[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
Saint Louis and Kahuku
are favorites in state playoffsThe football teams are expected
to make it to the Dec. 5 title game
Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai was relaxed 10 minutes after his football team sweated through a 6-0 victory over Kailua last Friday.
It was easily the most dramatic game of the season, given that the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship was on the line.
The game was won with 20 seconds to go by a tight end who wasn't on the team at the beginning of the season.
Livai was proud that his Red Raiders, who averaged 38 points in 10 previous games, pulled through in their first major test with the outcome still in doubt in the fourth quarter.
Despite the celebration going on around him, Livai took the time to underscore the potential for more drama in the upcoming Division I state tournament.
"The OIA has four really good teams that we can be proud of," Livai said. He was also referring to third-place Farrington and fourth-place Mililani, who battled earlier in the evening at Aloha Stadium. "And have you seen Saint Louis (from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu)? The last few games they've looked really, really good."
Kahuku (11-0) and Saint Louis (7-1) are the favorites to make it to the Dec. 5 state championship game, but neither is a lock. They've faced each other in three of the four previous state finals and five of the 10 Prep Bowls (de facto state championship game) prior to that.
This year, nothing has been a guarantee. The Crusaders were pushed heavily by rival Kamehameha, while the Red Raiders had their hands full twice against Kailua.
Had it not been for Maui transfer Tevita Finau's three TDs on passes from Waika Carvalho in clutch situations (two in the regular season against Kailua and one in the OIA final), the Surfriders may have prevailed over the Red Raiders to take the OIA's higher seed and an easier path to the state title.
Saint Louis, meanwhile, got a little help from Punahou, a team Crusaders coach Darnell Arceneaux called "the hottest team in the ILH" near the end of the season.
The Buffanblu upset previously undefeated Kamehameha in the second-to-last week of the league season, making it possible for Saint Louis to avoid a playoff and clinch the title by beating the Warriors in the regular-season finale.
Arceneaux was at Aloha Stadium scouting Farrington's 14-6 victory over Mililani. The Crusaders take on the Trojans in a first-round game Nov. 21 at Aloha Stadium.
The same night, the Red Raiders open against Kauai.
Trojan OK: Mililani's Chris Villamor, who suffered a neck injury against Farrington, is doing fine, according to coach James Millwood.
The junior linebacker was hurt while being blocked during a Governors punt return. He felt tingling and went to The Queen's Medical Center in an ambulance as a precautionary measure.
Villamor plans on returning to practice at the end of this week, according to Millwood.
Rooting for rivals: Iolani coach Wendell Look is behind league foe Damien in the inaugural Division II state tournament starting Nov. 21.
The Monarchs beat Look's Raiders in the regular-season finale to gain the ILH's lone D-II state berth.
"They deserved it and it was their destiny to do it," Look said. "We'll be rooting for ILH teams no matter what. We want to see our league represented well, so we hope Saint Louis and Damien go all the way."
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State Championship Football
Division I
Nov. 21 (Quarterfinals)
>> Kauai (5-3) vs. Kahuku (11-0), at Aloha Stadium, 5 or 8 p.m.
>> Mililani (9-2) at BIIF champion (Hilo or Kealakehe), 7:30 p.m.
>> Kailua (8-2-1) vs. Baldwin (9-1), at War Memorial Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
>> Farrington (6-4-1) vs. Saint Louis (7-1), at Aloha Stadium, 5 or 8 p.m.Nov. 28 (Semifinals)
>> Kauai-Kahuku winner vs. Mililani-BIIF champion winner, at Aloha Stadium, 5 or 8 p.m.
>> Kailua-Baldwin winner vs. Farrington-Saint Louis winner, at Aloha Stadium, 5 or 8 p.m.Dec. 5 (Championship)
>> Semifinal winners, at Aloha Stadium, 8 p.m.
Division II
Nov. 21 (First round)
>> OIA runner-up (Aiea or Kapolei) vs. Damien, site and time to be determinedNov. 22 (First round)
>> BIIF champion (Konawaena or Hawaii Prep) vs. Lahaimaluna (1-7-1), at War Memorial Stadium, 7:30 p.m.Nov. 28 (Semifinals)
>> Damien-OIA runner-up winner vs. Waimea (6-2), at Vidinha Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
>> Lahainaluna-BIIF champ ion winner vs. Kapolei, site TBD, 7:30 p.m.Dec. 5 (Championship)
>> Semifinal winners, at Aloha Stadium, 5 p.m.
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