They started him when the season began, and then they benched him.

When Keegan Choy found himself back in a reserve role as a senior, he never let down. The midfielder stayed focused—a good thing for the Mid-Pacific Owls—who got their first two goals from Choy en route to a 4-0 win over third-seeded Honokaa in the final of the JN Automotive/HHSAA Boys Soccer State Championships at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

Choy's goals were his first of the season, staking the top-seeded Owls to a 2-0 halftime lead. The first, at the 33-minute mark, was a header off a cross from Kennedy Spencer.

Six minutes later, Choy came in on the left side, got a feed from Rex Meier, and got his shot past the keeper for a 2-0 Owls lead.

“;Honokaa had us on our heels at one point,”; first-year head coach Jayson Abe said. “;Keegan was an unexpected surprise. When he wants to play, he's unstoppable.”;

Brendan Wesley-Smith scored just 1 minute into the second half, soaring high on a long free kick from Meier.

“;It went off the side of my face,”; Wesley-Smith said. “;Rex tried to find me or Kennedy. It was a perfect cross.”;

Five minutes later, Cody Sullivan delivered a cross to Taylor Chong, who scored to give Mid-Pac a 4-0 lead.

“;Usually, I'm the one doing it,”; Chong said of the pass. “;I just ran straight for the backdoor.”;

Every Owl involved with the scoring last night—passers and goal scorers—is a senior.

“;The difference in this game was our seniors and their leadership,”; Abe said.

MPI dominated most of the play with 24 shots on goal to Honokaa's five. Honokaa goalkeeper Maika'i Coelho did what he could against the barrage, amassing 11 saves. Mid-Pac also had six corner kicks, while Honokaa had one.

With both teams using small-ball style attacks influenced by some of the same minds—former Mid-Pac coach Marc Miranda is the son of Honokaa coach Maurice Miranda—it came down to skills. Marc Miranda left Mid-Pac last year to become women's coach at UH-Hilo.

“;You can see how they have a lot of experience,”; Miranda said of MPI. “;They have lots of seniors who were there when they won two years ago. Our guys weren't in awe. They were just outplayed.”;

Mid-Pacific (12-2-1) was the only team to beat Punahou during the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season. With a core of 12 seniors back from a squad that lost in the final last season, the Owls didn't need a lot of extra motivation.