The football playoffs, which have expanded from an eight- to a 12-team field, begin tomorrow at Aloha Stadium with two games and continue Friday with two more.
Eight teams in the preliminary rounds will be vying for the chance to move into the quarterfinal rounds on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 against four Red Conference teams that drew byes.
The bye teams are Red champion Waianae (6-0), runner-up Campbell (4-2), third-place Farrington (4-2) and fourth-place Waipahu (3-3).
The OIA champion will be crowned on Nov. 15.
With injuries taking their toll on the Red teams late in the regular season, upsets by White Conference or Blue Conference teams now seem possible.
McKinley, the White Conference runner-up, led by two-way standout Solomon Lealao, a running back and linebacker, is being touted as the most dangerous sleeper in the field. A solid two-way team, McKinley could fight its way into the semifinals.
Matched on Friday at 5:35 p.m. against the No. 5 Red team, Roosevelt (2-4), the Tigers might have the upper paw. They defeated the Rough Riders, 37-6, on Aug. 24.
A victory would put McKinley in the quarterfinals on Nov. 1 against a banged-up Farrington team.
The Governors appear vulnerable because they have lost one of their best defensive linemen, Tavita Tovio, and may have lost their most versatile all-around athlete, Paulson Leong. Furthermore, their fullback, Nathan Fereti, the Red's third leading rusher, has sustained both neck and shoulder injuries the past few weeks.
Farrington head coach Skippa Diaz said he expects Fereti to play in the playoffs, despite the fact that he was lifted in the second half of the Waianae game last week.
The Governors' weak offense is now even weaker.
But McKinley is certainly not going to have an easy time.
Roosevelt, coming off a critical win over Kailua, is beginning to look much sharper lately and Farrington is a team of bonafide underdogs who have a reputation for baring their fangs when pushed to the wall.
Tomorrow's Leilehua vs. Mililani game at 5:35 p.m. favors the White Conference champion Mules (5-1), led by White rushing champion John West (725 yards and 10 touchdowns).
But the Blue Conference's third-place Trojans (4-2), with their conference's third best offense and second best defense, won't go gently.
In tomorrow's 8:05 p.m. game, one of the week's two best matchups pits Blue Conference champion Kaiser (6-0) against a strong third-place White team, Aiea (4-2).
Aiea has as rugged an offense as any team wants to face in the playoffs and a rock-hard defense led by 6-2, 272-pound lineman Ing Aleaga.
Kimo Kim has not had the kind of season he had last year on offense but he remains a versatile threat, along with junior fullback Pagopago Neemia. Na Alii have the second best rushing offense in the White.
"We're dealing with a team that does the basics real well," said Kaiser head coach Tony Gayer. "They're going to come and take it to you on offense and defense. Nothing fancy - they just test your manhood."
The Cougars had an especially well-balanced conference-leading offense - 909 yards rushing and 968 passing.
Scoring 166 points (66 by Brett Kakuda), they allowed opponents barely six points a game.
The Cougars allowed only 61 rushing yards and 74 passing yards a game.
Shotgun quarterback Grant Sato, who proved once this season he can also run the option, has connected for nine touchdowns - eight to Kakuda - and 822 yards.
"He has complete freedom to audible at any time," said Gayer.
In Friday's marquee game, Blue Conference runner-up Radford (5-1) meets White Conference runner-up Castle (4-1-1).
On Aug. 24, the Knights beat the Rams, 26-16, at Radford.
"They have an incentive going in because we beat them in preseason," said Castle head coach Pat Silva.
The Rams, led by the No. 2 and No. 3 rushers in the conference, Jeff Terry (493 yards, five touchdowns) and Richard Kealoha (446 yards, five touchdowns), have the ability to make big plays on offense.
"We have to prevent those backs from making big plays," said Silva. "The key is controlling the ball on offense."
Castle had the best passing offense in the White (650 yards) but the Rams defended the pass better than anyone in the Blue, allowing only 57 yards a game.
Chris Pagoyo led the White in receiving with 308 yards and five touchdowns.
Silva is concerned about the Radford blitz that gave Kaiser fits a few weeks ago.
"They put a lot of people after you and it's up to us to sustain our blocks, read the hot reads and take advantage of the areas they're vacating," said Silva.
"We saw a tape of Castle against Aiea and they control the line of scrimmage from the get-go," said Radford head coach Kelly Sur.
"We have to control the line of scrimmage. If we can block a little better, then we have a chance."
Some of Radford's key offensive players - like Terry, Kealoha and quarterback Joel Gallion - play both ways.
St. Louis, ranked 17th in USA Today and 15th in the Associated Press and ESPN polls, will have a rematch with Punahou Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium. ST. LOUIS-PUNAHOU REMATCH
The Crusaders (6-0), unbeaten in 15 straight games, handed the three-time ILH runner-up Buffanblu (5-1) their only loss of the Interscholastic league of Honolulu first round two weeks ago, 42-21.
TOP SEEDS
1. Waianae, 2. Campbell, 3. Farrington, 4. Waipahu