Kaiser Boys Really Kicking It
By JACK DANILEWICZ
The Kaiser boys soccer team reached new heights this winter by winning its first-ever OIA title, and one catalyst was junior Christian Longnecker, who tallied a team-high nine goals.
A senior attacker, Long-necker was recognized as OIA East Co-Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Kailua’s Naia Graham.
Kaiser won three straight to claim the OIA DI crown, beating Pearl City, Mililani and Kalani along the way. All told, the team was riding a six-game win streak when it opened play at the DI state tourney. Although Kaiser, seeded third, was beaten by Punahou in the first-round game, it rebounded with wins over Kapolei and Kalani to finish fifth at states with a 13-3 record.
Senior goalie Michael Austin was named to the First Team All-Conference in the East after completing a stellar season. He posted seven shutouts and yielded only a single goal in three other outings.
The Cougars also placed midfielders Micah Mokulehua and Taylor Takada and defender Jake Niiro on the Second Team, while Thomas Leong earned Honorable Mention.
* Kalani midfielder Ryan Bui made the First Team.
The Falcons, who won the 2013 DI state title, regrouped nicely in a rebuilding year, going 12-5 and peaking just in time for the OIA tourney. They won their sixth straight to advance to the title game, where they were edged by Kaiser.
Kalani went on to compete in the DI state soccer tournament, where they went 2-2 and finished sixth.
Falcon attacker Raymond Alves, midfielder Marc Teshima and goalie Michael Stafford made the East’s Second Team. Trevor Kakuda and Toshihiro Kosins earned Honorable Mentions.
* Michael Chang, Anh Pham and Randon Tuitama earned Honorable Mentions from Kaimuki.
OIA East Boys Basketball All-Star Team
The league’s All-Star teams had several Honorable Mentions from East Oahu: Kalani (the DII state runner-up) had Cory Mitchell, Brandon Roberts, Dallas Asuncion, Shane Ra, Ace Faumui, Jaron Yamauchi and Alexander Tungpalan.
Kaiser had Chance Kalaugher, Kelsey Lewis, Matthew Haili, Trevin Kahunanui and Melvin Kahunanui.
Anuenue had Kimo Romena, Naalii Dureg, Kamalu Kamauoha and Pono Kahili; and Kaimuki had Jerry Betiru, Taylor Espinda, Kenny Fujioka, Christian Ono and Akira Vernon.
jackster.1969@yahoo.com
