State Basketball Champ Kaimuki Highlights 2007 Sports
By Jack Danilewicz
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In recent years, the ILH could practically sign its figure to the state tournament checkbook.As a result, the Kaimuki Bulldogs felt more like an underdog than a two-time OIA champion when the state basketball tourney began last February.
“Keone (Reyes) likes the spotlight, and he likes people doubting him and the team,“said head coach Kelly Grant, days after his team gave the OIA its first state champion in six years with a 61-53 win over Punahou. “There has always been a mystique that the ILH is better than the OIA. I was really happy for our league. It was neat to hear the crowd chant ‘OIA’ in the last few minutes of the game.”
In the days that followed, the Bulldogs were the toast of Kaimuki, enjoying celebratory luncheons at Big City Diner and Sam Choy’s. After all, Kaimuki’s title was its first in basketball since 1993 and the OIA’s first since 2001.
Kaimuki’s season turned on the last week in January, when it began a run that would see it win 10 of their final 11 games, including seven in a row.The Bulldogs beat Kalaheo 56-45 in the OIA title game Feb. 16, and then went on to beat Saint Louis, Kamehameha-Hawaii and Punahou in the Division I state tournament.
The Bulldogs had lost five of their top eight players from a year ago in terms of minutes played, but the three returnees had been leading scorers.Along with Reyes, Kaimuki also welcomed back guard Daniel Colon and 6-6 forward Beau Albrechtson. All three shot better than 70 percent from the free throw line on the season, with Reyes and Albrechtson combining to convert 18 of 19 in the championship game.
Grant joined Daryl Gabriel to become only the second individual in Hawaii to win a state title as a player and a coach. Grant was on the 1984 Maryknoll team that won the state under Tony Sellitto.
Here’s a look at some of other memorable 2007 sports moments on the East side.
Kalani boys soccer team plays in state title game. For 79 minutes, Kalani stood toe-to-toe with the heavily favored Punahou until Buffanblu junior Ben Strand put a sudden end to the Falcons’ riveting postseason run, breaking a 2-2 tie in the game’s final minute, blasting the rebound off of a shot past Kalani goalkeeper Ian Garrod to give the Buffanblu a 3-2 victory in the title game of the Feb. 17 Boys Soccer State Championships.
While the Falcons were a goal short in their quest, they were the “feel good story” of the tourney under first-year coach Myles Arakawa, beating Kalaheo (3-1) in the first round, Makua Lani (1-0) in the quarterfinals and Leilehua (2-0) in the semifinals to earn a spot in the title game opposite Punahou.
Falcons Dylan Taschner, Danny Higa and Carter Kam were named to the all-tournament team. After losing to Kapolei in the OIA championship game two weeks earlier, the Falcons finished their magical season at 12-5.
Kaiser baseball team takes third in state tournament. The 2007 Kaiser baseball team might have seemed a year away from being a factor in the state tournament - especially since eight players had graduated from a team that won the OIA the year before.
By May, however, Peter Ho’s team of underclassmen looked more like a senior-dominated unit as they began play at the state baseball tournament with impressive wins over Kauai (2-1) in the first round and third-seeded Waiakea.
Defeated (11-4) by OIA champion Pearl City in the semifinals, Ho’s team rebounded nicely to win the third-place game over Kamehameha-Hawaii (4-2), ensuring the program its best finish since 1997 when Kaiser had also finished third. Pitcher Toby Inouye was named to the all-tournament team from Kaiser, which ended its season at 11-6.
Kalani girls basketball team finishes third in Division I postseason tournament. Playing without its injured star Megan Kamehiro, Kalani used its bench talent to earn a complete team victory over Farrington 38-28 to win the third-place game of the OIA postseason tournament May 12. Moved up to Division I prior to the season, the team had been upset in the semi-finals two days earlier by Radford (38-28), but bounced back against Farrington despite the loss of Kamehiro. Nine different players scored for Kalani to help pick up the slack.
Kamehiro, who was the Division II White Player of the Year in 2006 after leading the Falcons to both the Division II OIA and state tournament titles, returned to the lineup in style in the Division I state tournament the following week, scoring a team-high 15 points in a quar- terfinal loss (58-46) to eventual state champion Konawaena. She was the lone Falcon to reach double-figures against the undefeated Wildcats.
Kalani went on to defeat Radford and Roosevelt in the consolation round to finish fifth in the state. The Roosevelt win was the first in three tries for the team, who finished its first season (15-4) in Division I.
Darren Johnson era begins with OIA title for Kaimuki football program. Instant credibility - that’s what Darren Johnson brought to Kaimuki when he was hired last spring, coming out of a three-year break after successful stints as head coach at Kailua and as a high-profile assistant at Kahuku, where he was a quarterback in the early ‘80s. The Bulldogs saw a revival of interest in football and better turnouts for conditioning, weight-training and spring practice.
Their commitment paid off Nov. 9 with their first OIA football title, a 21-12 victory over Roosevelt in the White division championship.
Running back Justin Paderes led the way with 242 yards on the ground and a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Bulldogs (10-1) clamped down to knock off the Rough Riders (6-3-1). Paderes did most of his damage from the left side behind the blocking of linemen Albert Iokepa and left guard Alex Foster-Laifa.
Three years earlier they’d had back-to-back winless seasons and a stretch of 19 consecutive losses. After a season-opening loss to Division I-Aiea Aug. 18, Kaimuki won its next 11 games, including Kamehameha-Hawaii (22-0) in the Division II quarterfinals of the state championships. A loss to Lahainaluna in the semifinals ended Kaimuki’s season at 11-2.
Kalani baseball team qualifies for the state baseball tournament. Standout Ridge Carpenter saved one of his biggest efforts for one of his biggest games. With the season hanging in the balance May 2, Carpenter belted a three-run triple to help drive his team across the finish line in a 10-3 win over Roosevelt in the OIA fifth-place game May 5. With the win, they earned the league’s fifth and final berth in the state baseball tournament.
Carpenter’s clutch hitting figured big all season, but never more so than against the Rough Riders. Pitcher Micah Takahashi scattered seven hits, struck out seven and walked three, in a complete-game victory. The Falcons had opened OIA Tournament play with a win over Leilehua in the first round, but then lost 13-1 to Mililani in the quarterfinals. Needing to win two games in a row, they produced, defeating Castle 8-3 in the consolation round before the Roosevelt victory in the OIA’s ‘play-in’ game.
At the state tournament, losses to Kamehameha-Maui (5-3) in the first round and Kauai (15-4) in the consolation round ended the Falcons’ dreams of a state title.
Kalani’s Dara Ajimine wins individual state bowling title. Dara Ajimine capped off a great prep career by claiming the individual title (with a total of 1,747) at the state bowling championships Nov. 2 in Hilo. Her output helped catapult the Falcons (7,905) to second place behind state champion Mililani, which tallied 7,998. It also marked the second straight individual state title for Ajimine, who had won in 2006.
The Falcons also received strong showings from Brandi Kawamoto (15th; 1,615), Chayna Matsuo (26th; 1,550), Janelle Takahata (33rd; 1,529) and Kayla Takara (44th; 1,464).
Ajimine had finished third in the individual OIA finals a week before the state tournament.
Kalani girls volleyball team wins ‘play-in’ game to advance to state tournament. Kalani defeated Kailua 25-18, 25-22 in the OIA Red volleyball tournament’s fifth-place game Oct. 24 to clinch the OIA’s final automatic berth to the girls volleyball state championships. Junior hitter Tina Pulu led the way with eight kills for the Falcons, while Chelsie Vea added six, Lichelle Nishiyama five and Rhianna Farm four.
Kalani,the Red East’s fourth-place team, bested West foes Leilehua and Kapolei earlier in the playoffs to put them in position for the coveted berth. The Falcons lost to Punahou and Mililani in the following week’s state volleyball tourney to finish their season at 10-8.
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