When the Hawaii high school state football tournament format changed to three divisions in 2016, neighbor island schools had won only once.

In the six tournaments played since, the outer island have won nine state championships, including all six in Division II.

KIF Division II champion Waimea and BIIF Division I champion Konawaena went home with their first koa trophy in state football ever on Saturday after both schools won their title games in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships at Mililani’s John Kauinana Stadium.

Waimea won three games in the tournament by a combined score of 110-13 and finished it off with a 45-6 thumping of MIL Division II champion and top seed King Kekaulike.

Konawaena, which had never won a game at states in Division I, beat the OIA’s two best teams by a combined 13 points. The Wildcats clinched their first state title with a 38-28 win over OIA champion Waipahu.

The two neighbor island champs won it in different ways. Waimea, a mainstay in the state tournament when it was created in 1999, did not complete a pass in its win over Na Alii.

Konawaena, which outscored nine BIIF opponents 557-20 before the tournament, finished the season with more than 3,500 passing yards.

Quarterback Keoki Alani, who was 27-for-36 for 256 yards and two touchdowns against Waipahu, threw 50 touchdown passes in 11 games.

Both coaches won exactly the way they wanted.

“That’s how I like it,” Waimea coach Kyle Linoz said after the game about his team not completing a pass. “It shows how hard our O-line works every day, and our backs.”

Waimea rushed for 443 yards with quarterback Kameron Apilado accounting for 228 of those yards. Most of the damage came on touchdown runs of 70 and 85 yards in the second half that put the game away.

When the state tournament began, Konawaena was one of the team’s to watch for after the way it ran through the BIIF season.

When KIF Division I champion Kapaa ran up a 35-13 lead on Waipahu on the first night, however, suddenly the KIF came to the forefront.

The Warriors ended up losing 49-41, but the way they played against a team ranked as high as the Marauders suddenly made Waimea seem like a formidable contender in Division II.

That was exactly the case.

“We’re feeling really good right now,” Linoz said after the Menehune beat Kaiser 48-7 in the opening round.

He was right to feel that way.

Waimea held Kaiser quarterback Easton Yoshino, who ended his career with more than 7,000 yards passing, to 250 yards and one touchdown on 22-for-39 passing with two picks.

It was a preview of things to come.

Waimea then traveled to Honokaa to shut out the BIIF champion Dragons, then closed with another masterful defense performance against King Kekaulike, holding the Maui champs to just six points.

It had been 20 years since Waimea had won a game in the state tournament. Now the Menehune can call themselves champions, and they did it in front of an impressive traveling group of fans who made the trip over from Kauai.

“Look to the side of the field,” running back Aukai Emayo said after the King Kekaulike win. “All I see is blue supporting our colors.”

The nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader had two teams who were not at full strength.

Waipahu senior Liatama Uiliata, a player of the year candidate, suffered an injury to his shoulder and left leg in the first half and was not at 100 percent despite returning to play for the entire second half.

Konawaena sophomore sensation Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio scored three touchdowns in the first half, but was ejected after he was given two unsportsmanlike penalty flags following both of his TD catches.

In the end, the Wildcats’ first-half blitz of four consecutive touchdowns while Uiliata dealt with his injury problems proved to be too much for the Marauders to overcome.

“We worked on (containing Uiliata) all week,” Konawaena coach Brad Uemoto said. “He’s a hell of a player. We showed up at the right times.”

Konawaena had playmakers on both sides of the ball, but its success in the state tournament came down to its kicker.

Nakoa Ige, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound sophomore lineman, made just three field goals all season. One came as time expired to beat Aiea in the state semifinals. Another was Saturday night, when his 36-yarder with 1:52 remaining wrapped up the first state title in Konawanea history.

“Everybody is surprised I can kick the ball,” Ige said. “I’ve been training, kicking every practice. Make sure I can make those game-winning field goals.”