The Leone Lions are 2018-2019 ASHSAA Boys J-V champions after they ended the season with the best record on April 12, 2019.
The Lions are back-to-back champions of the division, as they edged two teams last year (Samoana, Tafuna) by a point to win their first of two straight, junior varsity titles.
Going into their last game on Thursday, April 11 against the Faga’itua Vikings, Leone was tied with the Tafuna Warriors points-wise, the title was already theirs unofficially thanks to a superior differential in goals at the time (14-9).
That last game was to complete the J-V bracket’s schedule, and Leone finished it in style with a 4-0 win over the Vikings to end the season with 15 points, three better than the Warriors.
Leone had a league best 5-0-1 record, followed by the Warriors at 4-0-2, Faga’itua at third place at 2-0-3, and Fa’asao-Marist Crusaders rounded out the four-team league with no wins in a double round-robin schedule.
The only blemish on their record is a very close 3-2 loss against Tafuna on March 30. Leone had beaten the Warriors 3-1 on March 15, and it was a close race between the top two teams going into the home stretch during the month of April until Tafuna’s hopes for a title were derailed by a 2-1 loss on April 5 against the Vikings.
Zion Moala of the Lions was named MVP of the season while Jaiyah Saelua was named J-V Coach of the Year.
