Saturday, October 21, 2023

Kaʻū News Briefs Saturday, Oct. 21 , 2023

Friday Night Lights: Kaʻū Trojans play the Dragons, BIIF defending champs at Honoka‘a. Photo by Mark Peters
KAʻŪ FOOTBALL BREAKS SCHOOL SCORING RECORD: It was Friday Night Lights for the Kaʻū Trojans in Honoka‘a with an extremely competitive and exciting game. On Friday, the Trojans were defeated by the defending Big Island Interscholastic Federation D2 Champions and last year's State Runner-Up by a score of 32-30.
Kaʻū Defense lines up against Honoka‘a Dragons. Photo by Mark Peters
    The Trojans played arguably their best football game of the year against a well-coached and talented Honoka‘a Dragons team.        The very large Honoka‘a Homecoming crowd was treated to a shootout of a game that went back and forth all night. Kaʻū opened with a long drive to start the game that consumed most of the first quarter and ended up with a touchdown and a two-point conversion to take the lead.
   After the Dragons scored, Trojans answered with another nice drive leading to a touchdown and a 16-6 lead in the first quarter. Honoka‘a battled back to take a 20-16 lead at halftime. The Dragons extended their lead to 26-16 at the
Sophomore Oli Silva-Kamei
gets his game face on before the
game. He represents a big part of
Kaʻū's football future, playing
Offense and Defense as a lineman,
rarely coming out of the games.
He was recognized last year as a
freshman as BIIF All-Conference
2nd Team. Photo by Mark Peters
start of the 4th quarter. There was no quit in this Trojan team as they battled back to score twice in the 4th quarter to take a 30-26 lead with just over 4 minutes left.
    On the ensuing kickoff, Honoka‘a returned the ball for touchdown to take a 32-30 lead. Kaʻū started its final drive with just under 4 minutes left and 80 yards to go for the game-winning score. They drove the ball down the field to about the 15-yard line with just over 20 seconds left in the game when the Dragon defense tightened up and stopped the Trojans, leaving only 12 seconds left in the game.
    This season, the 2023 Kaʻū Trojans broke the school record in 11-man football for team scoring by earning 222 points. The previous record of 201 points was set by the 1965 team. This year's team also broke a game record for 11-man football for yards in one game by producing 596 yards of total offense in the game (301 yards passing and 295 yards rushing). This broke the previous school record set by the 2023 team a few weeks ago against the Pahoa Dragons.
    At Honoka'a, the Trojan offense was led by Adahdiyah Ellis-Reyes who completed 9 of his 13 passes for a new individual school record of 301 passing yards. His receivers had a big night led by TJ Kauhuia-Faafia with 3 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown; Eddie Wirtz hauled in 4 crucial passes for 110 yards; and Jaestin Karasuda made a spectacular athletic catch on the sidelines for 56 yards.
    The rushing game was front and center all night with Ocean Nihipali-Sesson carrying the ball 34 times for 141 yards. Adahdiyah Ellis-Reys had another solid rushing game with 21 carries for 144 yards.

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A TEST PROJECT TO DEVELOP A REUSABLE FOOD & DRINKWARE SYSTEM and reduce single-use containers in the public waste stream is soon to begin. The Reusable Foodware System project, a joint initiative by Hawaiʻi County, Zero Waste Hawai‘i Island, Perpetual, and the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, is an endeavor supported by grants, including $1.5 million from U.S. EPA  Solid Waste Infrastructure For Recycling, awarded to Hawai‘i County.
Image from Perpetual
 "We're excited to work with the community to build out a one-of-a-kind reusable food ware system that will help us make Hawaiʻi Island cleaner and greener for generations to come," said Mayor Mitch Roth. "Our partners have worked tirelessly to bring this initiative to our island, and we invite all to come and explore the possibilities of this new technology with us. At the end of the day, this is about protecting our 'āina and, with it, the people of this place."
    Public involvement begins with the test project in Hilo and a series of community design workshops that aim to gather valuable public input from Oct. 24 to Oct. 28 across locations in Hilo.
    The workshops will provide a hands-on experience, allowing participants to borrow, use, and return a reusable cup and container while also soliciting feedback on how a reusable foodware system can be best designed to meet their requirements. "The focus is on creating a system rooted in the Hawaiian values of Kanaka, ʻĀina, and Akua Connections (People, Land, and
Spirit)." says a statement from Hawai‘i County.
    The workshop materials will be available in multiple languages to ensure accessibility for all community members.
    Here is the schedule of the upcoming workshops:
Tuesday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Drop-in Design Workshop at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Community Connections Fair on the Library Lanai.
Wednesday, Oct. 25 - 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Drop-in Design Workshop at Moʻoheau Bandstand in downtown Hilo.
Thursday, Oct. 26 -10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: Hawaiʻi Community College Lunch and Learn intended for students and the campus community.
Friday, Oct. 27 - 1:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.: Kuʻi & Kani Panaʻewa at Panaʻewa Community Center.
Saturday, Oct. 28 - 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.: East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center Drop-in Design Mini Workshop as part of the Downtown Halloween festivities.
    The Reusable Foodware System project has received grant support from Walmart Foundation, 11th Hour Project, Plastic Solutions Fund, and Overbrook Foundation, which enable Perpetual and Zero Waste Hawai'i Island to facilitate the project, provide technical expertise, and support the community-driven design process.
"This project offers a unique opportunity for Hilo to take a significant step toward reducing waste, plastic pollution, and environmental harm while creating new jobs, fostering local economic growth, and delivering a
better experience for residents and visitors," says the statement from the County.
For more information, contact:
Hawaiʻi County - Craig Kawaguchi, Craig.Kawaguchi@hawaiicounty.gov
Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island - Jennifer Navarra, zwhi@zerowastehi.org
Perpetual - Ellie Moss, hello@perpetualuse.org
To stay informed about the progress of this project, sign up at https://www.perpetualuse.org/newsletter.
For more information about the upcoming workshops, visit https://www.zerowastehi.org/upcoming-events.








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