Kamehameha wins ILH boys soccer crown
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The twisting, turning saga that was the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys soccer season finally came to an end yesterday, with Kamehameha defeating Iolani 3-1 in a championship playoff at St. Louis.
The teams had finished the regular season tied with 9-1-2 records and 29 championship points. Kamehameha, which had to squeak past Punahou 2-1 on the regular season's final day to force the playoff, now receives the ILH's lone automatic berth in next week's state tournament. Iolani must defeat Maui Interscholastic League runner-up Seabury Hall (7-1-2) at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Iolani to earn the final state berth.
That game is scheduled to be played at Iolani, unless bad weather or field conditions force it to be moved to St. Louis.
"This is really sweet," said Kamehameha junior Brandon Tario, who scored in the 75th minute to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead. "A lot of us have never been in this situation. But we worked so hard all season, we didn't want to lose it now. When we had the chance, we had to do it."
Kamehameha wasted little time, with Kaui Wong scoring off Kahai Macdonald's assist in the 10th minute. The Warriors also started the second half fast, scoring five minutes after intermission on a shot that was deflected by the Raiders into their own goal to make it 2-0. Iolani finally scored in the 68th minute on Duke Hashimoto's unassisted breakaway goal, but Tario effectively sealed it with his goal from about 30 yards out off Alika Ah New's assist.
"We played like we didn't want it," Raiders coach Myles Arakawa said. "Kamehameha was much more composed than us and they knew what they wanted to do. We didn't know what to do out there."
Arakawa said Iolani's usual role of aggressor never really materialized.
"For us to win, we've got to take the initiative and make things happen," he said. "Instead, we were sitting back and waiting to see what happens. But a lot of that was Kamehameha. They wanted it more."
Warriors coach Andrew Ah New said he was especially pleased with his team's performance, considering 10 of his players were sick.
"Their bodies were tired, but they did have the mental intensity," Ah New said. "They had some adrenaline."
Adding to Iolani's woes, starting goalkeeper Jason Keanini injured his leg shortly after Wong's goal and re-injured it following Kamehameha's second goal. He left the game and did not return.
"It was just not our day," Arakawa said.
The only time Iolani seemed to match the Warriors' fire was immediately after Hashimoto scored, but Tario's goal six minutes later swung the momentum back to Kamehameha's side for good.
"We knew we had to come out hard after they scored," Tario said. "Everybody played big down the side, and they got it to me and I took the shot. After that, (the Raiders) started slowing down."
The regular season, which saw both teams and Punahou with a shot to win the title in the final five days, had similar ups and downs.
"A roller coaster ride," Ah New said. "We just wanted to win and get it over with."
ILH Girls Varsity
Kamehameha 2, Mid-Pacific 1. Kam—Keo Eaton, Jessica Domingo. MPI—Shannon Nishi.
MORE SOCCER
• Maui: Baldwin won its fourth Maui Interscholastic League boys championship in five years Wednesday by defeating King Kekaulike, 1-0, to finish with a 7-1-2 record and 23 championship points.
Seabury Hall beat Lahainaluna 5-2 to finish second with a 7-2-1 record and 22 points.
• Big Island: St. Joseph's boys won the Big Island Interscholastic Federation soccer tournament championship yesterday by defeating Kealakehe, 3-2, at Kona.
St. Joseph will play regular-season champion Hilo at 2 p.m. tomorrow at St. Joseph in Hilo for the overall BIIF title and seeded berth in the state tournament.
Hilo, St. Joseph and Kealakehe have all qualified for the state tournament next week on Maui.
ILH BASKETBALL
• Punahou 42, Kamehameha 41: The Buffanblu outscored the Warriors 14-6 in the fourth quarter in a come-from-behind Interscholastic League of Honolulu victory.
Alex Fergus led Punahou with 12 points, and Caleb Spencer had 10 for Kamehameha.
PUNAHOU (7-3) 10 8 10 14—42
KAMEHAMEHA (6-4) 10 8 17 6—41
Punahou—Jason Ching 5, Kynan Pang 4, Drew Monahan 3, Todd LaFountaine 9, Alex Fergus 12, Ryan Zabriskie 2, Dane Uperesa 7.
Kamehameha—Pono Enos 9, Eric Shaver 5, Nalu Perkins 2, Sean Uyehara 7, Caleb Spencer 10, Aaron Kahaloa 2, Willie Melemai 6.
3-point goals—Punahou 2 (Ching, Monahan). Kamehameha 2 (Enos, Shaver).
Varsity Division II
Punahou 53, Academy of the Pacific 46. Pun—Jay Hanamura 16, David Marsh 11, Peter Lee 10. AOP—Blake Kelai 15.
Junior Varsity
Mid-Pacific 55, University High 44
Iolani 52, St. Louis 37
Word of Life 53, Hawai'i Baptist 52
ILH PADDLING
Interscholastic League of Honolulu
Girls
Tuesday's Results
Distance: Three Plus Miles
Varsity I
1, Kamehameha (Brooke Calpito, Angelica Chong, Kanani Souza, Krystal Tim Sing, Shauna Ferreira, Laurie Nakamura) 43:36. 2, Mid-Pacific 44:01. 3, Iolani 45:24. 4, Punahou 46:21. 5, Sacred Hearts 48:17.
Varsity II
1, St. Francis (Chanel Gasper, Kira Goo, Ashley Calvan, Melanie Keliipuleole, Jacelyin Centeio, Madisen Minkel) 45:42. 2, Iolani 45:59. 3, Kamehameha 46:58. 4, Maryknoll 47:24. 5, Punahou 49:47.
Junior Varsity I
1, Punahou 44:11. 2, Iolani 47:10. 3, Kamehameha 47:55.
Junior Varsity II
1, Iolani 48:31. 2, Kamehameha 48:38. 3, Punahou 49:15.
ILH SMALLBORE RIFLERY
Interscholastic League of Honolulu
Coed Varsity
St. Louis 1619, Kamehameha 1329. St.L—Shannon Li 283. Kam—Tai Chong 244.
