon 24-70 on it. I found that I rarely had opportunity to use it except when the play was coming really close.

The RapidStrap has potential. I tried to strap it on over my windbreaker jacket but it kept slipping off. Difficult, if not impossible to use when wearing a jacket over it. Ended up not really using both cameras - stuck primarily with the D7000 shooting the 120-300.

The Nikon D3200 is a great camera, but maybe not ideally suited for sports. I had to learn real quickly how to change the settings (everything is on the menu, rather than on dials on the camera body). Frame rate is not as fast as the D7000.

This road trip was nice because I got to meet some of the Lahainaluna fans/parents like Jeff Ancog and Stanley and Maureen Naganuma. The flight home was nice too. Nothing like flying Hawaiian and having Keli'i Reichel singing our alma mater.

Won't be shooting the MIL opener against King Kekaulike because I'll be in San Diego on vacation with my wife. Thankfully, Sinenci Shots will be shooting photos in my place.

For more photos, click here.

For Maui News article, click here.