By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 11, 2013
Still think DODDS Pacific student-athletes can’t make the grade in college? Got another example that they can: Stanley Speed of Yokota High School.
The senior who quarterbacked the Panthers to their second successive Far East Division I football title has signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Briar Cliff University, an NAIA school in Iowa, and received a $24,000 annual academic grant-in-aid as well.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 10, 2013
Author's note: Some of this material appeared in the Pacific page at Stripes.com and also in our print editions for Monday.
Five things we learned over the last weekend in Pacific high school sports:
1) You’ve heard of the dog that sleeps with one eye open? Sort of the way teams are competing in the frigid days of February, playing opponents with one eye on them and the other on what’s coming next week: Far East tournament week.
That was the impression left by many a coach after last weekend’s DODDS Japan basketball and Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools wrestling finals, the teams’ last major preparation for the Far East tournaments in each sport. Far East wrestling is Feb. 19-21 at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. Division I basketball is Feb. 18-21, girls at Yokota and boys at Kubasaki. Division II hoops are Feb. 18-20, boys at Zama American, girls at Robert D. Edgren, site of the DODDS Japan tournaments.
Brian Kitts, Yokota’s wrestling coach, feels that Kanto finals champion Nile C. Kinnick, with four gold medalists among the 13 weight classes, is ready to challenge Okinawa powers Kadena and Kubasaki, the favorites heading into Far East.
“Don’t overlook Kinnick,” he said after Saturday’s tournament, which he hosted at Yokota’s Capps Gym. “They’re on the outside looking in, but the way they looked today, they may be the best dual-meet team already and could be the best individual freestyle team out there. Don’t sleep on Kinnick.”
Reigning Far East Outstanding Wrestler Chad Wilder of Zama American proved his readiness with a gold medal at 158 pounds. Saturday’s Outstanding Wrestler, Yokota’s Kalik Battle, turned in a dominant performance against Kinnick’s Marvin Newbins for 135-pound gold. The best bout of the day, by far, observers said, was the 168-pound final, in which reigning Far East champion Jeff Koo of St. Mary’s outlasted Kinnick’s Alex Banks for a 2-1 decision.
“The whole match was that close,” Kinnick coach Gary Wilson said. “Great job by both guys. The highlight of the tournament.”
While the Red Devils matmen have dominated Kanto all season, taking all 10 dual meets as well as the finals title, other teams are starting to find their stride, such as Robert D. Edgren’s boys basketball team. For the second straight year, the Eagles came out of the knockout bracket in the double-elimination tournament, this time throttling top-seeded Zama 70-53 in Saturday’s DODDS Japan final at the Eagles’ Nest.
Fueling the title drive in the second half was a pair of freshmen overlooked much of the season but starting to find their groove. Isaiah Murphy had 16 points off the bench and Khaleem Shabazz had six assists, all to Murphy, as the Eagles rallied from a 26-19 deficit, outscoring the Trojans, who had won 16 straight games, 25-9 in one stretch of the third quarter.
“We’ve been waiting for them to get that moment and this was their moment to shine,” coach Andre Thibert said of Murphy and Shabazz, the younger brothers of two established Edgren stars, Louis Murphy and Khalil Williams. “It was definitely a coming-out party for our two freshmen.”
It could not have come at a better time for all concerned.
2) Just what is a true double-elimination tournament, people asked, some articulately and wrathfully, of DODDS Japan tournament organizer and outgoing Edgren athletics director Jim Burgeson in the aftermath of Saturday’s boys final.
Edgren’s victory, in actuality, gave the Eagles and Zama each one loss and, in theory, should have necessitated an “if-necessary” game to decide the title. No second game was played. Burgeson and Thibert each – correctly – stated that the tournament by-laws indicated no “if” game, and that it was understood by all before the tournament began.
Let’s back up to the beginning, a very good place to start, considering the tournament almost never came off at all. A snowfall of trace amounts in coastal areas and 1 inch or so inland in the Kanto Plain delayed Zama’s, Kinnick’s and Yokota’s team buses by a day; had we been talking five or six inches, they might not have left at all, considering the blizzards they ran into on the Tohoku Expressway on Thursday.
Burgeson had initially scheduled all teams to play generous amounts of basketball, five pool-play games each on Thursday and Friday and as many as three elimination games on Saturday; that was rejiggered into a modified double-elimination tournament with a fifth- and sixth-place game and a single, winner-take-all, championship game at the end of that rainbow. (He also scheduled some friendlies, with no scorekeeper, between E.J. King, Edgren and Matthew C. Perry on Thursday to give them something to do).
Every athletics director received an e-mail (I was copied) with the updated and final tournament schedule, emphasizing there would be no more changes. The rules of engagement were made clear well in advance. The tournament has never had an “if” game in its three years. Burgeson and Thibert stuck to their guns.
Say this for Zama – they’ll have more than enough motivation next time they see Edgren, possible at next week’s Far East.
3) Sometimes, it’s not about the entire body of work over the course of a season, but who’s hot at the right time heading into Far East. Unquestionably, Edgren’s boys would have to be included in that category. They went 1-2 the previous weekend at Yokosuka, including a bad loss to St. Mary’s International, but they may have turned the corner with that DODDS Japan title performance. So, too, did Yokota’s girls, who turned a few heads by reaching the final (they lost 47-37 to Kinnick), instead of Zama’s or E.J. King’s girls. Even in defeat against their Division I sisters, the Cobras showed some panache and that they may be ready to challenge for their first D-II title since 1997.
4) What can one say about the Okinawa Activities Council’s boys basketball rivalry between Kadena and Kubasaki? The last three times these guys have laced up, the total victory margin was four points, two one-point victories and a two-pointer, that by Kubasaki 52-50 on Friday at home. The home team won all four games in the series, which was halved at 2-2. If anything gives either team an edge, and then you have to consider each team was without some key components, it would have been Kubasaki’s buzzer-beating win over Kadena in last month’s New Year Classic.
5) So much depressing chatter over the weekend up at Misawa, about everything from why the DODDS Japan tournament was held at Misawa in the dead of winter when weather could have scotched it, or how much extra it cost to fly four teams to Misawa instead of the two that would have flown had the tournament been held in the Kanto Plain. Even talk about impending furloughs and possible cancellations of Far East tournaments should the “automatic sequestration cuts” take effect starting March 1 and the continuing resolution expire on March 27 without renewal, triggering a government shutdown.
Regarding the first two parts: Yes, the weather endangered the event and it did cost more money to transport the teams, but in the end, Burgeson and Thibert put on a very, very good show. Regarding the second two parts, which are only fueled by rumors, speculation and social-networkingitis: Phillip Phillips said it best: “Don’t pay no mind to the demons; they’ll fill you with fear.” Forget the rumor mill. Listen to the official channels. Nothing’s been canceled yet. Nobody’s been laid off yet. There are 18 days before the first deadline, and likely, the can will get kicked down the road again for another couple of months. It always seems worse than when the time comes.
Guam High
After a dreadful start to the season, in which the Panthers girls softball team went 0-3, things got better on Friday at their home field with an 11-1 run-rule-shortened romp over Academy of Our Lady of Guam. “The girls were excited and quite happy (and so was Pizza Hut,” coach Marcellas Walker said in an e-mail. They get Simon Sanchez and Southern this week, two “big games,” he said, “and we’ll be putting our best foot forward.”
E.J. King
Jaimee who? The Cobras remain a competitive lot thanks to their big three of Tara Long, Deb Avalos and Yasmine Weddle, short in stature but giants on the court. Avalos, in particular, is primarily a perimeter shooter, but she can drive and scrap underneath, remindful of Kristia Suriben, Cobras star of last decade.
Kubasaki
As with any young team, the Dragons can sometimes be like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. But coach Jon Fick is consistently getting stellar double-double performances from Kareem Key, Tristan McElroy, DeQuan Alderman, Nick Ashley and Ryan Burnette, most of whom rode the bench during last year’s run to a second straight D-I title.
Kadena
Coach Willie Ware said he couldn’t have been happier with the return of Deja Caldwell to the lineup. She missed the previous three weeks with injuries, and rejoins fellow senior Eisiah Lawson to form twin towers in the paint to go with a large cadre of guards led by Maria Vaughan.
Robert D. Edgren
Thibert and the Eagles had been waiting for some complementary pieces to rise up and join established stars Louis Murphy and Williams to take the pressure off of them. If Isaiah Murphy and Shabazz keep it up, despite an 18-14 record, the Eagles could make a deep run at their first D-II title.
Osan American
A thumb’s up for all three sports teams over the weekend. Both the boys and girls teams won on Friday over International Christian-Uijongbu, ensuring they’ll escape the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Five-Cities Division cellar. Meanwhile, the wrestling team, though losing to Seoul American on Saturday, came within two points, 33-31, their best performance in a dual with the Falcons in 13 seasons.
Daegu High
The reason why the Warriors wrestling team wasn’t at Osan on Saturday? Lunar New Year and its accompanying gridlock on the Kyongbu Expressway. … The Warriors basketball teams appear in prime position for a run at KAIAC Five-Cities Division titles, the boys (11-6) seeded No. 1 and the girls (9-3) in at least a tie for No. 2 with Seoul Foreign.
Seoul American
Likewise, the Falcons boys (15-9) hold the No. 2 seed and the girls (13-2) are No. 1 entering the KAIAC 5CD tournament, being held for the first time at the new Taejon Christian International School campus in the heart of the Republic.
Matthew C. Perry
Lost in all the hoopla of Kinnick’s girls and Edgren’s boys winning the DODDS Japan titles was the girls’ fifth-place game, in which the light switches went on for a Samurai team that had not won a DODDS Japan game all season but came within three points of Zama. They trailed 37-21 after three quarters, but scored 24 points, most coming from Courtney Beall, in the final period, losing 48-45. You’d have thought they’d won, from their reaction. "This is how they play when they play well," coach Victor Rivera said. And that game came against Rivera's old school, where he taught for two years last decade.
Zama American
Sometimes, a loss like the Trojans’ boys suffered in the DODDS Japan final is the best thing for a team. For one, it happened on Feb. 9, not Feb. 20, the day of the D-II final. For another, it gives the Trojans motivation for the next time they face the Eagles. Sort of the same way a slap across the face with a wet squirrel works.
Yokota
While twin towers Brianna Harris and Sarah Hamner remain the forces in the middle, the Panthers got some contributions from a pair of up-and-coming freshman, guard Sarah Cronin and center Caitlyn Rowan. The latter’s surname might be familiar to ardent sumo followers; she’s the daughter of the first foreign sumo yokozuna (grand champion) Akebono, birth name Chad Rowan.
Nile C. Kinnick
De’Asia Brown and Mashiya McKinney make a nice outside-inside tandem for a Red Devils girls team which has beaten everyb0dy they’ve played except American School In Japan, a frustration for coach Samuel Williams. … The boys team, 2-2 at DODDS Japan, are another Forrest Gump box of chocolates team, also frustrating for coach Robert Stovall.
Top performers
-- Kalik Battle, Yokota, Outstanding Wrestler of Kanto Plain finals, big win over Kinnick’s Marvin Newbins in the 135-pound final.
-- Daniel Costello’s victory at 215 pounds over Yokota’s Jake Jackson might have been the biggest surprise gold among the four won by Kinnick.
-- Osan American’s boys big three of Marlon Cox, Derrick Merriwether and Manasseh Nartey, plus girls star Trellini Lunsford in the Cougars’ sweep of the Eagles.
-- Kinnick guard De’Asia Brown and center Mashiya McKinney paced the Red Devils past Yokota 47-37 in the DODDS Japan girls final.
-- Despite finishing fifth, M.C. Perry’s Courtney Beall consistently posted 20-plus point and 10-plus rebound games all weekend.
-- Freshmen Isaiah Murphy and Khaleem Shabazz’s coming-out party for Edgren’s boys.
Who’s hot
Was Edgren’s boys title a sign of what’s to come, or a home-court illusion?
Who’s not
Did Yokota’s boys (13-1 start, 4-6 since) peak too so0n?
The $64,000 question.
Which teams stand the best chance of upending top seeds Daegu High boys and Seoul American girls in the KAIAC Five-Cities Division Tournament this weekend?
Best idea
Misawa's 35th Force Support Squadron is putting its foot forward to support high school athletics and out-of-town teams with special discounts at its various eateries. If you're staying at Misawa Inn and you're with one of those teams, show your room key for a 25-percent discount.
Most interesting idea
Edgren's second-quarter stall tactics in its 45-43 edging of Yokota, a reversal of what occured in a game in the same tournament last year. The rationale? To bring the Panthers out of their zone defense and get them to play man-to-man.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 10, 2013
Author's note: The following has been edited to correctly reflect results of weekend games, 9:25 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10.
Boys
1, Faith Academy, Philippines (21-2).
2, Kubasaki, Okinawa (14-10).
3, Kadena, Okinawa (14-6).
4, American School In Japan (10-2).
5, Father Duenas Memorial, Guam (3-0)
6, Seoul American (15-9).
7, Daegu High, South Korea (11-6).
8, Robert D. Edgren, Japan (18-14).
9, Zama American, Japan (18-4).
10, Morrison Academy, Taiwan (15-8).
11, St. Paul Christian, Guam (3-0)
12, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (18-9).
13, Yokota, Japan (17-7).
14, Okkodo, Guam, (2-1).
15, Seoul Foreign (6-5).
Girls
1, American School In Japan (16-0).
2, Kadena, Okinawa (16-2).
3, Morrison Academy, Taiwan (15-3).
4, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (18-2).
5, Seoul American (13-2).
6, Southern, Guam (season complete).
7, E.J. King, Japan (15-7).
8, Academy of Our Lady of Guam (season complete).
9, Daegu High, South Korea (9-3).
10, Seisen International, Japan (7-4).
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 6, 2013
It appears as if the Seoul American at Yongsan International-Seoul boys basketball game last Saturday, in which the Guardians won 67-62 in overtime after the regular referees assigned to do the game didn’t show, will stand as a Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference game, Seoul American’s athletic director Don Hedgpath said Wednesday.
Two certified refs not affiliated with either school or the United Services For Korea Officials Association refereed the game. YIS-Seoul’s coach, athletics director and KAIAC commissioner Daniel Hale said the result would stand and that both he and Falcons coach Steve Boyd agreed it would count as a league game. Boyd disputed that, saying that the game could not be official without regular USFKOA referees to sign off on the book after the game, and that he never agreed that it would count as a league game.
The DODDS Japan basketball tournaments for boys and girls, scheduled to begin Thursday at Robert D. Edgren, have been delayed a day because of Wednesday’s snowfall in Tokyo. Yokota’s, Zama American’s and Nile C. Kinnick’s teams will depart at 8 a.m. Thursday and play will begin in a straight double-elimination tournament on Friday at 10 a.m. at the high school and middle school gyms. Kinnick's girls and Zama's boys are the top seeds entering Friday's play.
On Okinawa, the final Okinawa Activities Council regular-season wrestling dual meet pitting Kubasaki at Kadena has been canceled. DODDS Pacific spokesman Charly Hoff said the postponement is precautionary. Two wrestlers at Kubasaki, Hoff said, were diagnosed with a staph infection, which can be spread by contact, and that wrestling poses unique risks both from contact with other wrestlers and the mat surface. “We are following guidance provided by military health officials on ways to mitigate health risks including disinfecting surfaces, limiting physical contact, etc.,” Hoff said.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 4, 2013
Five things we learned over the last weekend in Pacific high school sports:
1) Now, it can be told: Kadena is the team to beat at the Far East High School Wrestling Tournament later this month at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, with Kubasaki nipping at the Panthers’ heels close behind.
Five golds and five silvers. Team titles in both Friday’s dual-meet portion and Saturday’s individual freestyle phase of the 6th Rumble on the Rock tournament at Kubasaki High School.
“I’m proud of the guys and the way they wrestled,” said Justin Armstrong, who became the team’s fourth head coach in four seasons, inheriting a team that has six Far East team titles to its credit, but none since 2010.
From 115 to 168, the Panthers appear loaded and a solid threat to end that team-title skid, thanks to the likes of David Hernandez, Zach Fanton, Cole and Kyle Milburn, newcomer Vao Mustafa, Alaska state champion Alex Rojas, Elijah Takushi, James Alexander and heavyweight Nolynn Riley.
Armstrong credits the push that his Panthers have gotten from their foes ’cross-town at Camp Foster. His wrestlers have had to earn their keep, Armstrong said, with guys like Austin Cyr – who beat Takushi for 148-pound gold on Saturday – and Tyshon Butler, who knocked off Kyle Milburn at 168.
“You wrestle Kubasaki so much, every week, it’s so intense,” Armstrong said. “We’re so close, pushing each other to higher levels.”
They’ll see each other again, the Dragons and Panthers, on Wednesday at Kubasaki. Far East is scheduled for Feb. 19-21; St. Mary’s International is the two-time defending champion.
2) But don’t cry poor for the Dragons, who still have that team title in last month’s “Beast of the Far East” tournament, buoyed by five gold medals, edging out a Panthers team that had six finalists and finished with six silvers.
Back to back, at 108 and 115, the Dragons are dangerous with Daniel Mora and Steven Walter, and again at 180 and 215 with Aaron Stravers and Fred Suniga, in addition to Cyr and Butler. Walter is gunning for his third straight Far East gold medal, while Suniga is seeking a repeat.
Then, there’s Nile C. Kinnick, third at “Beast,” and champion in virtually every other tournament they’ve entered this season. The Red Devils pounded Christian Academy Japan 58-3 on Saturday, three days after winning by the same score against American School In Japan.
The Red Devils, too, have an armada of weaponry, brothers Zach and Brady Yoder, upper-weight contenders Alex Banks and Ian O’Brien and Marvin Newbins, he one of two Pacific wrestlers to execute five-point throws this season (more on that later).
Kinnick improved to 9-0 last week and visits 8-1 St. Mary’s for the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools regular-season crown. The league tournament is Saturday at Yokota.
3) A shame, it is, that Father Duenas Memorial, which attended Far East last year and Rumble last weekend, will not return to Far East this year.
Organizers say the field this year is capped at 15 teams, with the intent of making it an even 16 next year with the addition of Humphreys High School in Korea. That would give the event 13 DODDS-Pacific/DDESS-Guam schools, along with charter Far East tournament participants St. Mary’s, CAJ and ASIJ.
It would have been something to see guys like Michael Franquez of Okkodo, who won the 101-pound Rumble title, and Father Duenas’ Micah Lopez at 158 at Far East. Lopez drew the biggest oohs and ahs from an appreciative crowd at Kubasaki High when he hoisted Kadena’s James Alexander into the air and sent him thundering down for a five-point throw (he was told to cool it after that).
Had he and FDMS been invited back to Far East, he would have put an entire weight class on notice with that one throw.
To Alexander’s credit, the mark of an experienced freestyle wrestler is knowing how to both win AND lose safely. He resisted the instinct to “post” his arm onto the mat to steady his fall but also risk a devastating elbow dislocation, as happened in December to Kadena’s Jacob Cote.
4) They’d stood unbeaten and atop the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference Five-Cities Division boys basketball standings from the start of the season. Daegu High is still first, but unbeaten no longer, thanks to a Saturday visit to Osan American, where the Warriors took the first blotch on their ledger when the Cougars beat them 53-47.
“Osan played a phenomenal game,” Warriors coach Phillip Loyd said.
That’s three wins in four games for the Cougars, who began the season with six straight losses. And those two guys, Manasseh Nartey and Derrick Merriwether, were the guys who lit the torch that lit the way.
Osan wasn’t the only team in the business of doling out shocking results over the weekend.
Remember that Robert D. Edgren boys team that Nile C. Kinnick crushed 70-47 in last month’s New Year Classic? Well, imagine this: the Eagles beat the Red Devils 50-46 at Kinnick’s Devil Dome on Friday.
Then, there was Zama American’s girls traveling to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and riding a six-game winning streak, before losing 38-32 to E.J. King.
Interesting weekend.
5) What a howdy-doo we had, and still have, as a result of the developments Saturday at Yongsan International School-Seoul, where a scheduled KAIAC Five-Cities Division boys basketball game pitting Seoul American at YIS-Seoul began and ended with total drama, which continues even now.
The game had originally been scheduled in December, but was snowed out and rescheduled to Feb. 2. Geographically, the two schools may be the closest among any KAIAC 5CD members, just five miles separation, SAHS on Yongsan Garrison, YIS-Seoul on Itaewon’s eastern edges.
Anyway, the United Services for Korea Officials Association referees slated to work Saturday’s game did not arrive. Daniel Hale, YIS-Seoul’s coach and athletics director who also is KAIAC’s president, telephoned and sought other officials, but to no avail.
According to Hale, two persons certified as basketball officials, not affiliated with either team, volunteered to referee the contest. Hale also said that both he and Falcons coach Steve Boyd agreed that the game would count as a conference game and in the 5CD standings. YIS-Seoul won 67-62 in overtime and Hale says the game has already been entered and counted as an official conference game.
Boyd says pretty much the opposite. He says he agreed that since the Falcons were there, and Saturday was the Guardians’ senior day, that Seoul American would stay and give YIS-Seoul a game, but that it would count only as a friendly and not in the league standings.
When he found out that the game had been entered into the league standings, Boyd pretty much blew a gasket, insisting just as adamantly as Hale has been about the game counting, that he would never agree to such an arrangement, and that the game should either be rescheduled, or that their scheduled rematch on Wednesday at Yongsan count twice (assuming the USFKOA officials show this time) and that Saturday’s game be treated as a friendly.
A look at the standings and one might understand why Hale is adamant about the game counting. Daegu High has pretty much sealed first place at 10-1, while Seoul American is second at 7-3, two games ahead of its nearest chaser, Seoul Foreign (5-5), with Wednesday’s game the only one remaining in the regular season. The KAIAC tournament is scheduled Feb. 15-16 at Taejon Christian International School.
But behind SFS, you have International Christian-Uijongbu at 4-4, YIS-Seoul at 4-5, Osan American at 3-7 and TCIS at 2-8. YIS-Seoul needs victories if it hopes to catch SFS for the No. 3 seed and, presumably, a better first-round matchup.
League bylaws say that any protest of a league game should be brought to the game officials or the league president before the game ends. Boyd did not do so. On the other side of the coin, Boyd said the game couldn’t possibly count as a league game if there were no USFKOA officials to certify the result.
Hale and Seoul American’s co-athletics director Don Hedgpath spoke by phone earlier Monday, with Hedgpath requesting that Hale and he look into possible alternative solutions.
Here is what the game summary would look like:
Yongsan International-Seoul 67, Seoul American 62, OT
Saturday at Seoul
SAHS 9 20 15 10 8—62
YIS-S 15 17 14 8 13—67
Scoring—YIS-S: Sam Kang 17, Chris Yoo 12, Ben Linssen 10; SAHS: Patrick Anderson 13, Sean Horne 10, Tariel Stewart 10. Rebounding—YIS-S: Kang 8, Linssen 6, Yoo 5; SAHS: Anderson 5.
What does Sports Blog Nation think?
***
Top performers
-- Manasseh Nartey (17 points) and Derrick Merriwether (15) in Osan’s boys basketball’s upset victory over Daegu.
-- Kubasaki’s Tyshon Butler being the only wrestler at Rumble needing to win two finals bouts in the double-elimination format to upend Kadena’s Kyle Milburn for the 168-pound gold.
-- Andre Encarnacion’s buzzer-beating shot that lifted Zama’s boys basketball team past M.C. Perry 62-61 in a see-saw battle.
-- Kareem Key’s 25-point, 11-rebound double-double in a losing cause as Kubasaki lost 69-66 Saturday at Futenma.
-- Courtney Beall’s averaging 14.3 points and 17.7 rebounds for M.C. Perry’s girls in a losing cause as they dropped three games.
-- Vanessa Black’s four third-quarter three-point goals and 18 total points in a losing effort as Kinnick’s girls beat Edgren 49-30 on Friday.
-- Jasmine Thomas’ averaging 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in just under 12 total minutes as Seoul American won at Osan and Yongsan International-Seoul.
-- Quin White’s 19 points that helped Edgren’s boys drop Kinnick 50-46 on Friday at Yokosuka Naval Base.
Who’s hot
-- Osan’s boys have won two of their last three, while Zama boys and girls are a combined 25-8 entering the DODDS Japan tournament.
Who’s not
-- Turnover plagued Perry’s girls fell from above .500 to 9-12 on the season with four weekend losses.
The $64,000 question
Which teams stand the best chance of stopping Zama’s boys and Kinnick’s girls from winning the DODDS Japan basketball tournaments?
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 3, 2013
Troubled times, these are, for the U.S. Forces Japan-American Football League, which may enter its 14th season as an absolute mess, if one is played at all.
For one, two teams - the Courtney Wolfpack in the South Division and the Misawa Jets of the North Division - each lost their head coaches. Jason Stravers is due to deploy soon and Jeremy Sanders is stepping aside to handle personal issues.
Neither team has a replacement in sight. One of Stravers’ top assistants is also due to leave Okinawa, and Sanders says he’s having trouble scaring up a successor at Misawa.
That could very easily leave two teams in each division, Yokosuka and defending champion Yokota up North and Foster, the 2011 champion, and Kadena in the South Division.
There’s the issue of who’s in charge of the league. It’s been done by committee the past three seasons, and over that span, nobody has shown any interest in filling the post, last held by Sean Dath, a civilian with Fleet Activities Yokosuka’s public affairs office.
James Price, Yokosuka’s coach, comes close to fitting that bill; few have more love for the league and interservice football than he does, but he also wants to continue coaching, and that simply wouldn’t work.
If the league could ever locate Bob McFarling, a retired Navy officer who founded the old senior Greyhawks team in 1975 and the old Atsugi Flyers in 1983 and is reported to be living in retirement near Mount Fuji, I think he’d be the model man for the job. He's a gruff but good-hearted soul who would get things done.
But if we’re left with two teams in each division, there’s the issue of how to get teams from mainland to Okinawa and vice versa to play regular-season games. If the military does chug over the Fiscal Cliff along with the rest of government, the pool for such transportation options as Naval Air Logistics Operations flights could disappear completely.
Tough times, which could get tougher. The 2013 season is due to begin in late April and end with the Torii Bowl in July at the site of the North Division champion.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: February 3, 2013
Boys
1, Kadena, Okinawa (14-5).
2, Faith Academy, Philippines (21-2).
3, Zama American, Japan (15-3).
4, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (16-7).
5, American School In Japan (10-2).
6, Kubasaki, Okinawa (12-10).
7, Seoul American (14-9).
8, Yokota, Japan (16-5).
9, Daegu High, South Korea (10-6).
10, Morrison Academy, Taiwan (13-8).
Dropped out: Matthew C. Perry.
Girls
1, American School In Japan (14-0).
2, Kadena, Okinawa (15-2).
3, Morrison Academy, Taiwan (14-3).
4, Nile C. Kinnick, Japan (15-2).
5, Seoul American (12-2).
6, Southern, Guam (season complete).
7, E.J. King, Japan (13-5).
8, Academy of Our Lady of Guam (season complete).
9, Daegu High, South Korea (8-3).
10, Seisen International, Japan (7-4).
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 31, 2013
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer approaches Rumble on the Rock and wonders if it can be saved, or at least be returned to its former standing among in-season invitationals:
After Wednesday’s 35-23 home victory, which wasn’t even that close, it’s readily apparent that Kadena’s wrestling team is living up to the words of a coach at the “Beast of the Far East” tournament earlier this month: “Kadena’s going to win Far East, hands down.”
Three dual meets against Kubasaki, and three victories, each in resounding fashion. The only blotch on Kadena’s resume right now is finishing second to Kubasaki at “Beast,” 34 points to 32. That was partly the product of execution in gold-medal bouts; the Panthers had six finalists and came away with six silvers, while the Dragons came away golden in five finals. Two golds for Kadena would have resulted in the Panthers’ carrying away the team gold.
Were we to have more teams at the sixth edition of Rumble on the Rock this weekend, it would have been far more conclusive just how strong Kadena really is. Rock solid and contending at all weights from 108 to 168.
I’ve seen teams with good wrestlers in three or four weight classes back to back (what I called Nile C. Kinnick’s “Minefield” from 129 to 148 comes to mind), but not so many consecutively.
From 108 to 168: Reigning Far East champion Justin Duenas, David Hernandez, Zach Fenton, Cole Milburn, Vao Mustafa (STRONG!), Elijah Takushi, Alaska state champion Alex Rojas, James Alexander and Kyle Milburn. These guys will give everybody up north a run for their money.
I guess the case could be made that Kubasaki didn’t sport its full lineup on Wednesday. Steven Walter, the Dragons’ two-time weight-class champion, was out injured, forcing Kubasaki’s coaching staff to move 108-pounder Daniel Mora up to 115, where he lost to Hernandez in an exciting three-period bout that was the most competitive of the night. Zach Tyler, inserted in Mora’s place, gave Duenas a tough go, but came up short in a two-period decision.
Still, there are some matchups that I can.not.WAIT to see at Far East. Particularly the rematch at 158 between Alexander and Zama American’s Chad Wilder, the reigning Far East Outstanding Wrestler. Alexander thought he had it won against Wilder at “Beast.” That will be fun to watch.
All that said, don’t sleep on Kubasaki. If anything right now, they’re the SECOND-best wrestling team in the Pacific, given their resume. Mora is still a very, very dangerous customer, as is Austin Cyr at 148, and especially at the upper weights. Aaron Stravers is beast at 180, as is reigning Far East 215-pound champion Fred Suniga. Jesse Hogan of Yokota should be considered the favorite at heavyweight, but he won’t have as many bouts to prepare for Far East as will Kubasaki’s Josiah Allen.
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We clearly need more teams at Rumble if it is to remain a viable tournament. Time was when we’d have six teams at that tournament, and it gave teams sorely in need of Far East tournament map preparation just what the doctor ordered.
But fewer … and fewer … and fewer … are the competitors making their way to the Dragons’ Den for the sixth edition. What the tournament’s founding father Fred Bales calls: “3.1 teams,” charter members Kadena and Kubasaki, plus Father Duenas Memorial and one wrestler from Okkodo of Guam. The latter two in sore need of freestyle experience in what (apparently) will be the last year that Far East will employ the freestyle format (more on that later).
Sure was nice back in the days when Christian Academy Japan, American School In Japan and St. Mary’s International populated the tournament; they don’t need to now, because back in that day, Far East was limited to DODDS teams only. They get plenty of wrestling in the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools these days. They used to treat Rumble as their Far East alternative. No need to do so now.
Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam would be an ideal partner for Rumble, especially if they do pull the trigger on the freestyle to folkstyle switch. Even if they don’t, the four IIAAG teams that partner with Far East could sure use the refresher in the differences between the two styles.
Then, there are the southwestern DODDS Japan schools, E.J. King and Matthew C. Perry, and perhaps even Robert D. Edgren in northern Japan, who would probably welcome the opportunity to Rumble. They get exactly four events per season, less than half that of the Kanto DODDS and international schools. A full day of dual meets on Friday and individual bouts on Saturday against the likes of Kadena and Kubasaki would give them an outlet of competition just two weeks before Far East.
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Sidebar to that: Why, oh why is it that DODDS Japan outlying schools can’t get a fair shake and be permitted to wrestle in one or two of the Kanto invitationals like they used to before the 2007-08 season? Even if they’re allowed to compete as invited, non-scoring guests, they would welcome the chance. I thought we’d gotten past the exclusionary practices of pre-2000 before Mike Diekmann became the DODDS Japan district superintendent and ordered the paths to full competition between ALL DODDS Japan schools in ALL sports opened. Another story for another day, I guess.
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Regarding the proposed switch from freestyle to folkstyle, discussed at the DODDS Pacific Far East athletics directors video conference … a decision has been tabled until at least March, possibly as late as May. That’s according to a draft of the meeting minutes, a copy of which was obtained by Stripes. They’re still discussing the logistics of the switch, everything from training referees at each locale to ensuring student-wrestlers are properly educated as well. New referees would have to be found, particular in Kanto and DODDS Korea, where indigenous officials schooled only in freestyle are currently employed. “Arrange yourself,” longtime Kanto referees head Takashi Noda said in response to a question about whether his charges would officiate folkstyle. And there are some who continue to argue in favor of keeping freestyle, suggesting that students who wrestle folkstyle in Europe and freestyle in the Pacific get a more well-rounded mat experience. Stay tuned.
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If anybody needed any more proof that the race for Kanto Plain basketball title space is as competitive as it’s been in years, look no further than the top of the current heap.
On the boys side, I have Zama American, winners of 10 straight games, at 6-2, a half-game ahead of 5-2 Nile C. Kinnick and American School In Japan (based on all games reported to Stripes).
ASIJ took one on the chin Wednesday, losing by three points in overtime at Kinnick, then rebounded to win at CAJ on Thursday. Even Yokota and St. Mary’s, each at 2-4, are within striking distance if a lot of things go their way.
Once you get past league-leading ASIJ, at 7-0, the girls race for second place is a tight one. Lamari Harris and Zama American are knotted with De’Asia Brown and Kinnick at 5-2; the Red Devils’ only losses are to ASIJ. And Seisen International, long a doormat prior to Elizabeth Jury’s arrival as coach, finds itself right in the thick of things at 5-3. That said, one would presume that Bessie Noll, Liz Thornton and ASIJ are favored to win that race.
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Not all is hunky dory at Mustang Valley these days, however. A precious small handful of healthy wrestlers remain to compete for ASIJ, just five in a 58-3 thrashing at the hands of Kinnick on Wednesday. We’re a long way from the glory days of the 1980s and ’90s. Not your father’s Mustangs, by any stretch. And very definitely a year in which DODDS schools will rule the Kanto roost. Expect Kinnick to win the Kanto tournament on Feb. 9 at Yokota, with Zama and St. Mary’s in trail.
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What a close call Zama‘s boys basketball team had at CAJ the other night, barely hanging on to win 52-50. That said, could it be a Trojans party – for both the boys and girls – at center court on Feb. 9 in the finals of the DODDS Japan tournament at Edgren? An historic first, that would be. And.it.is.possible. Although I’m sure Perry’s and Kinnick’s boys and Kinnick’s girls will have much to say in that conversation, but we’ll find that out in another week.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: January 31, 2013
The following has been updated, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2.
It just goes to show you, DODDS Pacific student-athletes CAN and DO make the grade at a higher level, as the examples provided by Leanne Quizon, Daegu High Class of 2012, and Nicole Sparks (Osan American 2010), Dan Arnold and Laura Vega (2009), clearly demonstrate.
They helped lead their respective volleyball teams into Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference powers, and the girls specifically to Far East Division II tournament glory in their high school years. Now, all four are shining at the NCAA Division II level.
Check out the roster for Mount Olive (N.C.), where you can spot the team photograph and the three women's players’ profiles.
Also, check out the emphasis on student over athlete demonstrated by Sparks and Vega, who’ve earned all-academic team honors in addition to their work on the court.
Arnold has been starring and started for the Trojans all or part of his four college years.
Congratulations to Korea’s Fab Four.
