Thursday, October 25, 2001
All the invitations for the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs have been addressed. But a few teams are still jockeying for favorable spots at the dinner table. OIA teams try
for prime seedingBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comA battle for the White Conference championship and a meeting of Red Conference powers highlight this weekend's action as the OIA regular season closes with the games postponed following the Sept. 11 attacks.
The schedule opens tonight as Aiea attempts to clinch the OIA White title and complete an undefeated regular season against Roosevelt at Aloha Stadium. The junior varsity game kicks off at 5 p.m. The varsity contest will follow at about 7:30.
"I don't think there has been an Aiea football team that has ever gone undefeated," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "So these kids have an opportunity to do something that's never happened."
Both teams have already secured OIA playoff berths and promotions to the OIA Red Conference next season.
A Roosevelt win would create a three-way tie for the conference championship. Waipahu finished its season last week with a 7-1 record and will also move up to the Red.
Should Roosevelt lose and if Radford beats Kalaheo on Friday, both teams would finish with 6-2 records. But the Rough Riders own the tiebreaker edge over the Rams, thanks to their 5-0 mark against common opponents.
The Aiea and Roosevelt defensive backs will be tested tonight by two of the league's top quarterbacks.
Aiea's Lole Laolagi leads the conference in passing with 1,849 yards and set the OIA record for touchdown passes in a season with four last week against Kaiser to raise his total to 28.
Roosevelt's Chris Mols isn't far behind with 1,817 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
"We're pretty identical in a lot of ways," Say said. "They throw the ball as much as we do. Their passing game opens up their running game pretty much like ours. We're almost a mirror image of each other."
A Roosevelt loss means the Rough Riders would face undefeated Kahuku next week in the first round of the OIA playoffs.
The nationally ranked Red Raiders close their regular season Saturday against Waianae at Aloha Stadium. Kahuku has already clinched the Red Conference title and the top seed in the OIA playoffs.
The defending OIA and state champions rolled through the conference schedule, beating opponents by an average of 36 points per game. Mililani, which lost to Kahuku 34-19, was the only OIA team to come within four touchdowns of the Red Raiders.
"It's hard to say what to stop, because they've got so many things going on," Waianae coach Dan Matsumoto said. "They do so many things well. There's so many things you have to prepare for."
Waianae recovered from a 1-2 start to post four consecutive wins and secure a spot in the playoffs. Waianae and Kailua are currently tied for third in the conference. If they are tied at the end of the week, Kailua will be the third seed and Waianae will be fourth.
Castle has already wrapped up second place and Mililani will be the fifth seed.
Caleb Paakaula took over at quarterback for Waianae against Farrington and has led the team to four wins in a row. Kekoa Reyes, who started the season at quarterback, has moved back to safety, but will also see some time at quarterback and running back.
"The boys are really rallying around Caleb now, especially after the Farrington game," Matsumoto said. "I wasn't in the offensive bus, but I heard he got a standing ovation because he took some cracks and he stuck it out. He's been getting hit real bad, but he's a real tough player."
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