THESE are desperate times for football in the Oahu Interscholastic Association and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. There's no denying it. Has St. Louis become
part of the problem?Attendance has plummeted. Even with the new 16-team playoff format, crowds have been in the 3,000 range for all but one of the games at Aloha Stadium (5,072 for Waianae vs. Leilehua on Friday). Last year's playoff final between Campbell and Waianae drew fewer than 4,000.
ILH crowds have so dwindled that the league is opting more often for school sites instead of Aloha Stadium, where parking is not free and expenses have risen with the economy.
Tripleheaders at the stadium might be a thing of the past. In the league's second round, the schedule has called for an out-of-stadium game on four of five weekends. On one weekend, all three games were played at campuses.
The steady decline of the leagues' attendance is alarming. ILH stadium crowds averaged 8,869 in 1995 but they're averaging 6,610 in 1997. OIA stadium averages have gone from 4,108 in 1995 to 3,305 in 1997.
Meanwhile, St. Louis -- the powerhouse many believe responsible for attendance problems -- is polishing off its 12th straight ILH title and already looming as the Prep Bowl's victor for the 12th consecutive time.
BETWEEN 1977 and 1982, there were five different ILH champions. But between 1981 and the present, only one other program (Pac-Five in 1982 and 1985) has been able to win the league.
Many believe that St. Louis could be perpetuating its streak in the next century with players who weren't even born when it began.
As I've said before, the St. Louis comet has illuminated the image of Hawaii prep football. Every magazine or website story written about the Crusaders' phenomenon, every jump in the national polls, serves to draw the attention of mainland scouts to all isle high school players.
Soft-spoken Crusaders head coach Cal Lee, who parries hosannas about his success with ah-shucks humility belying his brilliance, is one of the most popular and revered personalities in the state. He has solidified his standing with conscientious avoidance of revelling in the streak, and he has continued to make himself accessible to the least of his constituency.
But, feeling and evidence mounts across Oahu that the Crusaders' dominance has destroyed parity and therefore has severely damaged interest in the prep game.
Some even suggest that it was a factor in the failure of three ILH programs to field JV teams this season.
THE St. Louis football machine does not have a peer in this state, and so the suspense is gone from the football season.
David's slingshot just doesn't have the range to reach Goliath's forehead.
If this were a mainland program, a 100-mile drive down the turnpike might solve the problem. But this is Hawaii, and it's a major expense to bring in a team of St. Louis' caliber.
No restructuring or merger of the leagues will alter the imbalance of prep football here. And the ILH can't ask Cal Lee to please start losing.
Parity is the obvious elixir, but coaches insist they can't compete with the well-established pipeline St. Louis has to the best talent in the state.
Lee's program looms over Honolulu like Kilimanjaro looms over Tanzania. It has become larger than life, with a No. 4 standing in the National Prep Football Poll, a talented coaching staff with continuity, its own sports information director, a website, a yearbook and even trademark white footgear.
But the teams at the foot of this mountain can no longer see the summit for the clouds.