Note to all athletes: get your rest.

Near and far, the flu bug is spreading across the island, as the Campbell and Pac-Five football teams learned recently.

Campbell quarterback Lalo Respicio was sidelined by the bug and the Sabers lost at Radford. Over the past weekend, it was Pac-Five's versatile Darin Kamealoha who was stricken. The junior was sick early in the week and still recovering when the Wolfpack went to Aloha Stadium and lost to 'Iolani 48-17.

The shifty slotback has 35 receptions for 538 yards and two touchdowns, as well as 137 rushing yards (on just 10 carries). Without him, Pac-Five's offense managed just 221 total yards and lacked that knockout punch necessary to stand toe to toe with 'Iolani.

The 'Pack missed Kamealoha's output of 135 yards per game from scrimmage, not to mention his special teams play. He had a punt return for a touchdown against Roosevelt.

“;We were missing eight starters,”; Wolfpack coach Kip Botelho said. Some, but not all, were out due to injuries.

Respicio returned from his illness to pass for a season-high 302 yards and two scores in a key 30-21 win over Moanalua. He played one half and threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns against Anuenue on Saturday.

He now averages 271 yards per game through the air with 12 scores and just two picks in 78 attempts. Pretty good for a first-year slinger in coach Amosa Amosa's run-and-shoot attack.

Prime-time slam fest

Three of the top four teams in last week's Star-Bulletin Girls Volleyball Top 10 will be on TV tonight. Hawaii Baptist, ranked third, will face St. Andrew's Priory in a 5 p.m. match at Punahou's Hemmeter Fieldhouse. After that, No. 1 Kamehameha (8-0) battles No. 2 Punahou (7-0).

It'll be Kamehameha's first match in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play since winning the Silver bracket title at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas over the weekend.

Gang green

They are 6-0 and the best team on the Big Island. Normally, a sentence like that leads into a paragraph about Kealakehe's football dynasty.

Instead, it's Konawaena that is off to its best start since the early 1990s. The Wildcats knocked off previously unbeaten Honokaa on Saturday, notching their third win over a Division I team. They've already toppled Kealakehe and Waiakea.

The win over Honokaa wasn't the only highlight of the day for Konawaena, though. Earlier, coach Aaron Nagata took his team to Kamakahonu Bay to help restore Hale Mana at Ahuena Heiau National Historic Landmark. The community was asked to bring in 500,000 fresh or dried ti leaves, and the team in green was ready to help.

Ironman defenders

Kalaheo's defense may be the most underrated unit in the OIA. The Mustangs, chock full of two-way ironman starters, have permitted only 19 points in six games. Defensive back Dwayne Mitchell sparked the secondary in a 13-10 win at Radford on Saturday.

Kalaheo's defense shackled Radford's top receivers: Shawn Putman-Curry had 11 looks and just four receptions; Brad Osborne was targeted seven times and had three catches, and tight end Andrew Forester had no receptions on three looks. Only Deshawn Robinson had a productive night (four catches), and it wasn't enough against the unbeaten Mustangs (6-0).

Fukumoto shines

In a win over Punahou, Saint Louis receiver Jordan Fukumoto rose to the challenge with nine receptions for 119 yards, catching every pass thrown his way. He benefited from Punahou's close attention to slotback Lucas Gonsalves.

Against Kamehameha, it was Gonsalves who broke free early and often. The senior was targeted by quarterback Jeremy Higgins 12 times and had nine catches for 142 yards and a TD.