The Pylon 7v7 circuit continued over the weekend with a showdown out on the islands.

This year’s Hawaii tournament was one of the fiercest and most competitive of the season so far. And the tournament produced a bit of a surprise winner in LoPro, a team comprised mostly of underclassmen.

“It was more about competing,” said head coach Jonathan Amano. “Hawaii is a small island. Everybody knows each other. For us to win is a blessing for us and the kids. It was a great opportunity for them to go out there and compete and get some reps.”

While LoPro was one of the youngest teams on the field, it played to its strengths — using players on both sides of the ball and controlling the clock with efficient, methodical drives led by a pair of eighth grade quarterbacks.

“We had a couple of players playing both ways for us,” Amano said. “We rotated quarterbacks, but we left one in during the championship game. It was his time. Both are eighth graders. They are just understanding reads. It was a great opportunity for them.”

Lo Pro was actually the eighth seed coming out of pool play, but the team made necessary adjustments and pulled off several upsets en route to topping Mill Vill in the championship game.

Perhaps the biggest win of the tournament came against Beast808 in the quarterfinals. Beast 808 was the No. 1 seed following pool play and featured highly ranked prospects like four-star wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala and three-star defensive back Peter Manuma.

“They had Titus and Peter and all those ranked guys,” Amano said. “They are great players. We love them to death. They deserve everything they have. But our boys were able to pull it off. They collaborated with each other and made plays.

“Defensively, we struggled because Titus was eating us up. He scored all their touchdowns. For us, it was about responding and playing small ball.”

Overall, the tournament was a tremendous event for Hawaii, which is on the rise in terms of recruiting talent. Amano was quick to credit Pylon for helping skill players on the islands gain exposure.

“When people come down to recruit in Hawaii, it’s mainly linemen and linebackers,” he said. “We want to bridge the gap with our skill players. We need to get them to where they need to be with colleges and the rankings they deserve. Pylon is such a blessing.”