By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Honokaa senior Chayce Moniz grew up on a ranch working hard and carried that mindset to the soccer field in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation season of perfection.
The 5-foot-7 midfielder scored 13 goals and sparked the Dragons to their second straight Division II state championship and third consecutive Big Island Interscholastic Federation title.
“He was a consummate energizer bunny, constantly in motion with a high work rate,” Honokaa coach Maurice Miranda said. “He grew up working on a ranch and all his parents (Jason and Jeri) do is work and he’s like that. He doesn’t score bunches of goals, but when you look what he does for you over a whole season and add it up he’s the glue.
“He gets the midfield going and it’s a cumulative body of work. He was recognized this year and I told him the other coaches noticed him, too.”
Moniz was named the BIIF Division II Player of the Year, in a vote by the league’s coaches, continuing his progression and improvement.
As a freshman, he was received honorable mention. He was second team as a sophomore and made first team last season.
“That shows hard work gets results,” Moniz said. “It’s pretty amazing to be recognized by all the coaches. It feels really great and I feel really honored.”
He intends to walk on at the Colorado School of Mines, a Division II program and home to 2010 Kealakehe graduate Brandon Sawada. Moniz has a 3.5 grade-point average and will major in engineering.
“I visited the team a couple of weeks ago and practiced with the team. The coach (Frank Kohlenstein) said if I work hard he’ll look into giving me a scholarship. It’s really good I have someone familiar in Brandon.
“He was a good influence in me going there. The team is good (11-7-1 last season) and it’s a really competitive school. I like competition. It gets the best out of you.”
Moniz was a late starter in soccer, picking it up as an 8-year-old. Miranda remembers those early days when Moniz worked and worked to polish his game.
“I had him on my under-10 team and he started out with less than average skills. When he would hit the ball with his left leg, he would fall down. He was really uncoordinated from the left side,” Miranda said. “But he worked at it. He was more dangerous scoring with his left foot at the end of his career.
“He would do a lot of volleying against the chain-link fence at the school. That’s the way he approached everything — with tenacity.”
The Dragons beat Christian Liberty 2-0 for the BIIF title, and continued their run at states, taking down Castle 5-0, Mid-Pacific 5-1 and Kapaa 1-0 in a championship rematch, finishing with a 19-0 record.
Like any good teammate, Moniz was all about dishing off assists.
“Coach Maurice is the key. He definitely taught us to use values like hard work and commitment to practice hard every single day. Winning the state title for the second year is my proudest moment. It caps all my achievements.”
He also competed in cross country and runs track. His work rate never stops. Moniz knows by heart where that came from.
“I grew up on the ranch, branding cattle, fixing fences and pumps, doing whatever had to be done. My dad never let us slack. That definitely instilled hard work into us,” he said. “Some days when I look back on it, I think it’s all right. Most days, getting up at 5 and 6 a.m. is awful. But on some days I look back and I can’t see my life without it. It definitely taught me to work hard.”
First team
Player School Class Position
Nakaya Kerr CLA Soph. Forward
Elijah Lingenfelder Makua Lani Jr. Forward
Clayton Robinson Honokaa Jr. Forward
Robert Connors Honokaa Sr. Midfield
Trevor Edwards HPA Sr. Midfield
Chayce Moniz Honokaa Sr. Midfield
Dylan Shiraki Honokaa Sr. Midfield
Alden Aguirre Honokaa Sr. Defender
Isaiah Chinen Konawaena Sr. Defender
Tony Connors Honokaa Soph. Defender
Josh Tobias Honokaa Sr. Defender
Maikai Coelho Honokaa Sr. Goalkeeper
Player of the Year: Chayce Moniz, Honokaa
Coach of the Year: Maurice Miranda, Honokaa
Second team
Martynas Golubovskis HPA Jr. Forward
Kepa Police HPA Jr. Forward
John Repogle Kona Soph. Forward
Justin Warren Honokaa Soph. Forward
Jack Austin HPA Soph. Midfield
Ian Clark CLA Sr. Midfield
Paul Gregg Parker Jr. Midfield
Jonah Knell Kamehameha Sr. Midfield
Andrew Dong Makua Lani Sr. Defender
Keenan Freitas CLA Jr. Defender
Brandt Mabuni Makua Lani Sr. Defender
Tyler McCullough Parker Jr. Defender
Kawika Wise HPA Sr. Defender
Cassidy Dixon HAAS Jr. Goalkeeper
Honorable mention
Forward: Louis Moylan, CLA, Soph.; Maka‘ala Gahan, Kamehameha, Sr.; Evan Kurohara, Kamehameha, Sr.; Patrick Garcia, Ka‘u, Sr.; Trevor Yamagata, Kona, Sr.; CJ Brown, Parker, Soph.
Midfield: Maraike Geitner, HAAS, Jr.; Eloy Roldan, Kamehameha, Sr.; John Gilbert Gorali, Ka‘u, Sr.; Alex Guske, Parker, Soph.; Evan Kasberg, Parker, Jr.
Defender: Kekoa Mundo, CLA, Soph.; Preston Cawagas, CLA, Sr.; Tim Jittu, CLA, Jr.; Kyan Catton, Kamehameha, Sr.; Kawika Finley, Kamehameha, Jr.; Cash Sheppard, Ka‘u, Jr.; Justin Uchimura, Kona, Soph.; Kevin Murphy, Makua Lani, Jr.; Eric Dong, Makua Lani, Sr.
Goalkeeper: Taylor Benevente, CLA, Sr.; Pomai Racpan, Kamehameha, Sr.; Coran Yamamoto, Kona, Soph.; James Whalen, Makua Lani, Soph.; Jesse Burns, Parker, Jr.