OIA and ILH
bridging gap
Look for some blockbuster early-season high school football interleague games next year.
The Oahu Interscholastic Association and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu yesterday announced a two-year agreement to pit their teams against each other during the first three weeks of the 2004 season.
The move was approved by principals and athletic directors of both leagues in separate meetings last week and it could give fans early match-ups such as Saint Louis vs. Kahuku or Kamehameha vs. Kailua.
Under the plan, opponents are determined by the previous season's finish. Top ILH Division I teams will play top OIA Red teams, while top ILH Division II teams will play top OIA White teams and on down to the middle of the pack and bottom of the standings. Schedules are being worked out and will be announced later.
The primary reason for the change was to generate more interest and bring in more income, according to Richard Haru, the athletic director of OIA member Castle.
But the agreement could also signal the beginning of a shift toward bringing the two leagues together for the regular season. Since 1970, Oahu's public and private schools have been separated by league affiliation.
One ILH source, who didn't want to be identified, said the underlying concept of the plan is to bridge the gap between the two leagues.
"This is one of the ways to someday make it one league," the source said.
The OIA, however, isn't thinking about forming one league, according to Haru.
"As it is, we've got 22 teams and are already too big," he said. "Adding six ILH schools would make 28 schools and no league in the nation is half that size. The legality of it would also come into question. It's illegal for public-school funds to go to private institutions."
ILH executive director Don Botelho could not be reached for comment last night, but he is quoted in a news release, sent out by the ILH.
"This is an exciting opportunity for student-athletes, coaches, fans and alumni of both leagues to come together and participate in an interleague schedule," Botelho said in the release.
OIA executive secretary Dwight Toyama is behind the new plan, but was also not available for comment last night. "This agreement will renew old traditions and start new ones," he said in the release.
Haru said OIA teams are dropping their cross-over league game -- when the Red West Conference teams go up against Red East opponents -- so they can play against an ILH team. That means OIA Red teams will play six regular-season games instead of seven.
Haru also said OIA teams would most likely play one early-season game against an ILH team, but that ILH teams would play against two OIA teams.
Match-ups between first-place teams Kahuku and Saint Louis and second-place teams Kailua and Kamehameha are good possibilities for 2004, according to Haru, who added that Farrington vs. Kamehameha -- "a battle for the heart of Kalihi" -- is also possible. The Governors and Warriors were big rivals before the 1970 split when five public schools (Farrington, Kalani, Kaimuki, McKinley and Roosevelt) left the ILH to join the Rural Oahu Interscholastic Association.
Other old-time rivalries such as Punahou vs. Roosevelt could also be renewed.
On Aug. 22, Hawaii high school football fans got a preview of the future when host Kailua of the OIA beat Punahou of the ILH 22-7.
"That was a great match-up," Haru said. "I know (Kailua coach) Darren (Johnson) felt lucky to have beaten them. Punahou moved up and down the field -- and nobody stopped their offense the rest of the season."
Saint Louis of the ILH defeated Kaiser of the OIA 34-12 in the only other early-season 2003 game involving the two Oahu leagues.
From 1973 to 1998, the ILH and OIA champions met in the now-defunct, season-ending Oahu Prep Bowl. In 1999, the first state championship tournament was held, involving all five of Hawaii's leagues.
