KEAAU — Kealakehe coach Hayato Fukumitsu saw a goal coming as long his team kept its work rate at a high level.
Just down the way, his Kamehameha counterpart, Kevin Waltjen, hoped his squad’s tank handn’t hit empty after a fast-paced first half.
Energy won out.
Taiyo Thom pounced on a backline mistake and buried a goal in the 68th minute Tuesday, carrying the Waveriders to a 1-0 victory in a BIIF boys soccer season-opener between cross-divisional contenders at Paiea Stadium.
“It was bound to happen,” Fukumitsu said. “We were getting our chances, and enough chances will create goals.
“An effort goal by us. We were playing it in and we just weren’t capitalizing. We knew over time it was going to go.”
The second-year coach was vocal in imploring his team to continue to push pace in the second half and not let up. In a nutshell, getting tired wasn’t an option.
“It comes from the heart,” he said. “I saw the boys playing with heart. I can’t be with them with my feet, so I’m with them with my heart and voice.”
Warriors goalkeeper Jake Toci wasn’t shy about straying from the penalty box to stop hard-charging runs by Alexander Bell and Kaisei Kelly. Kelly probably thought he had the go-ahead goal before Toci came out and made a diving save midway through the second half.
Kamehameha’s best chance for an equalizer came off the foot of Buddy Betts, who had an opportunity from about 15 yards away on the right side, but he sent his shot wide left of goalkeeper Zachary Aderinto.
“We were running a lot in the first half, but they weren’t playing soccer,” Waltjen said. “We kind of wore ourselves down, but they came back and it looked like a controlled game and good tempo.”
The key, he said, would be too learn from this loss. One lesson may be not to try and start too fast.
“We’re supposed to be a fast-break team,” he said. “We went all out in the beginning, and once you do that in an 80-minute game, 40 minutes hard makes the next 40 minutes really difficult.”
Both teams return eight starters and carry title hopes into revamped divisions after Hawaii Prep switched from Division I to Division II.
Once the island’s boys dynasty, the Waveriders have lost in the BIIF D-I semifinals the past two seasons to miss out on an HHSAA tournament berth. But getting back to states isn’t Kealakehe’s primary goal.
“We’re cohesive and have the same goal in mind, and it’s definitely to win a BIIF title,” Fukumitsu said. “That’s our focus. Our brains are forward thinking and we’ll do what it takes to win.”
The Warriors seek a Division II threepeat, but the path is more difficult this season with HPA, the two-time champ in D-I, in the way. Waltjen also expects prime competition from Makua Lani, Konawaena and Honokaa, but it’s nice to have his nucleus of seven seniors: center backs Cuinn Cariaga, Luukapu Roback, outside back Makoa Aurello, midfielders Ethan Shimabukuro and Christopher Knell and Butts up top with Toci in goal.
The big loss to graduation was Jonathan DeMotta, the BIIF D-II player of the year, but Waltjen said his senior core reminds him of the senior group in 2018 that led Kamehameha to its first state title in Waltjen’s first year as coach.
“Today it didn’t go our way, but we have to get better and understand what happened here,” he said. “Nobody likes to lose, but I was telling them that everybody is going to lose, so when it happens you have to be prepared to not make the same mistakes.”
In the girls match that followed, the teams played to a 2-2 draw.
In other matches Tuesday on the boys side: Waiakea beat Ka’u 10-0 and Kohala beat Keaau 9-0. In another girls match, Waiakea beat Ka’u 12-0.
