HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Weather knocks out BIIF’s whole weekend
Weather has always presented Big Island schools with challenges, but this weekend's postponements of all high school games was a first, at least in recent memory.
Inclement weather on Friday compelled the Big Island Interscholastic Federation to call off all games.
"It was definitely the right decision," Saint Joseph athletic director and girls volleyball coach Rachelle Hanohano said. "It really didn't look good on the weather reports. A lot of the areas that were affected were schools that had games."
Konawaena football coach Todd Brown, who grew up in Kona and graduated from Parker in 1984, can't recall an entire weekend being washed away.
"Not once. The only other time I can remember this happening was for 9/11," said Brown, whose Wildcats are contending for the Division II crown in the BIIF.
All sports were affected by the league-wide postponements, but football will likely have the most difficult scheduling adjustments.
"We don't have any gaps in the schedule. We'll have to restructure the playoffs," Brown said. Normally, the second and third seeds in each division play off, with the winner meeting the No. 1 seed.
Because of scheduling constraints, there probably won't be a berth for the third-place team this fall, Brown said.
"Then they'll use the extra weekend to play all the games we missed. At least three or four teams on the bubble are going to be up in arms. You never know what's gonna happen in a playoff game," he said.
Waiakea and Hilo are fighting for the third spot in Division I, while Honokaa and Hawaii Prep are battling for the D-II third-place position. Kohala, Brown added, could surprise HPA along the way.
Honokaa and HPA, longtime neighborhood rivals, were supposed to play yesterday.
Incidentally, weather on the Kona Coast was pristine yesterday.
"In West Hawaii, it was one of the prettiest days we've had in a long time. Not a cloud in the sky. On the east side, it cleared up by mid-afternoon," Brown said. "I think the postponing was more of Katrina fright. Everyone on the whole island was pretty disappointed. It's not my place to say they were premature. They probably jumped the gun, but I'm not in their position."
Konawaena, which started strong with a nonconference win over Maui, stumbled early in the BIIF season. At 3-1 in league play (4-2 overall), the Wildcats visit unbeaten Kamehameha-Hawaii next weekend.
"This is a big week ahead for us. We go over to Kam. We're definitely coming back around to where we need to be. After Maui, we had a bunch of injuries, taken three weeks to recover," Brown said.
Konawaena is led by versatile Dylan Rush, a 6-3, 225-pound senior who has verbally committed to UCLA. Cody Silsley, a senior, is one of the top wide receiver prospects in the state.