KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii Preparatory Academy picked up its second title in a three year span with a 4-0 victory over Honokaa in the BIIF Division II championship game at Waverider Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Hawaii Prep claimed its last title in 2014.
“We knew Honokaa would bring the pressure and they did, but we played really really well from the start,” Hawaii Prep head coach Richard Braithwaite said. “This was the goal. We will worry about the next step tomorrow but this is all we have been thinking about for one year, ever since we lost to Kamehameha (in the DII championship game) last year.”
The Division II state tournament will be Feb. 25-27 on Oahu.
Ka Makani scored their first goal early in the game. Eight minutes in, Hawaii Prep pushed the ball down field. As the ball rolled into the box, Dragons keeper Isaac Aguilar came out of the net. However, Ka Makani’s Zen Simone beat him to the ball just outside of the six. He nudged the ball to his right and then put it into the back of an open net for a 1-0 lead.
Hawaii Prep continued to dominate the game for the next 20 minutes, but as the first half wore on, the Dragons began to push the ball upfield.
The Dragons nearly scored late in the quarter when a free kick from midfield sailed into the middle of the box. Kauiki Feliciano put a head on it, sending the ball toward the top of the net. The ball bounced off the crossbar and was cleared by a Hawaii Prep player.
Ka Makani almost scored with three minutes to go in the half when Braden Kojima sent a screamer into the right post. Aguilar reached out, and fully stretched managed to dive and deflect the ball out of bounds.
Moments later, Hawaii Prep went up 2-0 when Noah Wise split two Honokaa defenders on a pass up field. In a 1-on-1 with the keeper, Wise put the ball into the right side of the goal with 1:42 on the clock.
After the break, Ka Makani wasted little time with a goal two minutes in on a header by Austin Schneider off a corner kick.
Hawaii Prep nearly scored again when Ilan Naibryf sent a shot over the Honokaa keeper’s head. Aguilar managed to get a finger tip or two on the ball, deflecting the ball enough to hit the crossbar and bounce out of bounds.
Seconds later, Ka Makani was pushing toward the Dragons net again. A cross into the box was missed by one Hawaii Prep player, but Naibryf picked it up on the far side of the 18 and sent a bullet into the back of the net for a 4-0 advantage.
Honokaa continued to battle, and forced Hawaii Prep to play solid defense down the stretch. But the Dragons could not penetrate the goal line as Ka Makani keeper Trent Wise picked up the shutout. Hawaii Prep started to sub in midway through the half and continued to push the ball until the horn blew.
“Anytime you play a team of HPA’s caliber you kind of have to weather the storm,” said Honokaa coach Maurice Miranda. “After they scored their first goal, we settled down and became more dangerous at times, but we still need more possessions. They were dictating to us and setting the tempo.”
Third place game
Kamehameha vs. Honokaa
Kamehameha-Hawaii edged Makua Lani 2-1 in overtime to lock up a spot in the HHSAA tournament on Saturday.
“Makua Lani played a very tight an aggressive match,” said Kamehameha coach Mario Patino. “We lost our composure a little bit but we were able to settle down and finish.”
The Warriors took an early lead in the game on a goal by Isaiah Laeha, but the Lions scored the equalizer late in the second half on a goal by Loa Ng.
In OT, Kamehameha crashed the net, getting several shots on goal. Makua Lani’s Reid Murphy saved a potential Warriors goal with 5:30 to play in the 10 minute overtime. A kick pulled the Lions keeper from the net, but Murphy managed to kick the ball clear from the center of the box.
However, with 6.6 seconds left before the first sudden death OT period was over, the Warriors managed to get a goal by Tyler Waltjen to seal the victory and secure a state berth.
“It was a cross in the box, David (Erskine) sent me a great pass and I had to be there to finish it.” Waltjen said. “Now we are going to states and that was the goal from the beginning. As a team it feels amazing.”
For Makua Lani, it will go down as another tough loss. The Lions fell in the third place game last season in a penalty shootout.
“It was a hard fought game and even though we lost I was happy with how we played,” said Lions coach Alex Dong. “I think we deserved more than what we got, but I am still proud of a really good season.”
