By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
Kalaheo raised itself from the depths of despair to rally and tie host Kaiser, 3-3, in an O‘ahu Interscholastic Association boys’ soccer match last night.
The tie enabled Castle, which defeated Farrington, 5-0, to win the OIA Eastern Division championship.
After falling behind 3-0 during the game’s first 12 minutes, Kalaheo coach Leo Titcomb experimented by moving defender Shaun McCarthy to forward for the first time this season.
The experiment worked as the Mustangs scored three goals in a 22-minute span.
McCarthy scored on a header off a free kick by Anthony Ornellas at 28:55.
Ten minutes later, Nathan Amous chipped in a shot that deflected off the right post and into the goal.
About 11 minutes into the second half, McCarthy tied the game on a 20-yard free kick, which he bent into the upper-left corner of the goal just beyond the reach of Kaiser goalie Joshua Curtis. The free kick was set up when McCarthy was tackled by Matthew Stucke. Stucke was issued a yellow card.
"McCarthy is normally a defender, but it wasn’t working out for us," Titcomb said. "So we made a few changes to combat some of their offense and it worked for us. His height gave us a little advantage up top."
Said Kaiser coach Herb Schreiner: "I give the credit to Leo Titcomb. He sent the balls forward, put his speedsters in the front and they changed the game. That’s what changed the game. It wasn’t our letdown."
Kaiser dominated early with the play of the Self brothers.
Bobby Self, a senior, took a loose ball in the penalty box and scored on a kick from 10 yards out about a minute into the game.
Brandon Self, a sophomore, fought off defender Brandon Lee for possession of the ball and crossed to Landon Beers, who shot the ball into the right side of the net at 9:23.
Bobby Self scored on a penalty kick at 12:43.
"I knew they had a strong offense," Titcomb said. "I thought we could break through their defense, but we didn’t have a chance to do that at the beginning. They overwhelmed us at the beginning."
Kalaheo had a great scoring opportunity in the final minutes when Amous dribbled down the right side and sent a ball that bounced in front of the goal. The Mustangs’ Warren Pitts sprinted down the field and collided with Curtis. The ball deflected off the left post.
Castle finished at 7-2-1 for 22 championship points. Kalaheo (6-1-3, 21), Kaiser (6-2-2, 20), Kalani (5-1-3, 18) and Kailua (5-2-2, 17) qualify for the 12-team OIA Tournament. Kahuku and Roosevelt are tied at 4-3-3 for the sixth spot. The standings could change because Kalani and Kailua will play today.
Castle coach Matt MacDonagh said: "I think it’s great (to win the championship). Unfortunately it was out of our hands, and we needed a little help. We had a rough start going 2-2-1, but we ended the season 5-0. That says a lot about our boys."
O‘ahu Interscholastic Association
Eastern Division
Boys Varsity
Kaiser 3, Kalaheo 3. Kais-Bobby Self 2, Landon Beers 1. Kala-Shaun McCarthy 2, Nathan Amous 1.
Roosevelt 1, Moanalua 0. Roos-James Allison.
Castle 5, Farrington 0. Cast-Daniel Bautista, Avenn Moratin, Daniel Palea, Leighton Takara, own goal.
Girls Varsity
Kailua 8, McKinley 0. Kail-Terri Nakata, Sarah Takekawa, Kelsie Pie, Carli Yokoi, Erin Conner, Anela Ramelb, Julia Takishita, Alissa Sessions.
Kaiser 2, Kalaheo 1. Kais-Allison Lee, Amanda Bias. Kala-Lindsey Peck.
Roosevelt 2, Moanalua 2. Roos-Koryn Maeshiro, Kelly Tangan. Moan-Estelle
Canincia 2.
Kalani 6, Kaimuki 0. Kala-Lauren Cheng, Jennifer Fuchise, Lesley Fujitani, Elizabeth Kim, Megan Suehiro, Cherissa Tamayori.
ILH BOYS
 ‘Iolani back on top: Defending league and state champion ‘Iolani muscled back into first place yesterday, defeating Kamehameha, 3-0, and ending the Warriors’ brief stay at the top.
Punahou also jumped ahead of Kamehameha with a 5-1 home-field victory over St. Louis.
At the halfway point of the season, two points separate the top three teams. ‘Iolani, with four wins, no losses and two ties, has 14 points. Punahou (4-1-1) has 13 and Kamehameha (4-2-0) has 12.
After being held to scoreless ties in both its games last week, ‘Iolani scored in the first three minutes yesterday and dominated Kamehameha. The Raiders led 2-0 at halftime.
"We came out in a slow start and they were full speed from the get-go," Kamehameha coach Andrew Ahnew said. "Their quick goal took us out of our game, although it shouldn’t have. They basically beat us to the ball and did everything right. They were the better team today."
Veteran Punahou coach Bob Clague called the Buffanblu victory over St. Louis "one of the best we’ve played. We’re starting six sophomores this year, making lineup changes and working on a lot of things in practice. It all clicked today."
Interscholastic League of Honolulu
Boys Varsity
‘Iolani 3, Kamehameha 0. Iol-Duke Hashimoto 2, Eaton O‘Neil 1.
Punahou 5, St. Louis 1. Pun-Darren Lee 2, Charles Rania 1, Christopher Chandler 1, Thomas Jencks 1. StL-Keisuke Yasuda.
Pac-Five 4, Damien 0. Pac-Darin Fajota, Mitchell Fu, Ross Kodani, Keven Kapoana.
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