Kamehameha-Hawaii finally breaks through

Kamehameha-Hawaii knocked for the third time and the door finally opened for the Warriors on Saturday night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

In their third visit to the Division II final in the last four years, the Big Isle boys were the last team standing in The Queen’s Medical Center/HHSAA Boys Soccer State Championships.

Jonathan DeMotta secured the 3-2 victory over Kapaa — and the title — on a penalty kick during stoppage time. He was pushed from behind in the box while trying to head home David Erskine’s cross. On the PK, he delivered a low shot to the right for what held up as the game-winner.

But the match was far from over. Second-seeded Kapaa (8-3-3) put on a furious attack and nearly got the equalizer as Gabe Franklin broke down the left side on goalkeeper Jameson Sato, who sprinted out and dove for the ball on Franklin’s dribble and the two players collided. Sato left the game pointing to his head, but seconds after play resumed, the center referee blew the whistle to signal the end.

“That was a great game,” Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Kevin Waltjen said. “Both sides fought very valiantly trying to win this. It’s an honor that everyone wants. I’m very proud of Kapaa, too. They fought all the way through. We fought all the way through. And if I can say one thing, any championship you’ve got to fight all the way to the end is a championship that’s worth watching.”

That referee’s whistle was a big relief to top-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii (14-1), which carried a 2-1 lead into the final minute, when the Garden Isle squad found a way to squirm back into it. Speedy striker Ryan Banasihan served up the tying goal when he took a long cross-field pass from Jordan Belmodis and put a shot on Sato, who made the initial stop. But Banasihan and the ball got past Sato and Banasihan easily knocked it into the goal.

Prior to that, it appeared that Tyler Waltjen’s 18-yard direct-kick goal 15 minutes into the second half for that 2-1 Kamehameha-Hawaii edge would hold up.

“It was very frustrating that they kept tying it up,” DeMotta said. “We stuck to our plan and we just kept up being the better team. Kapaa played very good, but we did better as a team.”

In the first half, the Big Isle Warriors went up 1-0 on Erskine’s shot on a cross from DeMotta that deflected off a Kapaa defender and into the goal. Kiran Costa then made it 1-all for the Garden Isle Warriors in the second half by heading in La‘akea Gonsalves’ corner kick.

“It’s a sad feeling we didn’t win,” Gonsalves said. “But we all played hard and I’m happy for my boys. Just a tough loss.”

Both goaltenders — Sato and Kapaa’s Chysen Lagunes-Rapozo — were tested often and made numerous tough stops.

“He did a great job,” Waltjen said about Sato. “He’s a senior who has been here for four years and a starter for three. You can see how much experience he has. He was a rock.”

For Kapaa coach Kevin Cram, getting to states — and to the final — was a bit of good fortune after the team lost two of its first three matches.

“It was surprising we won the KIF and a pleasant surprise where we are today,” he said. “And we came that close to winning it. Technically, Kamehameha-Hawaii was better, but our athleticism and desire kept us in it.”