Waialua High School will field a varsity football team this season after all. Waialua High
plays onEarly last month, the North Shore school, a charter member of the Oahu Interscholastic Association -- back when it was called the Rural Oahu Interscholastic Association -- declared its intention to drop the football program.
But when more varsity prospects than had been expected began turning out for preseason practices, with an outpouring of community support, Bulldogs athletic director Sharon Yoshimura asked the league for time to reconsider.
Yesterday, she informed OIA executive secretary Dwight Toyama that Waialua would, indeed, continue to compete.
"The community got involved," Yoshimura said. "They helped us recruit kids. The parents were very supportive. Now it looks good and everyone's happy.
"We wanted to go with a safe number (of players). We were averaging 21 to 22 at practice for a while, but today I think we had 27, maybe 30."
Toyama said there never has been a casualty among the league's varsity football ranks.
"The coach (George Watanabe), the principal and the athletic director got together and made the decision to carry on." Toyama said. "It was a matter of turnout and commitment. We're happy they're coming through."
METS DROP AGBAYANI: The New York Mets designated outfielder Benny Agbayani for assignment yesterday, effectively ending his stint in their organization.
The former St. Louis School and Hawaii Pacific University standout, who made his first appearance in the majors this season, was let go by the Mets to make room for outfielder Jermaine Allensworth, who they acquired from Kansas City.
Agbayani, 26, was batting .298 in 68 games for Triple-A Norfolk with nine homers, four triples and 37 RBIs. He was a 30th-round pick in the 1993 draft.
KAUAI PLAYS FOR NATIONAL TITLE: Jason Koga's third hit of the game, a run-scoring single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, gave Kauai a 3-2 nod over Hoosier North and a spot in the title game of he PONY Colt World Series at Lafayette, Ind.
Kauai was to face East Cobb of Marietta, Ga., today for the title.
HAWAII BIG LEAGUERS WIN: Kyle Correa tossed a three hit shutout and struck out 11, pacing Hawaii to a 2-0 victory that eliminated Sacramento (District 7) from the Little League Big League Western Regional Tournament.
Hawaii faced Sacramento (District 5) in another elimination game today.
WEST OAHU TAKES TWO: Home runs by Adrian Conteras, Blaine Muraoka, Kaulana Kuhaulua and Mike Colosimo helped West Oahu beat Canada, 9-1, and Redmond, Wash., 9-4, yesterday for a 5-0 start in the U.S. Amateur 18-and-under World Series at Hoquiam, Wash., yesterday.
In the 15-and-under World Series at Victoria, British Columbia, Kailua whipped Oregon, 11-1, and edged Washington Dow, 2-1, to finish pool play at 4-3-1 and qualify for double-elimination play.
ISLE USA/AAU TEAM ADVANCES: Shannon Kahale scattered four singles and struck out nine as Hawaii blanked Minnesota, 11-0, to qualify for championship pool play in the USA/AAU National Championship tournament for 13-year-olds at Riverside, Calif. Ryan Basco led the attack with a grand slam homer.
BASEBALL CLINIC: Hawaii Winter Baseball and the American Lung Association will host a baseball clinic at Palama Settlement tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. for 25 children between the ages of 5 and 12 who are afflicted with asthma.
Former University of Hawaii stars Curt Watanabe, Vern Ramie, Sam Kakazu and Robert Medeiros will be the instructors.