Without knowing results, it’s obviously difficult to make any declarative statements about the first day of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association boys soccer championship tournament, but the Kapaa Warriors entered Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup as the top seed and is
Without knowing results, it’s obviously difficult to make any declarative statements about the first day of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association boys soccer championship tournament, but the Kapaa Warriors entered Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup as the top seed and is hoping to repeat last year’s title run.
Their opening contest was a battle between the two most successful Division II boys soccer programs in the tournament’s history. The unseeded Honokaa Dragons and the Warriors are responsible for four of the past five Division II boys soccer championships, as Honokaa won the title in 2011 and 2012 before Kapaa won its second title last year (2009, 2013).
Now as the top seed in the D-II bracket for the first time, I’m sure first-year head coach Gary Hudson was hoping to see any opening opponent other than the perennial powerhouse from the Big Island. But no matter who was to be on the opposing sidelines, the Warriors were probably hoping to avoid another nail biter like last year’s quarterfinal game, although it did have a sweet ending for one particular family. As the No. 2 seed, Kapaa held a 3-1 lead late against Hawaii Prep before a pair of goals for HPA’s Kepa Police knotted things at 3-3. In double overtime, it was Joshua Cram, son of previous head coach Kevin Cram, who netted the game-winner in the 97th minute to thwart a disappointing result and propel Kapaa into the semifinals.
They then topped Kalaheo by a 5-2 margin, scoring two late goals to ice the victory and secure the final game berth, where they brought the championship back to Kauai with a 2-1 win over Mid-Pacific.
Cram’s Warriors must be considered one of Kauai’s most successful teams ever on the state level, reaching the Division II tournament in all six years of its existence and reaching the championship game an astounding five times in those six appearances. He had the perfect finale last season and was even able to watch his son score maybe the team’s most dramatic goal of the year in the process.
Kapaa didn’t skip a beat this season, dropping just one contest on its road to the state tournament. It’s a testament to the foundation of the program, the new leadership and the competitive drive of the players to have been able to maintain that level of play.
Dynasties have become more difficult to achieve in professional sports, thanks to many factors. The turnover in high school and college sports works against the very concept of a dynasty. So seeing continued success is that much more impressive, whether it be football at Alabama or basketball at Duke.
Without getting overly dramatic and implying similarities to those programs, adding another title to the resume would have to secure Kapaa soccer as a Hawaii high school dynasty. New players, same outcomes. But regardless of their results this week at the Waipio complex, it’s been a tremendous stretch for the Warriors and should be a model for other local programs with ambitions of dominance.
Have a great weekend and keep an eye out for Sunday’s column. NBA players may be on their All-Star breaks, but I’ll be talking to a Lakers insider about the team’s struggles to this point and the mindset and sentiment inside the Lakers’ locker room.
