[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mililani's Ehren Ching was pursued by Kalaheo's Dominic Simon during yesterday's OIA title game. The Trojans won 3-0.
Mililani boys rule OIA
soccer for third straight
season
As much as Mililani's Justin Kim excels at creating opportunities for his team in the open field, his eyes always get a little wider when he and the Trojans have the chance to execute a play according to script.
"Ever since we got Steve (McGehee) as our co-(head) coach, we've been dangerous on set plays," Kim said. "We're confident when we get it down into offensive territory. We have a lot of trick plays up our sleeves."
Kim and the Trojans scored twice on set plays last night at Kaiser Stadium in Hawaii Kai, where Mililani beat Kalaheo 3-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association title game. With the win, the Trojans (14-0) earned their third straight OIA title and their fifth in six years. Mililani is also seeking a third consecutive state championship. Kalaheo fell to 8-4-2 and will look to regroup for next week's state tournament.
"We worked hard on them (set plays) this week," said McGehee, who shares the coaching duties with Jeff Yamamoto. "We'd had a hard time executing on Tuesday, so we really focused in on that. When we execute those, we have a real advantage.
"There was a lot of space out there and the wind affected us in the first half," continued McGehee, whose team also earned the OIA's top seed for next week's state tourney. "We finally settled the ball down and tried to go back to the middle of the field and use our two strong center halfbacks. I have a lot of faith in the kids. They don't want to settle for second, and that's a good attitude to have. Once they started to get their touches, it made a big difference."
Mililani had taken a 1-0 lead at the 38:18 mark on a shot by Justin Ching that beat Kalaheo goalkeeper Ryan Kelly just inside the left post. The play was brought about by a throw-in from Kim, whose pass was then neatly re-directed by Brent Murakami to place Ching in prime scoring position.
"Justin (Kim) had a good throw-in off the line, Brent flicked it, and I saw the ball coming straight through (the opening)," Ching said. "I was just hoping to put it in."
Mililani struck again at the 62:21 mark when Braden Tada tallied off another throw-in from Kim. As on the Trojans' first goal, Kim's pass was headed by a teammate to set up Tada all alone opposite Kelly.
"We talked about their set plays on the throw-ins and the corner kicks," said Kalaheo coach Leo Titcomb, whose team beat Aiea, Moanalua and Kaiser to advance to the title game. "We knew that was one of their strong points and they have the personnel to pull it off. They're a good team. I think we're a good team, too. I think we gave a good effort.
"We had a couple of unfortunate injuries that slowed us down -- guys we depend on a lot," he continued. "We knew they had a potent attack. We tried to disrupt that and we did pretty good at times, but not good enough."
Murakami added an insurance goal for Mililani at the 78:79 mark when he ripped a shot inside the right post from 10 yards out.
"Once we get a goal, we're confident we'll get the second one if we keep the pressure on," Kim said. "We're disappointed if we don't finish."
In addition to its offensive execution, Mililani also got a monster effort from Todd Sorbin, who had the task of shadowing Kalaheo forward Max Anton. Anton had scored game-winning goals in two of his previous three outings.
"He's probably the toughest guy I've had to cover all year," Sorbin said of Anton. "I'd played against him before. He has speed and great touch. He's a good player overall."
ILH varsity boys
Yesterday's results
Kamehameha 5, St. Louis 0
Pac-Five 3, Damien 0
Iolani 5, Hawaii Baptist 0
Goal scorers--Kam: Jesse LeStronge 2, James Ogata, Michael DeCaires. P5: Keoki Haole, Doug Morrison, Jeremy Wittig. Iol: Dyrk Teremae 2, Chris Faulkner, Scott Perske, Lee Anderson.
