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Chargers Win OIA And Other Defining Moments Of 2007

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If the Pearl City baseball team ever wavered in its mind-set, coach Mel Seki always had enough confidence for all of them.

“I really believe in momentum,“said Seki,who led the Chargers to their first Oahu Interscholastic Association title since 1999 on May 5. “I used to tell the kids, ‘Ride the big wave,’ and I think we did that.”

To be sure,any recap of the top prep stories in West Oahu for 2007 has to begin with Pearl City and its memorable month of May. After securing the OIA title, it moved on to the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA State Baseball Championships the following week, advancing all the way to the title game, where they were defeated 7-1 by then three-time defending state champion Punahou.

That game also marked the last for Seki, who retired as coach after 15 seasons.“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Seki,who had retired years earlier from his post as principal at Moanalua Intermediate.“Once the season starts again, I’m sure I will be missing it.”

On the playing field, the Chargers would have been hard-pressed to produce a better closing act for their coach. When it came to style points, Seki’s team racked up their share.

“We envisioned a good season, but it was amazing how things ended.You need a little luck. We peaked at the right time. We were able to capitalize on other teams’ mistakes, and we were able to come from behind.”

In fact, the Chargers spent much of the first two days of the OIA Tournament on the brink of extinction. They trailed Moanalua 4-1 in their first-round encounter May 2 before rallying big, largely on the strength of Carlton Tanabe’s game-tying two-run triple, to advance to see another day with a 6-4 victory.

“These were amazing things,“said Seki of Tanabe’s tide-turning triple, among other critical plays. “Our center fielder Rory Nakayama also made some outstanding catches in that game. The boys came through. A lot of things came into play - the timing (was good).”

In their quarterfinal matchup on May 2 with Roosevelt, the Chargers were locked in a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh and two men out when they suddenly exploded for five runs to win the game going away. The following day, Pearl City overwhelmed East power Kaiser 12-3 in the semi-finals to lift the Chargers into the title game for the first time since 1998.

As was the case the day before,Pearl City was dominant in the title game, beating Kailua 11-1.

The Chargers’ ascendence gained momentum. The following week, in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA State Baseball Championships at Les Murakami Stadium, they posted wins over Kamehameha-Maui (10-0 in the quarterfinals) and Kaiser (11-4 in the semis) to advance to the title game versus nationally ranked Punahou.The win over Kaiser marked Pearl City’s ninth straight victory - the longest streak in Seki’s tenure. The Chargers had dropped three straight regular-season games prior to putting together their win streak.

Such was the pace of the Chargers’ late-season run that Seki didn’t have time to fully enjoy the ride until well after the fact. “Looking back, I really didn’t read many of the write-ups, but now maybe I will,“admitted Seki, whose team finished 13-4 overall.“It brings back a lot of great memories.”

Here’s a look at some of the other memorable moments of the 2007 Prep sports season in the West.

Kapolei upsets Kahuku in OIA quarterfinals

With 11 OIA championships in the last 14 years and state titles in five of the last seven, there can be little doubt that Kahuku sets the standard for prep football excellence in Hawaii.

The night of Oct. 26 belonged to relative newcomer Kapolei, however, as the Hurricanes scored one of the prep football season’s true upsets in a riveting 14-7 victory on the Red Raiders’ home field.

Four days after his team’s monumental win, Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez’s cell phone was still full with messages of congratulations.

“I’m still feeling euphoric,” said Hernandez, whose team had lost to Kahuku each of the past two seasons by a total of 58 points. “It’s really a big feather in our cap.You work hard for something like that. It makes all of the weight training and film study worth it.It’s a great feeling for the kids, and it helps them realize that their hard work can pay off handsomely.”

The loss was Kahuku’s first at home to a Hawaii school since 1996 when Hernandez, then the Campbell coach, lead the Sabers to an upset win. Kapolei relied on a stellar defensive effort to seize the victory, forcing three fumbles and recording an interception, while holding the Red Raiders to 195 yards of offense, including only 58 in the opening half. In the play that best typified the Hurricanes, defensive end Chad Lopati forced a Red Raider fumble on its own 5-yard line, eventually leading to the go-ahead touchdown run by Cyril Ontai late in the first half.

Campbell’s Anguay runs wild

Campbell sophomore Samson Anguay burst onto the prep football scene like a meteor on the night of Aug. 25 when he scored all four of his team’s touchdowns in an OIA Red West conference game with Aiea that was marred by a brawl in the game’s final minute (and went into the books as a Na Ali’i victory).

The speedy Anguay,who is 5-7,140 pounds, accounted for 212 total yards against Aiea, including a spectacular 50-yard score on a punt return. The following week, he scored three times as Campbell tied ILH foe Kamehameha 21-21. The aforementioned brawl with Aiea was to impact the teams’ seasons, as both schools were forced to forfeit their ensuing league games. Aiea missed the post-season, while an upset win (22-21) over eventual state champion Leilehua Oct. 12 lifted Campbell into the OIA playoffs. The Sabers ended their season (at 3-4-1 overall) with a loss to Farrington in the first round Oct. 27. Anguay finished his season with 555 yards on the ground,including a state-best 13.5 yards-per-carry to go with eight rushing touchdowns.

Kapolei girls soccer team makes run to first-ever OIA title

Chelsea Swann’s goal off of a deflection with 30 seconds remaining in the second overtime gave Kapolei its first OIA girls soccer title with the 1-0 victory over Pearl City Feb. 3. The game also marked the end of an incredible week for the Hurricanes, who had won their quarterfinal matchup with Kaiser on penalty kicks two days earlier. They followed that victory by defeating powerhouse Mililani in the same fashion in the semifinals.

Coach Brian Beck thrived on his team playing the role of the under-dog. “It’s important for us to be the underdog,” he liked to say.

Kapolei’s season did not end with its OIA title. In their first-ever appearance in the Meadow Gold/HHSAA State Tournament, they recorded wins over Kaiser (1-0) in the quarterfinals and King Kekaulike (3-0) in the semis to make the state championship game, where they were defeated 2-1 by Kamehameha Feb.10.Kapolei finished its season 13-3-3.

Born-again Aiea boys basketball team takes advantage of its second chance

Once eliminated from the post-season before a forfeit changed its fortunes, the Aiea boys basketball team defeated McKinley 68-59 Feb. 17 to win the OIA Division II Conference title, the school’s first-ever boys basketball crown.

Na Ali’i had endured a week of uncertainty to reach the title game. A narrow loss to Thompson in the quarter-finals was marred by separate post-game incidents involving fans and players. In the ensuing days, Thompson forfeited the win over Aiea due to the use of an ineligible player.Aiea responded to its second chance with a win over Farrington in the semi-finals.

In the win over McKinley, who was to go on to win the DII state championship the following week,Aiea was led by Obie Woods, who scored 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field. Aiea also received championship-style performances from Josh Chung (19 points, including 15 in the second half) and point guard James Buchanan (7 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds). Aiea took fourth in the Hawaiian Airlines DII State Basketball Tournament the following week, finishing its season at 14-3.

Simmonds lifts Campbell to win over former team in OIA title game

As suspenseful endings go,few contests could match the Division II girls soccer final, where Campbell’s Kaitlyn Simmonds - a transfer from Roosevelt - delivered a title-clinching kick in a shoot-out to help the Sabers defeat her former team 1-0 Feb. 3.

Neither the Sabers nor Roosevelt managed a goal in regulation or in either of the two 10-minute overtime periods, setting the stage for dramatic penalty kicks. Campbell was flawless in the shoot-out, converting all four of its free shots, which were converted by Rochelle White, Natalie Kinney, Christiana Alcosiba and Simmonds. Sabers goalkeeper Oli Kila provided steady play in net.

A week later, the Sabers and Rough Riders met again in the third-place game of the Meadow Gold/HHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships, where they played to a scoreless tie. Campbell, which finished its season at 11-2-2 overall, had beaten Maui Interscholastic League champion St.Anthony 1-0 in the quarter-finals before their hopes of a state title were dashed by eventual champion Pac-Five 4-0 in a semifinal encounter.

Campbell girls basketball team makes Division II state tournament

The Campbell girls team returned to the high-rent district of prep basketball with a fourth-place finish in the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls’ Basketball Division II State Championships last May. It marked the school’s first appearance in the girls state tournament in over a decade. Making the Sabers’season all the more impressive was that coach Nathan Macadangdang did it with a team of underclassmen, led by standouts Amber Kaulia,Vai Confer,Aloha DiasKekahuna and Oli Kila. Campbell, which had finished second to McKinley in the OIA Tournament a week earlier, defeated Hawaii Prep 45-35 in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, but lost 53-37 to Sacred Hearts in the semifinals the next day, ending their bid for a state title. Campbell finished its season 14-4.

Koizumi, Pirtle, turn in stellar seasons for Pearl City bowling teams

Pearl City had two of the top bowlers in the state in Jordeen Koizumi and James Pirtle. Both earned Player of the Year honors in the girls and boys Western divisions, respectfully.Pirtle won his second individual OIA championship in three years with a tally of 1,451 pins, including the highest boys individual game of the day at 289 Oct. 25. In the girls division, Koizumi finished second in the OIA to Kapolei’s Kimie Roller that day in the individual championships and went on to finish only one pin short in her bid to become a state champion the following week, when she was edged by Kalani’s Dara Ajimine. Koizumi’s Pearl City team-mate Seiko Santo also enjoyed a solid season, earning First Team honors in the West in a vote by conference coaches. Pirtle was joined on the OIA All- Star team by teammates Brandon Oshiro and Jared Omiya, both of whom were named to the West’s Second Team.

Kapolei boys soccer team wins first-ever OIA title

Aaron Santiago scored the go-ahead goal in the first half and added an insurance score late to carry the Hurricanes to their first OIA boys title in any sport, 3-1 over Kalani on Feb. 3.

Kainoa Bryant also scored off a throw-in assist from Curtis Kiyabu three minutes into the game, setting the tone for what would become a most memorable night for the boys program. The Hurricanes, coached by Bryce Kaneshiro, had lost 1-0 to Mililani in the OIA championship game the previous year. The win also gave Kapolei a soccer sweep as the Hurricane girls team had won an OIA title earlier in the day.

The Hurricanes’bid for a boys state title was snuffed out the following week by Roosevelt in a 4-1 loss in the quarterfinals of the Meadow Gold Dairies/HHSAA Boys Soccer State Championships. They finished their season with an overall record of 12-4.