Delatori resigns as Kamehameha coach

By Fred Guzman

MauiNow.com

Leo Delatori has resigned as head coach of the Kamehameha-Maui football team. He compiled a 20-37-1 during his six seasons as the only coach in the program’s history, including a 19-30-1 mark in the MIL. The highpoint of his tenure came in 2005, when the Warriors reached the semifinals of the state Division-I tournament. Kamehameha went 2-7 last season.

Just last week, JW Kenton stepped down as head coach at King Kekaulike, which means two of the MIL’s five varisty football teams will have new coaches next season.

SOCCER: King Kekaulike was involved in the most exciting match of Wednesday’s opening round of the state boy’s high school soccer tournament on Oahu. But, unfortunately for Na Alii, they were the victims of a heart-breaking shootout loss to Kapolei.

Kekaulike led 2-1, with Logan Bantilan accounting for both of its goals, before losing the lead with 10 minutes left in regulation. After two overtime periods failed to break the tie, Na Alii were outscored 3-0 in penalty kicks to suffer a 3-2 loss.

The MIL’s two other entries in the tournament kick off their bids today. Third-seeded Baldwin, which captured the league’s overall and Division-I titles, will face Iolani in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal match at the Waipio Soccer Stadium. Iolani advanced with a 2-1 win over Aiea.

Kekaulike’s loss dropped Na Alii into the consolation bracket and a 1 p.m. match today versus Pearl City. The Chargers suffered a 1-0 loss to Moanalua. In yesterday’s other first-round D-I match, Kamehameha-Oahu defeated Hilo 1-0.

Seabury Hall, which was not seeded despite taking top honors in the MIL’s D-II race and registering a strong performance in last year’s tournament, will face fourth-seeded Kailua at 3 p.m. This year’s D-II field was trimmed from 12 to eight teams for financial reasons.

VOLLEYBALL: Mike Sealy, who has served as Dave Shoji’s top assistant with the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team during he past four years, is leaving Manoa to become the head coach of the UCLA women. Sealy was an All-American setter for UCLA and an assistant for both the men’s and women’s programs before joining UH.  He replaces  the retiring Andy Banachowski, the NCAA Division-I all-time wins leader during 43 seasons as the program’s only head coach.

UH HOOPS:  Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Hawaii’s struggling men’s basketball team, something did. Starting guard Jeremy Lay will miss the rest of the season and will undergo surgery to repair a hernia.

That means that both of UH’s top recruits coming into the season – who were supposed to cure the team’s backcourt shortcomings – will be unavailable when the slumping Bows embark on a two-game trip that includes stops at LaTech on Saturday and New Mexico State on Monday.

Hawaii has being playing without junior guard Dwain Williams, who is serving an indefinite suspension for violating team rules related to academics, while point guard Hiram Thompson has been hampered by an injured left shoulder.

Following a 61-51 weekend home loss to Fresno State, UH has lost five straight and fallen to 9-14 is tied for last place in the WAC with a 2-8 record.

During their recent skid, the Bows have shot under 50 percent from the free throw line and under 20 percent from behind the arc.

WAHINE HOOPS: It was a case of too little, too late for the Rainbow Wahine on Wednesday night. Hawaii trailed 24-11 after nine minutes and managed to pull to within one point, 67-66 with 2:30 left in the game only to suffer a 75-67 home loss to New Mexico State.  The defeat dropped UH’s records to 9-14 overall and 3-7 in the WAC despite Breanna Arbuckle’s 16 points.