HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Playoffs will settle ILH’s 3-way tie
Unique? Yes.
Unprecedented? Yes again.
Unanimous happiness? Well, maybe not. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu began the process of untangling its three-way tie in the Division I football standings yesterday. With Kamehameha, Punahou and Saint Louis tied with 5-2 records, the league pulled straws.
In a three-team playoff, Punahou drew a first-round bye. Kamehameha and Saint Louis will meet Wednesday at Aloha Stadium.
The winner will play Punahou next Monday for the ILH's only berth in the Division I state tournament.
In an effort to limit fatigue over the course of the short period of time, both games will be played with 8-minute quarters rather than the standard 12.
Kamehameha had a chance to clinch the league title in the regular-season finale against Saint Louis on Saturday. However, for the second time this year, the Warriors lost to the Crusaders. Punahou's win over Pac-Five, also on Saturday, left league administrators scratching their heads and probing their imaginations for a solution to the three-way tie.
Current ILH bylaws have no resolution for such a scenario in football. Athletic directors and league officials came up with the solution.
"It's a chance to play. We're thankful for that," Kamehameha coach Doss Tannehill said. After 18 years as a varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach, Tannehill has experienced quite a ride in his first year at the helm of the varsity program.
With the state tournament to begin two weekends from now, finding a feasible solution wasn't easy. That's why Tannehill isn't lamenting the prospect of facing Saint Louis again.
"If they'd just done a draw, we'd be out," he said. "Obviously, it's not ideal, but it's a chance to play, I certainly think."
If Saint Louis gets past Kamehameha for a third time, the Crusaders will have a mental hurdle to overcome. Saint Louis has lost to Punahou twice this season.
Kamehameha, on the other hand, has beaten the Buffanblu twice. It was that kind of a season in the ILH, perhaps the most unpredictable in recent history.
State seedings set: The Oahu Interscholastic Association champion, yet to be determined, will get the No. 1 seed in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association/First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships.
The HHSAA's football committee, which is comprised of a member from each of the state's five leagues, made its decision yesterday. Perhaps more intriguing is the board's decision to give Maui Interscholastic League champion Baldwin the No. 2 seed. This means the OIA winner and Baldwin will have first-round byes.
The ILH, which has yet to determine its champion, will receive the third seed and not have a bye.
The first round, set for Nov. 18, has the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion (Keaau or Kealakehe) hosting the OIA's third-place team (Farrington or Waianae) and the ILH champion (Kamehameha, Saint Louis or Punahou) playing the OIA's runner-up (Kahuku or Aiea).
The semifinals on Nov. 26 and the final on Dec. 2 will be played at Aloha Stadium.
The Division II championships kick off Nov. 18 with the OIA runner-up (Moanalua or Radford) hosting the BIIF champion (Kamehameha-Hawaii or Konawaena).
Also, MIL champion Kamehameha-Maui will meet Kauai at Hanapepe Stadium.
Iolani, D-II champion of the ILH, and the OIA winner are seeded and get first-round byes. The semifinals and finals will be played at Aloha Stadium.