Shannon gave Kamehameha a wildcat spark

Kamehameha’s first foray into Interscholastic League of Honolulu football with Abu Ma‘afala was not a successful one.

The Warriors lost 56-14 and were beaten by, seemingly, a better team.

But there was a time in the first quarter when Kamehameha had Punahou confused. It was when the Warriors, trailing 14-0, went to the wildcat offense and Kanoa Shannon took the snaps.

Shannon hit the holes hard and fast and wiggled his way for extra yardage. A 40-yard gain was the big play in the team’s only touchdown drive of the first half, in which Shannon got into the end zone from a yard out.

The Warriors (1-2, 0-1) used it off and on for the rest of the game and also used a traditional offense led by quarterbacks Boogie Yam and Justice Young.

“Running the wildcat was fun,” Shannon said. “It was ground and pound like coached talked about. I wouldn’t call it successful (against Punahou), but it was a good first time working it and working together as a group. We just gotta come out next time and execute better. It’s tough (losing to Punahou), but we’ve just got to deal with it, come back and work and prepare for them even better.”

Shannon, a 5-foot-7, 155-pound junior, rushed for 139 yards on 25 carries in the loss.

Expect to see more of the wildcat offense in upcoming games. If it succeeded for a time against Punahou, it is likely to be employed against others.

Kamehameha’s Ma‘afala was not available for comment after Thursday’s game.