KEAAU – The halftime message was pretty simple: take more shots and increase the scoring chances.
Kamehameha scored all of its goals in the second half to blank Makua Lani 4-0 to claim its second consecutive BIIF Division II championship on a windy Wednesday at Paiea stadium.
The Warriors (11-5-1) secured the No. 1 seed to the HHSAA tournament, an easier road to defend their state title.
The state tournament runs Feb. 7-9 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex on Oahu.
The Lions (10-6-1) couldn’t muster enough offense against a tenacious Kamehameha defensive backline, led by Luukapu Roback, who stuffed attacks down the middle.
“He did a great job,” Kamehameha coach Kevin Waltjen said. “The defense locked down, he figured things out and kept things together.”
The game was tied 0-0 after halftime, but it could easily have been 1-0 in favor of the Lions, who missed a golden opportunity when Isaiah Easley slotted a ball in front of the goal. Two of his forwards were there, but the ball was blocked.
“In the first half, we had some holes on defense but tightened that up late in the first half and into the second,” Waltjen said. “We wanted to increase our shot count when we had the wind and capitalize on that.”
In the second half, Jonathan DeMotta switched from defense to offense and energized the Warriors, whose fast-paced wing attack came to life.
But it was ball precision that put Kamehameha on the board first. At the 31:24 mark, the Warriors had a free kick from 25 yards out. The Lions set their wall, but left a hole open. Buddy Betts kicked low, hard and right into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
Then DeMotta knocked in two scores. The first was off a counter-attack. Makua Lani had pushed its personnel up to get an equalizer. The ball went down the field in transition, and DeMotta had two defenders to beat.
With so much room to work and dribbling skills at his disposal, it was a mismatch. DeMotta beat one Lion down the left flank, cut the ball inside and sneaked in a shot for a 2-0 lead at the 26:35 mark.
Waltjen was thinking of sticking DeMotta back on defense. The Warriors run a switch-out, moving a player so the defense doesn’t get too comfortable defending. DeMotta asked for 10 more minutes and rewarded his coach with two scores to provide breathing room.
About 10 minutes later, DeMotta was on the right wing, got a cross and banged it home from 30 yards out for a 3-0 cushion and his 25th goal of the season.
Logan Waltjen spent most of his day controlling the midfield and shadowing Easley. When he had a run on offense, Waltjen ran a perfect play. He worked a beautiful give-and-go and rocketed a shot in for a 4-0 lead at the 15:23 mark to cap a dominant offensive performance.
Then DeMotta switched back to defense, where he ran down balls, neutralized breakaways and frustrated the Lions. He would steal a ball, possess it, dribble out of trouble and pass it safely to switch the field.
The game’s two big moments, halftime and the last time playing at Paiea stadium, weren’t lost on DeMotta.
“At halftime, we had to take our chances with the wind and go 200 percent. That’s our thing,” he said. “One of the coaches said we made history because it’s the first time we won the title back-to-back. It feels amazing because as seniors it’s our last game on our field.”
