The three-way fight for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's two berths in the state boys soccer tournament comes down to its final blows this week as the contenders face each other to close the regular season. ILH soccer boils down to
season’s final weekBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comKamehameha entered the week in first place at 8-1-1, good for 25 points in the standings, with Punahou (7-0-2, 23 points) and Iolani (7-1-1, 22 points) just behind. Teams get three points for each win and one point for each tie.
The league's decisive week began yesterday with Iolani hosting Punahou. Kamehameha takes on Iolani tomorrow at 4:15 p.m. at Kapiolani Park and plays at Punahou at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"We have a lot of young guys who start, and the only question we had this season was how they'd react in the pressure-packed games," Kamehameha coach Andrew Ah New said. "They've been responding real well, but when you play teams like Punahou and Iolani you have to step it up."
Iolani captured last year's league title and Kamehameha earned a state tournament berth by winning a playoff with King Kekaulike of Maui. Punahou owns 14 state championship trophies, but missed the state tournament the last two years.
If there is a tie after this week, a championship game would be played Jan. 31 at Kapiolani Park. The ILH-MIL playoff game is scheduled for Feb. 2 at a site to be determined.
"Punahou has been out of the states for the last two years, so I'm sure they'll be hungry," Ah New said.
ILH swimmers warming up: The ILH swimming and diving season hits the midway point this weekend with the Kamehameha Invitational.
The swimming competition starts at 5 p.m. Friday and the diving portion is set for 9 a.m. Saturday on the Kamehameha campus.
The meet represents another chance for ILH teams to tune up for the ILH Championship and earn qualifying times for the Local Motion State Swimming and Diving Championships.
The ILH Championships will be held Feb. 8 and 9 at Kamehameha. The state meet is scheduled for Feb. 22 and 23 at Kailua-Kona Aquatic Complex.
The OIA holds its junior varsity championships on Saturday at Kalani High School. Kalani also hosts the Eastern and Western Division championships next weekend.
OIA JV girls kick off: The OIA junior varsity girls soccer playoffs will be held Friday and Saturday.
Kalaheo (4-1-2) travels to Pearl City (5-0-1) in one of Friday's semifinal matches. Kahuku (6-0-1) takes on Mililani (4-0-2) at Roosevelt Stadium in the other match. Both matches start at 4 p.m.
The championship match is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at either Pearl City or Kahuku.
Warriors sweep ILH cheerleading opener: Kamehameha claimed top honors in the first Interscholastic League of Honolulu cheerleading event last Thursday at Kekuhaupio Gym.
The Warriors took first place in both the stunts and cheers categories. Punahou was second in both events, followed by Punahou, Iolani, Hawaii Baptist and Maryknoll.
The next meet is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday at Punahou. The ILH championship meet will be held Feb. 23 at Kamehameha. The Hawaii High School Athletic Association championships are set for March 3 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
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