COMMUNITY > Central > Sports

Leilehua, Mililani Teams Shine in League, State Finals

Del.icio.us

Part of being a coach is being ready for the unexpected. Mililani’s Rod York can certainly relate. When Trojan football coach Darnell Arceneaux returned to his alma mater, Saint Louis, in this past off-season, York’s elevation to the head coach was no surprise. Nor was his success a surprise when he led Mililani to a 10-2 season and its first-ever OIA title.

Through the transition, York helped the Trojans stay the course in what became an historic season. Mililani won seven straight games during the most critical stretch before a loss to an old nemesis, Waianae, turned away its bid for a state championship. Both of Mililani’s losses came to Waianae, but it also posted a 38-28 win over the Seariders Oct. 29 in the semifinals of the OIA playoffs. Mililani’s offense, led by Red West Player of the Year Trent McKinney and orchestrated by offensive coordinator Bobby George, was prolific, averaging 33.7 points per game. Any discussion of the top 2010 prep stories in Central Oahu invariably begins with Mililani’s football season. A look at some of the year’s other memorable stories follows.

Martinez wins state cross country title; Leilehua wins sixth straight OIA title. Leilehua’s Margarito Martinez brought home the individual Honolulu Marathon HHSSA Cross Country title Oct. 28, covering the course in 15:56.65 to edge out Jordan Thibodeau (16:09.55) of KamehamehaKapalama. The Mules finished second in the team competition (behind Kamehameha) on the strength of performances by Dylan Martinez, Branden Miya, Adam Weaver, Micah Velasco and Michael McCaffrey. Leilehua had captured its sixth OIA title in as many years a week earlier under head coach Shawn Nakata.

Mililani baseball team finishes fourth at OIA tour-ney. Mark Hirayama’s Mililani baseball team won a pair of close encounters over Kalani (8-7) and Roosevelt (6-4), to advance to the semifinals of the OIA Tournament to play three-time defending champion and then-unbeaten Pearl City April 24. The epic struggle ended in a 3-2 victory for the Chargers, but neatly summarized the Trojans’ return to the high-rent district in Hawaii state baseball. Mililani dropped another heart-breaker the following day to Kailua (8-7) in the third-place game, but moved on to the Division I state baseball tournament for a second straight year. The Trojans were defeated by eventual champion Punahou in the first round at the state tourney, but rebounded to beat Maui High and tie Moanalua in the consolation championship game.

Mililani, Leilehua girls basketball teams have strong seasons. Mililani went 10-2 under Patrick Basilio in the OIA Red West Conference (second behind Pearl City) last winter, advancing to the Division I state tournament. They finished 12-6 overall. Neighboring Leilehua also had a breakthrough year in Division II under head coach Elroy Dumlao, going 8-2 in the OIA White West Division to claim the top seed for the league’s post-season tournament. Losses to Kahuku and Kaiser in the OIA Tourney eliminated Leilehua’s state tournament bid, but it still finished a solid season at 8-4 overall.

Sadanaga has record setting day in Leilehua state tournament game versus Saint Louis. Kenan Sadanaga helped solidify Leilehua’s reputation for developing productive quarterbacks Nov. 19, when he completed 38 of 58 passes (with three interceptions) for 420 yards and four touchdowns in the Mules’ 42-28 semifinal loss to Saint Louis in the Division I state football championships. His completion total set a new state record, eclipsing the previous mark of 36, which had been set by Pac-Five’s P.J. Minaya against Word of Life Academy in 2008. The Mules, whose 2010 season was bolstered by the completion of a state-of-the art field turf surface at Hugh Yoshida Stadium, finished 8-4 this fall.

Mililani girls and boys soccer teams win OIA titles. Ryan Akiu saved one of his biggest efforts for one of his biggest games. The Mililani senior scored early and at the very end, tallying both Trojan goals to lead his team to the OIA boys soccer title over Kapolei Feb. 5 on the Hurricanes’ home field. His overtime goal in the 87th minute, came on a rebound off of his own penalty kick. The win also gave Mililani its 10th OIA title in 12 years for the boys under longtime coach Jeff Yamamoto. The Trojans went on to finish fifth at the state tournament.

In the girls division, head coach Ray Akiona led Mililani to a second straight OIA title after it defeated Kalani 3-1 Jan. 30 at Kapolei High. T.J. Reyno, Chelsea Miyake and Lauren Uehara all scored for the Trojans, who recorded their 15th straight win in as many outings that day. Mililani moved on to the Division I soccer championships, where they posted back-to-back shutouts over Pearl City (4-0) and Baldwin (3-0) to advance to the title game. They dropped a heart-breaker (4-3) in the title game to Punahou in a shootout that had followed two scoreless overtime periods.

Garces helps lead HPU to NCAA Division II Softball College World Series title. Former Mililani standout Celina Garces had a freshman year to remember at Hawaii Pacific University, which erased a two-run, fifth-inning deficit to win its first College World Series May 5 in St. Saint Joseph, Mo. The Sea Warriors scored four runs that inning to hold on and beat Valdosta State 4-3 for the title. Garces appeared in and started in 57 games, collecting 27 hits, a pair of doubles and a home run along the way. She also scored 16 runs and drove in 10 more.

Mililani girls tennis team wins fourth OIA title in a row. The doubles team of Kimberly Takara and Melissa Monette defeated Leilehua’s Beverly Cortez and Lindsay Michaelson to capture the OIA tennis individual championships April 27.

The Trojans also boasted the third-place team in Kelsey Kennell and Kaylee Yamamoto, who defeated Pearl City’s Lyndsey Watanabe and Renee Lum 6-0, 6-4. Mililani’s Adrienne Hamada also had advanced to the singles’ finals, where she was narrowly defeated by Aiea’s Kristen Nakamura 6-4, 4-6, 10-6. Mililani won the team title for the fourth straight year.

Mililani girls softball team wins OIA title. The Trojans’ dominance on the softball field in recent years was perhaps best typified by their performance May 1 in the OIA Red title game against Castle, when they cruised to a 20-2 victory, giving them their third OIA title in four years.

Clean-up hitter Andi Felise led the onslaught in the OIA Championship, going five for five with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs. Courtney Senas was four of five with two doubles, a homer, four runs scored and three RBIs, and Rebecca Lee batted three for five with two doubles and four RBIs for Mililani. The Trojans took third at states.