Kaimuki Bulldogs A Powerhouse In 2006 Basketball Play

The phenomenon known as “March Madness” came a month early to the Kaimuki community in 2006.

On the night of Feb. 17, the Kaimuki High School boys basketball team celebrated an Oahu Interscholastic Association championship for the first time since 1993, when they knocked off defending champion Kahuku in a 44-43 thriller at McKinley High School.

But the Bulldogs weren’t content to leave it at that. Kaimuki continued its riveting post-season run with wins over Campbell and Kamehameha in the Hawaiian Airlines Division I State Basketball Championships a week later before dropping the title game 54-41 on Feb. 24 to five-time defending state champion Iolani of the ILH.

Keone Reyes’ free throw with four seconds remaining provided the final margin of victory over Kahuku in the OIA title game. He had earned a pair of free throws by intercepting a pass intended for OIA East Player of the Year Junior Ale and calmly sank the second attempt after missing the first. Reyes’ 18 points led both teams in scoring (and 18 rebounds) and capped off an impressive tournament for him. He was also named to the Hawaiian Airlines State Championships All-Tournament team the following week.

Kaimuki, which is coached by Kelly Grant, finished its season at 14-3.

With an all-star cast that included Daniel Colon, Beau Albrechtson and Shaun Dela Calzada in addition to Reyes, the Bulldogs picked up followers with every win and represented the OIA in impressive fashion at state tournament time.

Any recap of the top sports stories on the East side of Honolulu for 2006 invariably begins with Kaimuki’s memorable month of February. Here’s a look at some of the other memorable sports stories from the East in 2006.

KALANI GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM WINS HAWAIIAN AIRLINES/HHSAA DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Junior guard Megan Kamehiro led a balanced Kalani attack with 16 points, including 8-for-8 accuracy from the free throw line, and Kacie Gushiken added 11 points, and senior forward Mana Camara 10 (including nine rebounds) to lead the Falcons to their first-ever state basketball title with a 58-51 victory over Kamehameha-Hawaii May 19 at McKinley High School.

The Falcons, who had won a second straight OIA Division II title a week earlier, were an amazing 25-of-28 from the free throw line in the title game and needed only four field goals in the second half to keep the defending state champion Warriors at arm’s length. Kalani was 21-of-22 from the charity stripe in the second half alone. Kalani had entered the state tournament as the No. 1 seed and took care of business with wins over Word of Life and Saint Francis to advance to the championship game.

Kamehiro was named the tour-nament’s Most Outstanding Player. She was also selected OIA DII Player of the Year in a vote by league coaches.

BANNER YEAR FOR KAISER HIGH FOOTBALL TEAM

The Kaiser football team wrapped up a Division II regular-season championship when it charged back from a 13-0 deficit to produce a tie in its season finale with Waipahu Oct. 20. The Cougars finished their regular season at 6-1-1 - the only loss coming to Eastside rival Kaimuki (13-12) on Sept. 2. In the days that followed the completion of the Division II regular season, the team proudly displayed its trophy in the school lobby.

“It’s like the Stanley Cup,” Kaiser coach Pat Samsonas had joked.“We want everybody to see it.”

The Cougars’ season ended on Nov. 2 when they were defeated by Kaimuki (26-13) in the semi-finals of the OIA DII playoffs.

Kaiser running back Isaac Saffrey was named the White Conference’s offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,381 yards (and 18 touchdowns), while averaging an impressive 6.6 yards per attempt.

KAIMUKI FOOTBALL TEAM QUALIFIES FOR FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK DIVISION II STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Kaimuki Bulldog football team was small in numbers, but big on effort as the Bulldogs advanced to the OIA Division II title game as well as the First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships. The Bulldogs, who dressed approximately 25 players for most of their games, were the only team to beat White Conference regular-season champion Kaiser. Kaimuki accomplished that feat twice, winning 13-12 over the Cougars on Sept. 2, as well as the OIA playoff semi-final encounter between the teams on Nov. 2 by a score of 26-13. Kaimuki finished its season 6-5-1 after tough losses to Waipahu in the OIA title game and to Iolani (41-40) of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu in the first round of the State Tournament.

Kaimuki lineman Keone Reyes was named OIA Division II defensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches at season’s end.

BREAKTHROUGH SEASON FOR KALANI GIRLS SOCCER TEAM

The Kalani girls soccer team had no easy task in advancing to the OIA championship game on Feb. 4. Having never qualified for a state tournament in their long history, and having entered the OIA Tournament as a No. 6 seed out of the East, the Falcons were the “feel good” story in prep soccer circles after upset wins over Kapolei, Kaiser and West top-seed Pearl City. Although the Falcons lost the OIA title game 1-0 to Mililani, Kalani had definitely reached a new level in girls soccer.

“Going into the season, especially as a first-year coach, I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an awesome achievement for the girls,” said Kalani coach Ryan Shinkawa. “It was exciting to see everyone come together as a team.”

The Falcons made their first appearance in the Meadow Gold Dairies State Soccer Championships in mid-February, finishing eighth with losses to Baldwin and Kamehameha-Hawaii, sandwiched around a 1-0 win over Moanalua in the consolation round.

KAISER BASEBALL TEAM WINS CO-OIA EAST REGULAR SEASON TITLE

The Kaiser baseball team wrapped up a 9-1 regular season April 26 when it defeated Kaimuki 19-4 in a game reduced to five innings due to the 10-run rule. It was a fitting end to a regular season in which the Cougars were often dominant. In tying Moanalua for the East title, Kaiser also earned the league’s No. 2 seed for the OIA post-season that followed. The Cougars ended up defeating Kailua 6-1 in the third-place game of the OIA Tournament and qualified for the Wally Yonamine Foundation State Baseball Championships on Maui.

Kaiser opened state tournament play with a 10-3 win over Waimea before No. 2 seed Kamehameha-Hawaii ended the Cougars’ bid for a state championship with a 4-3 win in the quarter-finals May 18.

Kaiser finished its season at 12-4. Kaiser third baseman Colby Ho was later named the East’s Player of the Year by league coaches.

FALCON BASEBALL WINS AMERICAN LEGION LEAGUE STATE TITLE

Although fierce rivals on the baseball diamond during the spring, members of the Kalani and Kaiser baseball programs proved a formidable unit together as they teamed up to form the nucleus of a team that won the American Legion League State Title under the banner of “Falcon Baseball.”

Coached by Kalani baseball coach Shannon Hirai and Kaiser’s Peter Ho, Falcon Baseball represented Hawaii at the American Legion League Western Regionals in Albuquerque, N.M., in August after compiling an amazing 21-1 record during the Hawaii portion of its summer schedule. Falcon Baseball had won the state title with a 14-2 rout of Castle on July 31. In five tournament games, Falcon Baseball averaged an unheard of 16.4 runs per outing.

Falcon Baseball, which included players from Saint Louis, Iolani and Punahou, in addition to Kalani and Kaiser, went 2-2 in their Western Regional games in New Mexico.

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