Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Prep Beat
Six of the eight Oahu Interscholastic Association football playoff spots are filled -- with three teams fighting for the final two Red Division spots in the regular season's final weekend. Six OIA teams
are ‘in’By Tim Crouse
Special to the Star-BulletinWaianae, Kahuku and Kaimuki qualified from the Red, and Castle, McKinley and Campbell have made it in from the White Division.
Red contenders Kailua (4-3) and Farrington (4-3) won this past weekend to go a game up on Mililani (3-4), which lost 27-0 to Farrington.
Kailua shut out Leilehua, 34-0, to win its fourth straight.
Kailua finishes the regular season this Friday at home against Aiea, while Farrington plays Kaimuki at Aloha Stadium, and Mililani hosts Leilehua.
If the Surfriders and Governors win, they're in.
Should Farrington and Mililani win and if Kailua loses, leaving Mililani and Kailua at 4-4, the Trojans would advance due to their win over the Surfriders on Sept. 2.
But, if Kailua and Farrington lose and Mililani wins -- leaving all three teams at 4-4 -- the Trojans would come up short in tiebreakers.
OIA football coordinator Richard Townsend said if three teams are tied, the league uses a strength of schedule formula to determine who advances.
The teams in the division are rated on a point scale, with the top team at 10 and the last-place team at one.
A team is awarded the corresponding points when it beats another team -- so a win against the top team would be worth 10 points, a victory over the second-place team worth nine, etc.
Kailua's wins against Farrington and Kaimuki give the Surfriders the edge in points against the Governors and Trojans.
Mililani's and Farrington's wins are similar, but Farrington beat Waipahu, and Mililani closes with Leilehua. The Marauders beat the Mules on Oct. 6, so they're a step above the Mules, meaning Farrington's victory over Waipahu would be worth more than a Mililani win over Leilehua, Townsend said.
The OIA playoffs begin Oct. 26.
Red champion Waianae is the top seed for the tournament, and will be pitted against the White's third-place team, which will most likely be Campbell.
Red runner-up Kahuku plays White's second-place team, which will probably be McKinley.
If Castle beats Kalani on Friday, the Knights win the White, and the tournament's fourth seed. Castle would face the Red's fourth-place team in the playoffs.
Kaimuki clinches third-place in the Red with a win over Farrington. But, a Bulldog loss and a Kailua win would vault the Surfriders into third place.
The third- and fifth-place teams in the Red meet in the first round of the playoffs, so if Kaimuki beats Farrington, the two teams would meet again in the opening round.
Over the weekend, Josh Uelese and Jamison Rabaino both rushed for over 200 yards for the second consecutive game. Kailua's Uelese gained 277 yards on just 18 carries against Leilehua, and Campbell's Rabaino churned out 215 yards on 22 carries against Moanalua.
Kaiser's B.J. Bernard finished the season with an OIA-record 27 touchdowns and 2,213 passing yards. The previous mark of 2,017 yards was set by the late Clifford Kaneaiakala (also of Kaiser) in 1981. Bernard broke his own TD record.
Cougar receiver Marc Esteban also went into the league record books with 54 catches on the year -- breaking the mark of 53 set last year by McKinley's Rene Melson.
In the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, St. Louis and Kamehameha won big to improve to 2-0 in the second round.
STAR-BULLETIN TOP 10
This is how the Star-Bulletin voted in this week's Hawaii Sports Network high school football poll. See Wednesday's Star-Bulletin for the Prep Report, which includes features, athletes of the week, standings and statistics.
Team Overall record 1. St. Louis 9-0 2. Waianae 8-0 3. Waimea 6-0 4. Kamehameha 7-1 5. Kahuku 6-2 6. Maui 7-0-1 7. McKinley 7-1 8. Campbell 7-1 9. Castle 7-1 10. Hilo 7-1