KAILUA-KONA — As the wins pile up and Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s resume as a Division I power on the Big Island and state grows, Ka Makani have maintained a simple, singular focus — get better, every single day.
But that doesn’t mean the team can’t pause to celebrate accomplishing something that doesn’t exactly happen every day.
Behind a late second half surge, Hawaii Prep (4-0) took down six-time defending D-I champion Kealakehe 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, handing the Waveriders their first league loss at home in more than six years.
The teams played most of the game locked in a 1-1 tie, but late goals from Bip Padrnos and Austin Schneider broke the game open to give Ka Makani the win.
“This is Kealakehe. Every time we come here we know it’s going to be a battle,” Hawaii Prep head coach Richard Braithwaite said. “I’m proud of the way the guys battled and the grit they showed to get this win.”
The last time Kealakehe lost on its home turf was Feb 9, 2011 — a 3-1 loss to Waiakea in the BIIF semifinals. It’s the third consecutive loss for the Waveriders (1-4) — the previous two coming on the road to Hilo and Kamehameha-Hawaii — and the squad has some work to do to battle out of the Red Division basement. However, despite not getting a point from the contest, the Waveriders made an impression on the visiting Ka Makani.
“We couldn’t play through the middle at all. Our center-mids couldn’t get anything going and Kealakehe played excellent defense,” Braithwaite said. “We ended up getting a toe-poke goal and that was ultimately the difference.”
That goal came off the foot — or possibly knee — of Padrnos, who got the start at forward and ate up some valuable minutes for a shorthanded Ka Makani squad.
“It was exciting. We were worried a bit there early, but we just had to keep our heads,” Padrnos said. “It’s always a tough, physical game when we play Kealakehe.”
Hawaii Prep struck first, finally finding the back of the net after a series of first half chances. From about 25 yards away, David Kelihoomalu beat his man to the inside and fired a shot that just snuck inside the post to break the scoreless tie.
Kealakehe didn’t dwell on its first deficit. Just two minutes later, Nathan Weir fired a pair of shots on the net, putting away his second chance off a rebound to make it 1-1.
While Ka Makani dominated for the majority of the first half, the Waveriders started to turn the tide towards the end of the first 40 minutes. The ‘Riders had a nice chance in the box that Hawaii Prep keeper Stormer Horton managed to get his hands on, and Ka Makani also survived a late corner that caused some trouble in the box.
The teams played to a stalemate with limited offensive chances through the opening 20 minutes of the second half, with Schneider breaking up the lull in opportunities with a point blank shot off a corner that was turned away.
The Hawaii Prep sea of red started to take over in the Waverider zone from that point on, mostly playing through Schneider.
With 10 minutes left, Ka Makani looked destined to break the tie when Toby Balaam received a pass in the box, but he whiffed on the shot. However, the chance did generate a corner kick.
After some jostling in the box, Sihkea Jim corralled the ball and Padrnos followed his instincts to finish it.
“It was lucky,” Padrnos said with a laugh. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I was just happy to run back and celebrate with my team.”
Schneider — who had at least a half-dozen chances of his own in the second half — broke through just over a minute later, speeding past the Kealakehe defense to notch his team-high sixth goal of the season to make it 3-1.
“It’s nice to be on a team where you have a chance to win every game,” Padrnos said. “We don’t take our opponents lightly, but we feel that if we play our best we should win. If we keep playing like we have been, who knows what can happen.”
Hawaii Prep’s next game is scheduled for Dec. 20 against Keaau, which is followed by more than two weeks without a league game. That doesn’t mean Ka Makani won’t be staying sharp. The team is planning to travel to Oahu to take on ILH squads Iolani and Saint Louis to fill-up the break.
“We are going to have to work really hard to make sure we are better in two weeks than we are now. Last year, we came back in January and it felt like we hadn’t played together in a year,” Braithwaite said. “We go one day at a time. We have high goals but our primary goal is to improve every day as a team. And I think we have done a good job at that so far.”