OIA playoffs promise surprises

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The Star-Bulletin's prep football poll held up for another week, but don't count on it lasting through the playoffs.

This week's biggest shaker was Waianae, which moved from No. 8 to No. 6 by sitting idle. But none of the state's best will have that luxury this week, as each team in the top 10 plays in an important game.

The OIA Red playoffs pit five ranked teams in action, while the ILH has three of them all taking on unranked foes.

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One is the number for the Saint Louis Crusaders in more ways than, well, one.

Upset Time Six Oahu schools in the Star-Bulletin/KITV-4 Top 10 Poll face unranked foes this week: OIA red » No. 2 Kahuku vs. Kapolei, Friday » No. 6 Waianae vs. Kalaheo, Friday » No. 9 Farrington vs. Campbell, Saturday ILH » No. 1 Saint Louis vs. Pac-Five, Friday » No. 3 Punahou vs. Damien, Saturday » No. 7 Kamehameha vs. Iolani, Friday

The unbeaten football team from Kalaepohaku is one win -- or tie -- away from clinching the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I title. Saint Louis, which collected all 15 first-place votes in today's Star-Bulletin/KITV-4 Football Top 10, is poised to claim the automatic berth into the state tournament.

The ILH champion will also be granted the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, according to brackets set by the Hawaii High School Athletic Association. Saint Louis can clinch the title this weekend, when it faces Pac-Five.

Kahuku, Punahou, Mililani and Baldwin remained in step with the front-running Crusaders at the top of the poll. Few teams, however, handle success the way Saint Louis does. After each victory, there has been a modicum of celebration, but nothing extreme. In fact, there is the postgame handshake line, and then a jog to the team bus. It's been the same all season, coming on the heels of last year's loss in the state title game.

"We talked about it when we got back to the school. We're gonna prepare for this coming week like it's championship week," coach Delbert Tengan said. "The maturity that they show, even after the two big wins over Punahou and the big wins over Kamehameha and Iolani, they don't show emotion. They understand the big picture and that's where the maturity shows. They know it's a long road to go."

Tengan, who has been an assistant or head coach for nearly two decades at the school, has seen a lot of parity in the ILH since Saint Louis' string of titles ended in 2003. No team has won back-to-back titles since.

"It's an opportunity for our seniors to do something special," he said.