[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Matthew Ching helped Kaiser to a playoff-clinching win over Kalaheo last week, but a forfeit has cost them that spot.
Another forfeit:
1 team in, 1 out
The Kaiser High School football team learned yesterday that it won't be going to the playoffs and must forfeit last Saturday's 33-8 victory in the regular-season football finale over Kalaheo.
The Cougars used an academically ineligible player and their record falls to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference. They were preparing to play Kapolei (8-0, 7-0) in the first round of the White semifinals on Nov. 1.
The Mustangs, all of a sudden, have new life. With the forfeit victory, they improve to 4-4 and 4-3 and they'll take the Cougars' place against the regular-season White champion Hurricanes. The winner of that game earns one of the conference's two berths in the inaugural Division II state tournament.
"It's crushing," Kaiser coach David Maeva said. "But it's the right thing to do. The rule is laid out right there in black and white. It's really hurting the team a lot, but it's a part of growing up and learning to make the right decisions."
Maeva told his players not to focus on "this last thing," but to remember how they ended the season on the field -- "with a big win over a great team."
Kalaheo coach Tony Tuioti has mixed feelings about making the playoffs.
"I'm happy for our seniors, but I really feel for Kaiser and Coach Maeva and all the things they've done over there," Tuioti said. "I feel especially bad for their seniors because they were preparing hard for Kapolei."
Kalaheo stored its equipment after last Saturday's loss, but broke it out again yesterday.
"Nobody likes to turn in their equipment, so the players got their wish and can play again," Tuioti said.
The Cougars' forfeit was the third time this season an OIA team had an on-the-field victory taken away. Last week, Castle and Leilehua forfeited previous victories for using an ineligible player.
"There's really nothing else we can do," OIA football coordinator Richard Townsend said about the forfeits. "The schools have to make those grade checks; academics and sports go hand-in-hand."
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