Tiny-Saurus wrecks

Apparently, butterflies can bowl … and bite.

First, the bowling.

Pearl City junior Chelsi Morishige — all 5 feet, 110 pounds of her — was happily flitting about, greeting many friends and teammates on Thursday.

She had just won the individual OIA bowling championship at Schofield, and, despite a packed house, she went fluttering from place to place so fast, her feet couldn’t possibly have been touching the ground.

Which begs the question, how can someone so light and airy and, well, small, even pick up a heavy bowling ball, much less rack up high school bowling titles?

Morishige won the state championship last year, and added an OIA title last week.

When asked what makes her a good bowler, she didn’t hesitate for a second, ticking off answers in succession with conviction and a slight pause in between: "Determination. Confidence. Focus. Positive thinking."

Not one of those traits has anything to do with bowling mechanics, so whatever makes this kid a special bowler, it has to do with her mind as much as, if not more than, her bowling form.

The fourth thing, positive thinking, is sort of a fail-safe thing for the 15-year-old, when any of the first three break down.

"You have to keep your self-esteem high and not get down or worry about one thing that might be going wrong," Morishige said. "You have to go back to the beginning. Go back to basics and just don’t give up."

Give up? Not Morishige, who, along with second-place Ashlynn Castro, led the Chargers to their fourth straight OIA team title.

Morishige might not look like it, but she’s a fighter.

"She can defend herself," said Chelsi’s mom, Sandi. "If friends are kidding around, giving her a hard time, she’ll have to have the last word or she’ll go up to the boys and (playfully) smack them in the head."

In fairness to Chelsi, the preceding passage was her mom’s response after being asked specifically about any bad habits her teenage daughter might have developed.

Terms like "princess" and "typical teenage girl" were also put out there, but said by her mom with love and a big smile. Even if there is some truth to those remarks, one thing is crystal clear: Chelsi Morishige is a really good kid — and that was corroborated by her coaches, her teammates, parents of opposing players and her own parents.

But if she is so nice, where did that competitiveness come from?

Well, her brother, Blaise, a 2014 Pearl City graduate and former Chargers bowler, may have unwittingly initiated it.

"When she was 1, her brother stole her toy," Sandi said. "And she crawled over to him and bit him in the face. He never stole a toy from her again."

Blaise and their older brother Chase (a 2010 Pearl City grad) got into bowling first, taking after their dad, Greg, who has bowled for many years.

"I used to go and watch my brothers," Chelsi said. "And then I got bored and asked if I could do it, too."

And the individual accomplishments since that time are many. She placed third at the OIAs two years in a row before breaking through for the win this year. And, aside from her state title, she captured the big Pepsi tournament on Oahu in her age division twice.

"I qualified for the North Pointe Junior Gold tournament in Detroit and went to the mainland for the first time," she said. "I had heard people on the mainland weren’t as nice as people here, but people in my division were really nice," she said, emphatically.

A 300 game this year at Leeward Bowl in Pearl City is one of Morishige’s biggest accomplishments. She is, unofficially, the youngest to do so there.

The team aspect of bowling is huge for Morishige, and the Chargers will go for their fourth state title in a row, Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 in Kailua-Kona.

"I am basically bowling for my team," she said. "I like to try to help hold up the team. And I believe we have the best teamwork around. We are all about the same age, and it’s easy for us to all get along. When one of us is down, the others pick ’em up.

"And I am really glad I have Coach Millie (Gomes). We are very close. She is always motivating us. She is always taking us out to eat and taking us places. She took us to Aulani. And she bought us these really nice purple blankets with ‘Pearl City Chargers’ on it."

Said Gomes about Morishige: "She’s always appreciative of what we do for her and she is always encouraging her teammates and comforting or empathizing with them if they’re having a hard time."

According to assistant coach Tony Madrona, Morishige used to be more reserved.

"She really blossomed and now for her everything is team, team, team, and that’s why we are so proud of her," he said.

Sandi, the mom, said Chelsi usually picks up the basics of other sports easily, like throwing a football and hitting a golf ball.

"She’s coordinated," Sandi said. "She’s also analytical and always asking questions and figuring things out.

"And she is always getting people to do things for her. One time, she walked out of a place with a drink in her hand and two boys were dragging her bags along. I asked her why she let them do that and she acted like there was nothing wrong with it."

According to Gomes and Mrs. Morishige, Chelsi is sometimes slow on the uptake.

"You tell her a joke," Gomes said, "and she’ll go ‘huh?’ "

Even Chelsi admits it, and she knows her teammates laugh at her when she mispronounces some words.

"My teammates call me Tiny-Saurus," she said, "Because I saw a cloud one time and said it looked like a ‘rhino-saurus’ instead of pronouncing it rhinoceros."

There’s no guarantee Morishige will win a second state individual title in a row or that Pearl City will take another team trophy, but you can bet she won’t settle for second place very easily.

Other state title contenders beware: You might not get the response you’re looking for if you tell Chelsi Morishige a joke, but if you threaten to dethrone her as state champion, be extra cautious, because this butterfly can bite.

HONOR ROLL

FOOTBALL

» Tielu Mamea, Mililani: Returned an interception for 84 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kaiser.

» Kainoa Wilson, Mililani: Caught six passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns while helping quarterback McKenzie Milton to 15-for-18 efficiency in a win over Kaiser.

» Jenesus Tago, Campbell: Scored two rushing touchdowns on his only carries in the second half of a close win over Leilehua.

» Samson Low, Damien: Ran for 177 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries as the Monarchs beat Pac-Five.

» Tua Tagovailoa, Saint Louis: The sophomore celebrated getting an offer from UCLA with four touchdowns against Kamehameha. He ran for 84 yards with three scores and passed for 195 and another touchdown.

» Jahred Silofau, Saint Louis: Rushed for 181 yards on 20 carries in the Crusaders’ win over Kamehameha.

» Kumoku Noa, Kamehameha: Caught three passes for 123 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, in a loss to Saint Louis.

» Tuli Wily-Matagi, Kahuku: Opened a playoff win over Kapolei with a 55-yard touchdown run and finished with 87 yards on 16 carries. He also threw for 51 yards in the defensive battle.

» John Farley, Kahuku: The defensive back came down with two interceptions in a win over Kapolei.

» Ranan Mamiya, Farrington: Rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown to lead the Governors over Waianae.

» Challen Faamatau, Farrington: Held to just 35 yards on seven carries but punched through two touchdowns in a win over Waianae. He also caught two passes for 48 yards.

» John Barbieto, Waianae: Rushed for 110 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown in a season-ending loss to Farrington. He also caught three passes for 74 yards.

» Hanisi Lotulelei, Maui: Gained 127 yards on just six carries and two touchdowns in a win over King Kekaulike to clinch a state berth.

BOWLING

» Caitlin Cunningham, Sacred Hearts: Rolled a 210 game and 606 series in a win over Island Pacific.

» Chelsi Morishige, Pearl City: Knocked down 1,228 pins to claim her first OIA championship.

» Ryan Kajihiro, Pearl City: Won the OIA boys title with 1,388 pins, 42 more than Kalaheo’s Dylan John Peters.

» Kalani Akau, Assets: Rolled a 231 game and 612 series in a loss to Lanakila Baptist.

THE TOP 10

Voted on by coaches and media from around the state. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, eight for third, etc.

FOOTBALL

Also receiving votes: Maui 10, Waianae 9, Nanakuli 9, Kaiser 9, Iolani 3, Kapaa 2, Kapolei 1.

VOLLEYBALL

Also receiving votes: Hawaii Baptist 9, Punahou II 9, Hilo 8, Kapolei 6, Nanakuli 6, Kalaheo 4, Mid-Pacific 4.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

BOYS

Tsubasa Brennan
Pac-Five receiver
Caught 12 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Damien. Brennan, a senior, finished the season with 88 receptions for 1,160 yards and 11 touchdowns in only eight games. He fell 35 yards short of becoming the seventh player to 2,000 yards.

GIRLS

Shekinah Clarke
Kapolei volleyball
Hit seven of her eight kills in the third set and added three aces in the second to lead Kapolei over Kahuku in the OIA playoffs. The Hurricanes knocked the Red Raiders into the consolation bracket and clinched their first state-title berth since 2008.