Early showdown in OIA
Oahu Interscholastic Association schedule makers obviously wanted to drum up interest early this football season.
Schedule
All games start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Today
Nonleague
Schurr (Calif.) vs. Pac-Five, at Kaiser Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Tomorrow
OIA Red
Mililani at Castle
Kahuku vs. Waianae, at Aloha Stadium
Campbell at Kailua
Nanakuli at Roosevelt
OIA White
Moanalua at Kaiser
Kapolei vs. Kalani, at Leilehua field
Waialua at Radford
MIL
Lahainaluna vs. Baldwin, at War Memorial Stadium
Nonleague
King Kekaulike at Honokaa
Punahou vs. Kauai, at Vidinha Stadium
Saturday
OIA Red
Farrington vs. Waipahu, at Roosevelt field, 6:30 p.m.
Kaimuki vs. Pearl City, at Kaiser Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
McKinley vs. Leilehua, at Moanalua field, 6:30 p.m.
OIA White
Kalaheo vs. Aiea, at Kailua field, 6:30 p.m.
MIL
Maui vs. Pac-Three, at War Memorial Stadium
Nonleague
Iolani at Hawaii Prep, 2 p.m.
Kamehameha vs. Kapaa, at Vidinha Stadium
Two of the most successful OIA football programs go head-to-head tomorrow night at 7:30 at Aloha Stadium when Kahuku goes up against Waianae in the league opener for both teams.
The Red Raiders are working to regain top-dog status, having been knocked off as league and state champion a year ago. The Seariders are out to show they're still contenders despite a 21-0 nonleague loss to Kapolei last week.
"Waianae is always a powerhouse," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "They've always been there (at or near the top) and I have the greatest respect for them. We've lost to Waianae more than any other school in the state."
Livai is happy with his team's progress so far and said the Red Raiders are way ahead of where they were last year at this point. Kahuku won its nonleague opener last week, a 34-0 romp over Lahainaluna on Maui.
Waianae coach Daniel Matsumoto wasn't duped by Kahuku's off-year last season.
"They were a good team and they played well with mainly juniors," Matsumoto said. "It's going to be a hard battle for us (tomorrow). We didn't get a chance to see them last week because they were on Maui, so it's been hard at practice this week because we don't know what they're going to come up with. But the boys are up for it because they know Kahuku always brings out the excitement."
Fans around the state are wondering about the true significance of Kapolei's victory over Waianae. Is Kapolei that good? Or is Waianae that bad?
"Nobody likes to lose, but we learned a lot about ourselves and how to deal with a loss," Matsumoto said. "You can't win all the time. Hopefully, we'll be able to rebound."
Livai thinks the loss will make the Seariders play harder this week.
"They'll be a better team because of that," he said.
Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez put some perspective on the victory.
"It's hard to gauge our season on just one win," he said. "Waianae could go undefeated the rest of the way or they could lose every game."
The Hurricanes held the Seariders to minus-10 yards rushing and came up with 11 sacks and three interceptions.
Kapolei opens its league season against Kalani at Leilehua tomorrow night.
Knights, Trojans tangle: Defending OIA champion and state runner-up Castle hosts Mililani in a league opener tomorrow night.
The Knights are down to 23 players after 19 became ineligible for disciplinary or academic reasons. Earlier in the week, head coach Nelson Maeda said forfeiting the game was possible if the roster thinned any more. He said a final decision would be made today.
Some key Castle players won't be playing, including slotbacks Jared Suzui and Ikaika Ho and linemen Keoni Gomes and Mana Sasaki. Only six of the 23 eligible players have varsity experience.
Still, Mililani coach James Millwood isn't preparing any differently.
"They're a very well-coached team," Millwood said of the Knights, "and they looked good last week against Waipahu (56-11 win). I was impressed with what they did last year, having persevered to peak at the end of the season. It shows what teamwork can do. I've been using Castle as an example to our players of what can be accomplished."
Maeda is concerned about the Trojans' defensive front seven.
"They're rangy and cover a lot of ground and are very imposing and opportunistic," he said. "Overall, Mililani has great depth and good skill people and, as always, big linemen."
Other noteworthy games: Defending OIA Red East champion Kailua, a convincing 22-7 winner over Punahou last week, has its hands full at home against OIA Red West contender Campbell tomorrow night.
The Sabers played their first home game since the 2001 season last week, but lost to Roosevelt 10-7. Campbell's home field went through renovations through all of last year.
The Maui Interscholastic League opens this weekend with two 7:30 p.m. games at War Memorial Stadium. Baldwin meets Lahainaluna tomorrow and Maui takes on Pac-Three on Saturday. Of the four teams, only the Lunas lost their nonleague opener last week.
Iolani goes to the Big Island for a Saturday game at Hawaii Prep. It will be the second game in a row that the Raiders are going against a state tournament team from a year ago. Last week, Iolani lost to McKinley 25-12, while Ka Makani were edged 26-19 by state semifinalist Waimea.
