2014 Good To Falcons, Cougars

Below is a look at some of East Oahu’s memorable 2014 sports stories.

Kaiser upsets Kahuku

An overflow crowd watched the Cougars’ stunning 20-19 upset of previously undefeated Kahuku in week three of the OIA Red season. Kaiser was in its first Division I play in several years after being promoted after its 2013 OIA White title. (The Cougars also were 2013 DII state champion.) The win was the first for Kaiser over Kahuku since 1989, and the fifth game for first-year coach Cameron Higgins, who replaced Rich Miano in the off-season.

Defense forced seven turnovers, two in the fourth quarter. Kaiser finished its season 5-4 overall, including 4-3 in the OIA Red.

Chaminade wins Pac-West, NCAA bid

Chaminade sophomore James Harper, a transfer from DI Houston Baptist, tallied a season-high 31 points, including nine 3-pointers (one short of the school record) to lift fifth-seeded Chaminade to a 99-83 win over Dominican University of California March 8 in the title game of the PacWest tournament in San Diego.

With the win, Chaminade earned back-to-back NCAA appearances for the first time in its history, having received an at-large berth in 2012-13. The Silverswords (19-12) had defeated three higher seeds (No. 4 BYU-Hawaii, No. 1 California Baptist and Dominican) to make the NCAA West Regionals. The team lost a heartbreaker in the regional tourney game 79-78 to top-seeded CSU San Bernardino, ending its 2013-14 season at 19-13.

Head coach Eric Bovaird signed a two-year contract extension in May.

Kaiser softball stands tall in East

Kaiser’s softball team went 11-1 en route to earning the No. 2 seed for the league’s post-season tourney. The Lady Cougars won seven straight at one point, including over Moanalua (its only loss). Losses to Campbell and Leilehua at the OIA tournament ended the Cougars’ bid for a state tournament berth.

Kaiser soccer OIA best

The Kaiser boys soccer team delivered the school its first-ever OIA Red crown Jan. 31, with a 3-1 win over Kalani in the title game, marking the first time since 1996 that two teams from the East made the OIA title game.

Kaiser avenged a loss to Kalani with the win and was coming off an exhausting semifinal win over Mililani the day before. That game stretched to 100 minutes and two overtimes before being decided by penalty kicks.

Kaiser and Kalani both went on to compete at the DI state championships and met one more time in the fifth-place game. The Cougars prevailed 3-2.

Kalani and Kaiser play for hoops title

More than neighborhood bragging rights were on the line when Kaiser and Kalani met in the OIA White championship game at McKinley Feb 6. Avenging a loss to the Falcons only five days earlier, the Cougars stepped up big for a 54-49 victory.

Both teams moved on to the DII boys basketball state championships the following week.

Kaiser’s Tashiro takes cross-country title

Kaiser junior Lisa Tashiro posted a time of 18 minutes, 59.90 seconds to win the girls individual title at the cross country state championships Nov. 1. She beat out Iolani junior Amanda Beaman (19:11.80), who was runner-up.

Competing in her first cross-country season, Tashiro also won the OIA individual title the previous weekend.

Football Falcons make White playoffs

Kalani qualified for the OIA DII playoffs for the second straight year, going 4-4 overall. Coached by Greg Taguchi, the team beat Waialua, Roosevelt, Anuenue and Kaimuki. It battled valiantly in its OIA White playoff game against eventual champion Nanakuli, leading after three quarters before succumbing 20-14.

Kaiser girls team makes state soccer semifinals

Alicia Chang scored on a header in the 46th minute to lift Kaiser over Mililani 1-0 in the OIA girls soccer tournament quarterfinals Jan. 22. The win helped fuel a riveting run for Kaiser, which outlasted Kapolei the following night in a game won on penalty kicks after two scoreless overtimes. The Cougars also played two overtime periods in the OIA title game with Pearl City, eventually succumbing to the Chargers on penalty kicks. Kaiser played in the state tourney, tying Castle for consolation title.

Kalani boys advance to state hoops title game

On the heels of its loss to Kaiser in the OIA finale, the Kalani boys bounced back at the DII state basketball tournament, beating defending DII champion and top-seeded St. Francis and fourth-seeded Kohala to make the title game. Although Hawaii Prep beat them 42-33, Kalani’s runner-up finish was the farthest any Falcon boys basketball team had ever gone before.

Kaiser swim teams win OIA titles

Both the boys and girls teams made it a clean Kaiser sweep Feb. 1, winning OIA swimming and diving titles. It was a second straight OIA title for the girls, and Corrine Shigeta set a new record for the OIA finals in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:04.76.

The boys team delivered the school’s first boys title since 2006, ending a run of seven straight Mililani titles.

Kaiser girls claim OIA track and field title

The girls track and field team edged Campbell by a mere half-point to win the OIA title May 4. Kaiser’s Celine Lum won an individual title in the pole vault and finished third in the 800 meters. Several Cougars finished in the top three in events, including Lina Schell (second in 1,500 meters), Teuila Gardner (third in 400m, second in 800m), Lisa Tashiro (second in 3,000m) and Kristen O’Handley (third in high jump).

jackster.1969@yahoo.com