Waiakea’s overtime celebration poured halfway on to the pitch, and then Warriors started to retreat to the bench like they usually do.
It was then that the public-address announcer had to remind them to walk all the way across the field to accept their medals.
This BIIF Division I championship thing was new to all of them.
“I didn’t even notice that,” senior John Grover said, “I was so caught up.”
There was a lot to let sink in after Grover completed his hat trick with a golden goal in the second overtime Saturday, sending the Warriors past Hilo 3-2 for their first BIIF title since 2006.
“This is way better than I thought it would be,” Grover said. “You almost coudn’t write a better ending. It was amazing. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe my senior year ended like this.”
Grover and fellow seniors Kai Biegler and Elijah Carigon helped revive the program into a contender two seasons ago, but the past two campaigns ended in disappointment on this very same pitch in postseason losses to Hawaii Prep in overtime.
“I guess the third time’s a charm,” said Grover, who scored his winner after a corner kick off the foot of Javier Cuevas went far post to Biegler, whose header bounced to Grover.
“As long as you put pressure on the goal, you can get lucky bounces,” Grover said. “Thank God I was there.
“Hilo played great, but we knew we were never out of it.”
He started the day at fullback, suffered cramps in both hamstrings, went up top, then moved in an out of the lineup, scoring twice in rapid fashion, some sixty seconds in the apart, the first with about 13 minutes remaining, to put Waiakea ahead 2-1.
“That’s incredible,” Biegler said.
While Waiakea (10-2-1) put a pair of disappointing losses in the past, Vikings coach George Ichimaru has the market cornered on heart-wrenching defeats.
Haku Tolentino-Perry bagged a game-tying goal for the Vikings (11-2) with 52.8 seconds left in regulation, but Hilo now has seven runner-up finishes since its last BIIF title in 2011. All five of the title game losses under Ichimaru have been one-goal defeats. Last year’s came in penalty kicks.
Afterward, he reminded his team to keep its head up and get ready for an HHSAA first round tournament game Feb. 10 at Hilo Bayfront.
“They deserved to win, the best team today won,” Ichimaru said. “They capitalized on their opportunities there, and that’s what separated the two teams today. They caught us when we least expected it, and that’s what a championship team does.”
The first 10-minute overtime lacked defining moments, but Waiakea was the aggressor in the second OT.
Hilo goalkeeper Jyson Breitbarth made point-blank stops against Colby Kerr and Biegler on a header, but the Warriors cashed in on their second corner kick.
“We worked really hard, especially in overtime, we knew we had to push really hard,” Biegler said. “I just think we realized the gravity of the moment and how important OT was.”
Hilo carried the play for large portions of the first 60-plus minutes of the match, leading 1-0 on Logan Mizuba’s goal in the first half.
For two teams looking to end title droughts, it was fitting that game was played in Hawaii Prep, where large gusts made the winds of change apparent.
Grover added lighting.
That’s how his two second half goals felt and how quickly the match changed. His first was on a header off a Kerr assist, and the second was a one-time rocket from the right side after getting set up by Biegler.
“Player of the year?” said Waiakea coach David Urakami, one of the longest-tenured coaches in the league, taking over in 2009.
He’d lost BIIF finals in 2011, 12 and 18.
“The boys were amazing,” he said. “I think they felt tired of finishing second.”
And they’re not done yet, Grover said.
For once, Waiakea can skip the first round of the HHSAA tournament and advance directory to the quarterfinals Feb. 13 at Oahu’s Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
“We want to make a run,” Grover said. “Seeing HPA do it before us, being co-champs two years ago. It just shows Big Island talent is not that far behind Oahu.”
On Saturday, it would have been hard for anyone statewide to match his flair for the dramatic.
