Side Lines for Wednesday — September 15, 2004

• Inside sports: volleyball, soccer, football, air riflery

Inside sports: volleyball, soccer, football, air riflery

By Duane Shimogawa – The Garden Island

Talk about sports, sports, and more sports! The month of September is turning out to be a sports haven.

With the KIF season underway, the fall sports, volleyball, football, air riflery, bowling, and cross-country should keep everyone busy. In addition, youth sports like soccer (AYSO and HYSA) and Pop Warner will make your schedules and mines busier. Also, Coach “O” and his Mokihana Aquatics squad will be getting into the action soon, so stay tuned for that.

But I’m definitely not complaining, as the more occupied my schedule is, the better my job is.

It’s the best time for you too, if you enjoy watching great local sports because no matter where you go, you’re bound to see some type of game going on at one of our gyms, parks, or fields.

KIF football and volleyball seem to be the hottest tickets right out of the gate. Maybe it’s because the season just started or maybe it’s because of the parity that exists between the three teams. No, it won’t be a runaway season for one particular team and I don’t think any team will walk away from the season with an unblemished record. Instead, you’ll see highly competitive games and teams utilizing every ounce of energy into every single contest.

A good example would be at the KIF girls volleyball game in Waimea this past Saturday, as Waimea and Kaua‘i battle until the end. Nue Wong and the Menehune took the first set, 25-22. Robyn Arrington, Coach Doc’s daughter also came up big in the first set for Waimea. However, Tina Moger, Kehau Judd and the rest of the Red Raiders stormed back in the second set, 25-16, as a Jenna Gampon ace ended it.

Then, the third set juggernaut started with both teams going back and forth, trading kill after kill. Kaua‘i looked as though they would come up with the win, but Waimea pulled the carpet up from under them and stole the match, as Tori Kagawa’s ace nipped the Red Raiders, 25-23.

Last week Wednesday’s game between Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a also played up to be one of the best games in recent memory. The Warriors and the Red Raiders won a set a piece and Kapa‘a was up 23-21 in the third. However, Kaua‘i dug in deep and slipped past the Warriors for the three set thriller win.

If these first two matches were any indication of how the rest of the season will be, then I’d advise everyone to bring a doctor along with them to prevent any heart attacks.

On the KIF football scene, Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a battled it out and although the score mirrored a blow-out (20-2), the Warriors showed that they won’t just play dead all season long. At the end of the game, I felt as if the Warriors held something back and could’ve made the contest a nail biter at any juncture of the game. The Warriors will bounce back. As for the Red Raiders, look for them to hit their stride and connect on all cylinders. I would doubt that Kaua‘i was really happy about the way they played, but coach Keli‘i Morgado will have his troops ready for Waimea on Friday.

Although it’s only the second game of the season, this Friday’s game should be a close one and you shouldn’t miss it (I’ll even save a seat for you). I wouldn’t be surprised if this contest went into overtime. It’s really that close and the exciting part is that each team will only get better.

Moving on to AYSO/HYSA soccer and Pop Warner football, which will give you something to smile about.

These individuals are extremely fun to watch, but competitive as the high schoolers. At the same time, you’ll see one individual laughing and another with a game face that makes NFL players scared.

Air Riflery starts up this Thursday with some of the best shooting you’ll see anywhere. The first match pits Kapa‘a at Kaua‘i and Island/Kula at Waimea, with both contests starting at 3 p.m.