Kaiser boys soccer coach Layne Abalos played at Waiakea and attended UH-Hilo before settling on Oahu.
He’s more qualified than most to talk about the differences in style of play between the BIIF teams and those of the big schools in the OIA or ILH.
“You have to be able to attack the goal,” Abalos said. “It’s hard to keep playing defense. I tell my players it’s like a pipe: eventually it’s going to crack and the water is going to come out.”
The Cougars’ constant pressure made Hilo break a handful of times Monday on a hot day at Hilo Bayfront, including on an early back-breaking goal, though the Vikings finally shored things up a bit during a 6-0 loss in an HHSAA first-round match.
OIA No. 3 Kaiser (12-1-1) was, no doubt, a tough draw for BIIF runner-up Hilo, which finishes the season 9-6. Kaiser’s only loss was to state No. 1 seed Kapolei in their league semifinals, and Abalos said his team is more experienced and disciplined than the 2016 squad that tied Kealakehe in last season’s HHSAA fifth-place match. Kaiser is seeking its first state title.
“This is our year,” Abalos said. “If we don’t win this year, I hate to say it. It’s bust or nothing this year.”
Down four goals at halftime, Hilo coach George Ichimaru’s frustration was audibly apparent as he talked to his team on the field. In the end, he said Hilo simply ran out of gas against a quality opponent.
“I wasn’t very pleased,” he said, “but we can’t force players to play. They’ve played twice a week all the way through January and until the (BIIF) final. The boys are just drained mentally, I could see it in the warmup.”
Yuki Enomoto set the tone in the opening minutes with a wicked shot from the center line that tucked above leaping goalkeeper Ka’aina Lewis and under the crossbar. Abalos said the Cougars plan the play with the intent of putting the shot on frame and crashing the box should the goalkeeper play the ball.
Kaiser also gave Hilo another look that BIIF teams don’t usually see with a nifty play off of a free kick that gave Makana Srivongsana a one-on-one opportunity for a 3-0 lead. Srivongsana scored twice, and Noah Mokulehua, Motoki Sato and Spencer Burcham finished with a goal apiece. The Cougars will face second-seeded Iolani, the ILH champion, in Thursday’s quarterfinals at Oahu’s Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
“They were just more technical enough to put the ball in the back of the net,” Ichimaru said.
The comes with experience, Abalos said.
“Because (Oahu) has a lot more club players,” he said. “I’m not sure you guys have too many club players. I only recognize a couple of (Hilo) kids that play club.
“Hilo seemed to play more defensively. They only had one kid that could attack the goal.”
The new HHSAA format that gives league runner-ups a chance to host first-round matches gave Abalos, a 1989 Waiakea graduate, a nice homecoming, and his mom didn’t have to travel to Oahu to see him coach. His father, Robert Wayne Abalos, was a former Waiakea softball coach.
Layne Abalos was caught off-guard when he learned Ichimaru, also a Waiakea grad, had switched sides to the Vikings. The rivalry was different in his day, when schools such as Kamehameha and Keaau didn’t exist.
“I’ll tell you right now,” he said, “back when I played, I hated these guys. I don’t get it. Nothing against (George). You have to take the opportunities where they are.
“People will ask me when am I coming back to coach here. But I’m only going to coach Waiakea. I’m not going to coach Hilo.”
