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Prep Beat
Over the next three Fridays, Hawaii finds out which high school team has enough gas left to win three more games and the 2000 Chevron State Football Championship. State tourney
teams to find out who has
high-grade fuel leftBy Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinOn the surface, defending champion St. Louis of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu appears to have a full tank, but coach Cal Lee said anything can happen.
"There's not a guarantee out there," Lee said yesterday at an Aloha Stadium news conference featuring all eight head coaches.
Some will laugh at Lee's statement; the consensus national top-10 Crusaders appear to be an overwhelming favorite to win the second annual event.
In addition to taking last year's state title (a 19-0 victory over Kahuku in the final), St. Louis won the last 13 consecutive Oahu Prep Bowls, which was the closest thing to a state championship prior to last season.
Also, no one has come close to beating the Crusaders this year.
The only problem right now for St. Louis is that three of its best defensive players are out for the tournament.
Senior linemen Lafaele Manupuna and Lyle Maiava, and cornerback Enoch McKeague have maxed out on eligibility for Hawaii High School Athletic Association competition.
(The HHSAA requires that athletes complete their four seasons of eligibility in four consecutive years. The ILH currently allows them to play four seasons in five years.)
Still, St. Louis figures to be able to handle its first-round opponent, Castle (9-3) of the Oahu Interscholastic Association.
The Crusaders and Knights meet in the first of two quarterfinal games at Aloha Stadium, on Friday, at 5:05 p.m.
"They out-match us in pretty much everything," said Castle coach Nelson Maeda, a former freshman team assistant at St. Louis. "Size, athletic ability, speed."
Kaimuki (9-3) beat Castle, 21-14, in overtime Saturday at Kaiser. With the victory, the Bulldogs avoided the Crusaders, and instead travel to Hilo (8-2) to play the Big Island Interscholastic Association champion Vikings. That game is 7:30 p.m. at Wong Stadium.
Kahuku successfully defended its OIA championship by dominating Waianae, 32-13, last Friday at Aloha Stadium.
With the victory, the Red Raiders (10-2) earned the right to host Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion Waimea (8-0), in the second game Friday at Aloha Stadium.
Waianae (11-1) travels to Maui (10-0-1) to play the Maui Interscholastic League champion Sabers. That game is set for a 7:30 p.m. start at War Memorial Stadium.
The winners of the St. Louis-Castle and Waianae-Maui games meet in one semifinal, and the winners of Kaimuki-Hilo and Waimea-Kahuku in the other. Both games are Nov. 24 at Aloha Stadium.
The championship game is Dec. 1 at Aloha Stadium.
Tickets are $7 (general) and $5 (students K-12). Participating Chevron stations are offering a $1 discount with purchase of Chevron or Pepsi products.
This is how the Star-Bulletin voted in this week's Hawaii Sports Network high school football poll. See the Prep Report in Wednesday's Star-Bulletin for comprehensive high school sports coverage. Star-Bulletin Top 10
Team -- Overall Record
1. St. Louis -- 12-0