In the first half, Isaac Aguilar helped Honokaa take a three-goal lead.
In the second half, Aguilar helped the Dragons keep Makua Lani from coming back.
After Wednesday’s match, Aguilar successfully lobbied his coach on the stat sheet, giving him two goals, an assist and a second-half stint at goalkeeper as the Dragons won 3-1 on their pitch to secure home field in the BIIF Division II boys soccer playoffs.
Honokaa (5-4 White Division) will host the Lions (3-6 White Division) on Jan. 31 in the semifinals.
“It was a practice match since we are playing again,” Honokaa coach Maurice Miranda said in a telephone interview, “but you’d rather win before you have to play them then lose before you face them again.”
At first, Miranda called Honokaa’s first score an own goal on Makua Lani, but after reconsidering – with help from Aguilar – the coach credited his senior.
Whatever the case, Aguilar definitely had a hand in the Dragons’ next two goals, sending a throughball to Micah Miranda for a 2-0 lead, then receiving as nifty chip pass from Daneau Domingo and scoring for a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, Aguilar took over for Maikai Kunishige at goalkeeper, giving up a goal when Emmett Alcos converted a penalty kick.
“He’s starting to get into rhythm in being on the field,” Maurice Miranda said. “He has good feet, but if you haven’t done it, it takes a while to get comfortable.”
Kamehameha 1, Konawaena 0: In the first half in Kealakekua, David Erskine put the Warriors ahead 1-0 and Jameson Sato made the lead stand up with a shutout.
Tyler Waltjen was credited with an assist for the Warriors (8-1 White).
As the top seed, they will host Kohala in a Division II semifinal Jan. 31.
Girls
Kamehameha 4, Konawaena 0: Already locked into the No. 2 seed in the Division II playoffs, the Warriors (7-4 White) went on the road and earned their best win of the season.
The Wildcats fell to 8-2-1 in the White Division. The top seed in the Division I playoffs will be decided Saturday, when Hilo (8-1-1 Red) hosts Waiakea and Konawaena visits Makua Lani.
Keaau 0, Kealakehe 0: With a draw on the road, the Cougars (3-4-2, nine points, Blue) stayed two points behind the Waveriders (4-5-1 Blue) in the chase for the final playoff spot in Division I.
Both teams have tough assignments Saturday – Kealakehe goes to Hawaii Prep, while Keaau welcomes Kamehameha – but the Cougars still have a makeup match Monday at home against Makua Lani.
Waiakea 9, Ka’u 0: Ki Serrao bagged four goals in Pahala and Maiya Serrao added two for the Warriors (6-4 Red), who are locked into the third seed in D-I.
Makua Lani 0, Honokaa 0: A road draw was a win of sorts for the Lions, who secured the No. 3 seed in the D-II playoffs. avoiding a semifinal against Hawaii Prep.
The No. 4 seed goes to the Dragons (1-9-2), who ended the regular season with consecutive ties.