WAIMEA — Not even a minute had ticked away from the halftime intermission before Hawaii Preparatory Academy players were standing up and kicking the ball around, smiles on their faces.
The demonstration was evidence of coach Rich Braithwaite’s accurate theory that his group of Ka Makani players just love playing the sport. Lucky for them, they have more soccer ahead.
Hawaii Prep pummeled Honokaa 6-0 in the BIIF Division II semifinals on Wednesday afternoon, punching their ticket to the title game.
Senior Austin Schneider scored twice, but had help, as four other Ka Makani players found the back of the net.
“We did a good job of moving the ball around the back and swinging it through our defensive midfield,” Braithwaite said. “We have a little work to do in the offensive-third, but I’m very satisfied. The boys played very well.”
Hawaii Prep will face off with Kamehameha-Hawaii (5-5-1) in the BIIF championship on Friday at Kamehameha.
It’s been one of the best Big Island rivalries over the last few years, and spilled over into the state tournament last season. Ka Makani downed the Warriors 3-1 for the program’s first state title in history. Previous to that victory, the Warriors had Hawaii Prep’s number.
“I don’t think we have beat them at home in the six years I’ve been coaching,” Braithwaite said. “They play us really, really hard. They are so good at playing organized defense and transitioning into a counter attack. I’m sure they will be ready.”
Ka Makani won the only regular season meeting between the teams 3-1. The other matchup was cancelled due to field conditions and not made up.
Hawaii Prep has reeled off an unbeaten 10-0-1 record this season, and just four more wins separate Ka Makani from a state title repeat. However, every game from this point on gets bigger, and Braithwaite knows his team will have a target on their back every step of the way.
“The number one thing I look for is constant improvement,” Braithwaite said. “We still have a lot of areas where we need to get better if we want to defend our state title.”
An area where Hawaii Prep has excelled this season is early in games, which was on display against Honokaa.
Austin Schneider missed his first try high, but didn’t miss on his next shot, basically dunking it in on the backdoor. A few moments later, his little brother, Jake Schneider, made it 2-0, and Sihkea Jim added another to make it a three-goal margin a little over 15 minutes in.
“It’s really important for us to set the pace early,” Braithwaite said. “If we get an early goal, we play relaxed. If we don’t get that early goal, it takes longer for us to settle in.”
That was it for the first half, but Austin Schneider added his second goal in the early in the second half on a long strike, and Ghar Pautz and Jevon Flippin also had tallies.
The score, however, was not indicative of the performance put on by Honokaa keeper Isaac Aguilar. The junior dove all over the field, getting a hand on more than a dozen chances that could have easily gone in.
On the offensive end, Honokaa didn’t find too much success, but did give Ka Makani a few real scares on long free kick chances.
“Those guys always play us tough,” Braithwaite said.
Honokaa still has a chance for a state berth. The Dragons will face Makua Lani on Friday at 3 p.m. in a play-in game.