Yamanashi Gakuin edged Aomori Yamada 1-0 to capture its first national high school soccer championship title on Monday.
Teppei Usui scored what turned out to be the decider in the 11th minute, the midfielder beating Masatoshi Kushibiki with a fabulous strike in front of a holiday crowd of over 43,000 at National Stadium.
Aomori, the first school from the prefecture to reach the final, pressed hard for an equalizer after the break but rarely looked like finding a way through a well-drilled Yamanashi defense.
"I knew the real battle would be in the first half and my players ran their socks off right from the start," said Yamanashi coach Takumi Yokomori.
"Our backline worked really hard as well and we were able to dictate the flow of the game. I am delighted," he said.