[ PREP FOOTBALL ]
Damien agrees Damien Memorial High School reversed its earlier decision and will not forfeit its scheduled football game against St. Louis School, Damien President Brother Greg O'Donnell said yesterday.
to play St. Louis
Schedule changes and safety
assurances lead to a new stanceMonarchs rewarded for acting manfully
By Ben Henry and Dave Reardon
O'Donnell cited three reasons for the decision:
>> The Interscholastic League of Honolulu's revised schedule has Damien playing three fewer games and just one each against St. Louis, Kamehameha and Punahou.
>> Assurance from an official from the Hawaii Football Officials Association that game officials "will do everything in their power to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants."
>> Improved physical conditioning of Damien players.
"Having heard all the input, the school administration formally met and decided to amend our June 12 decision," O'Donnell said in a prepared statement. "We feel the situation has changed."
O'Donnell said on June 12 the Monarchs would forfeit their two ILH games against the national-power Crusaders this season, citing safety issues.
St. Louis has outscored Damien 415-7 in the teams' last six meetings.
On June 22, O'Donnell opened the door to Damien possibly playing St. Louis after the ILH announced the new schedule format on June 20.
"The administration believes in us, and all of our hard work has paid off," said Kea Toledo, one of six seniors on the team.
St. Louis head coach and Athletic Director Cal Lee applauded the decision.
"That's good news, not only for our school, but for Damien as well," he said. "It's good for the league, too. If you're part of the league, you should play anyone in it.
"I'm glad they had the change of heart."
ILH Executive Secretary Clay Benham said he was "delighted" by the news.
"This is a good thing for Hawaii football," he said.
Damien and St. Louis are scheduled to play Oct. 26, with time and place to be announced.
O'Donnell said the ILH's abbreviated schedule for this season was an "immense" factor in the decision to play the Crusaders.
"As the season went on, we lost more kids to injuries because the fatigue factor was killing us," he said. "Now, instead of a 10-game schedule, we have seven, and the three (games) we don't play are against the three biggest, strongest teams. That's major."