STAR-BULLETIN / DECEMBER 2002
Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan was doused by his players at the end of the state title game against Castle.
[ HIGH SCHOOL WRAP-UP ]
Some of the best
stories fell shortThere were many winners behind
the winners during an exciting year
This school year, the "almosts" were nearly as fascinating as the champions.
Take the Castle football team, the Kahuku girls basketball team and the Kailua baseball team as examples.
The spirit that carried those squads was one of overwhelming, undying force. Yet, all three were beaten in the state final.
Coach Nelson Maeda's Knights looked mediocre through the regular season, but they banded together and miraculously continued a postseason winning streak. They went down fighting, literally, against Hawaii's most accomplished football program -- the Saint Louis Crusaders -- in the state championship game.
Castle may have to forfeit its first game this fall because of a multi-player altercation in the final minutes.
The Crusaders returned to the top of the high school football pack after losing in the state final to Kahuku two years in a row.
It was the first state title under coach Delbert Tengan, who succeeded the legendary Cal Lee. Tengan stepped down in April to focus more on his other athletic duty at the school -- head basketball coach.
Saint Louis is in search of a replacement, but the Crusaders did not hold spring practice.
STAR-BULLETIN / FEBRUARY 2003
Iolani's Derrick Low dunked over Kamehameha's Walter Spencer during the state tourney in February.
Tengan took the basketball team to the state title game, where the Crusaders lost to Iolani.
Ten of the 13 Saint Louis hoops players also played football. One of the 10 -- B.J. Batts -- caused a minor stir when he said, "We kicked ass for Jesus" after the football title-game win.
Hawaii finally reached a long-sought-after milestone when Saint Louis and Kahuku hosted two of the top teams in the country -- De La Salle and Long Beach Poly -- for a football doubleheader. Even though the Crusaders and Red Raiders lost, they were able to see how they stand against the best.
The football landscape may be changing. Earlier this month, the news of two proposals for classification broke out. Both will be presented at the Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association meeting on Maui next month. If either one passes and then is approved by the Hawaii High School Athletic Association board, there will be more than one state championship in football, and possibly in all sports.
DERRICK LOW led the way for the Iolani Raiders in their run to the boys basketball crown, and his fourth-quarter surprise exclamation-point dunk will likely be remembered in state sports circles for years to come.
"The thing I'll remember the most is the feeling we had, winning the state championship for the second year in a row," Low said. "I know for a fact that we were all close as a team, and we started bonding well together on our preseason trip to Boston. That had a big impact on us in winning."
The Kahuku girls basketball team, under first-year coach Wendy Anae, took a path similar to that of the Saint Louis boys in reaching the title game. The Red Raiders beat three straight tough opponents to make it to the final night, where they lost to Punahou in a tight contest last week.
Nine of the 13 Kahuku girls also played on the Red Raiders' state championship volleyball team.
"I don't think I'll ever have leadership again like we had," Kahuku volleyball coach Mona Ah-Hoy said. "Especially Lesina Funaki and Michelle Peters. With them, I witnessed great leadership and it carried over to Wendy's (coach Anae) basketball team.
"It was evident at the (basketball) states that there was a change in attitude. It wasn't so much an 'I' thing any more and it was much more the team concept than it had been earlier in their year."
After playing second fiddle to Kamehameha a year ago, Punahou finally broke through to take the girls basketball state title.
"I'm probably one of the happiest people alive right now," said Buffanblu center Becky Hogue, who locked up in a memorable battle against Latoya Wily in the middle. "I'm so pleased with what we've accomplished. We had each other's backs. If somebody missed a shot, someone else put it in. If we got fouled, we hit free throws."
COACH COREY Ishigo's Kailua baseball team somehow avoided losing in the postseason and wrapped up the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship before losing a close one, 4-2, to Kamehameha in the state final.
The Surfiders had a string of late-game rallies to get their shot at the Warriors.
But Vern Ramie's Kamehameha team had its own roll going and finally broke through for its first state title since 1988. The Warriors, runners-up in 2000 and 2002, had a high-octane lineup that included Keoni Ruth, Kahe Santos, Baba Merino and JP Kennedy to go along with southpaw ace Isaac Kamai.
"It was awesome," Ruth said. "We worked so hard before the season started and throughout. We did all the training so we could come back to this title game again, and we were all focused on making sure we were going to win it."
In the winter, Saint Louis' Jonathan Spiker and Moanalua's Caylene Valdez captured their fourth straight individual wrestling championships.
Spiker doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon. In a few weeks, he'll be off to Harvard University to wrestle.
"I'll remember all the hard work and the sacrifice and that when it (the fourth title) happened, realizing it was all worth it," Spiker said. "It's going to help make who I'll be as an adult because it was a central part of my life in the best times of my life so far."
The Mililani boys soccer team made a big splash in the winter, winning its third straight state title under coach Jeff Yamamoto. Whitney Shimatsu made the difference in the final, scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory over Punahou.
In that tournament, Baldwin's Ekolu Saffery knocked down referee Kaleo Benz from behind, and both Saffery and Bears coach Fred Guzman faced heavy sanctions by the HHSAA and the Maui Interscholastic League.
Courtney Kessell, the hard-to-hit Kailua pitcher, was the main reason behind the Surfriders' push to the state softball championship.
Stats go a long way in describing what Kessell meant to the team -- 0.26 ERA and 1.6 strikeouts per inning.
THE COACHING CAROUSEL turned in many sports. At Kalaheo, former University of Hawaii defensive lineman Tony Tuioti is the new football coach, replacing Mike Akiu.
Tuioti is bringing three former UH players with him as assistants -- Craig Stutzmann, Jacob Espiau and Karman Saulsberry.
Pac-Five football coach Don Botelho, who won Prep Bowls in 1982 and 1985, resigned from the position he'd held since 1974 to take over as Interscholastic League of Honolulu executive director. The league's administration had been handled by four people, including Botelho, since top official Clay Benham died in April 2002.
Kalaheo's Pete Smith, a winner of three state titles and 14 OIA championships, stepped down as the basketball coach of the Mustangs and was replaced by the school's girls coach, Chico Furtado.
A tennis rivalry spiced up the spring season as Punahou's doubles team of Robbie Lim and Mike Azuma rallied back to defeat Iolani's Sean Morales and Torin Ching 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to preserve the Buffanblu's 31st ILH title in a row and 51st overall.
A week earlier, Iolani ended Punahou's long league-match win streak that dated back to at least 1984.
The Buffanblu went on to win their 35th state championship and 13th in a row.
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