Kailua, Kapolei start off
with clean slates

The football teams, which
square off tomorrow, have
had changes since last season

The opening weekend of the high school football season represents a fresh start for two Oahu programs.

High school football Nonleague games (Varsity games start 25 minutes after the conclusion of the 5 p.m. JV games, unless noted): TOMORROW >> Aiea at Kaiser >> Campbell at Waianae >> Castle at Waipahu >> Kaimuki at Mililani >> Kalani at Roosevelt >> Kapolei at Kailua >> Saint Louis at Nanakuli >> Radford at Leilehua >> Kamehameha-Big Island at Kamehameha-Maui, 4 p.m. >> Lahainaluna at Kealakehe, 7 p.m. >> Waialua vs. Kapaa, at Vidinha Stadium, 7:35 p.m. SATURDAY >> Kauai at Punahou, noon >> Kahuku vs. Skyline (Utah), at Salt Lake City, 4 p.m. (HST) >> Waiakea at Moanalua >> Kalaheo at Pearl City >> Hawaii Prep vs. Waimea, at Hanapepe Stadium, TBA >> Honokaa at King Kekaulike, 7 p.m. >> Baldwin at Kamehameha, 7 p.m. >> Maui at Konawaena, 7 p.m. Father Bray Classic At Aloha Stadium >> McKinley vs. Pac-Five, 4:45 p.m. >> Farrington vs. Iolani, 7:30 p.m.

At Kailua, the Surfriders are embarking on a new era with first-year coach Gary Rosolowich taking over leadership of the perennial Oahu Interscholastic Association contender. On the other side of the island, Kapolei is preparing for its first year in the OIA's Red Conference after moving up from the White Conference.

The Surfriders and Hurricanes meet in a non-league contest tomorrow night at Kailua, with both teams looking to use the game as a springboard into the season.

"Everything we've done to this point is just the starting point to our program," Kapolei head coach Darren Hernandez said. "This Friday is really the beginning of our program."

The Kapolei-Kailua matchup is one of 20 nonleague games scheduled to be played at fields across the state this weekend.

Defending state Division II champion Aiea plays at Kaiser tomorrow while Division I champ Kahuku went a bit farther for its opener. The Red Raiders are in Utah this week and face Skyline at the University of Utah on Saturday.

Although this week's games don't count in the league standings, don't try telling the coaches and players they don't mean anything.

"Any time you put on the uniform and play in a game situation, there's an importance attached to it," Rosolowich said.

"At the high school level, the distinction between preseason and (regular) season is very small as compared to the pro level where there's a higher level of evaluation. Here we don't have a 20-game season, so every game is important."

Kapolei moved up to the OIA Red West with a 7-0 regular-season record in the White Conference last year before closing the season with losses to Aiea in the conference title game and to Damien in the inaugural Division II state tournament.

Kapolei's first graduating class took with it 19 starters, leaving Hernandez with an enthusiastic but inexperienced group for the program's first year in the Red.

"(Last year) was a great launching for us, but this is the big time now and we're going to see what we can do," Hernandez said.

Kailua has played in the OIA championship game three straight years under former coach Darren Johnson, who stepped down this spring. Rosolowich kept much of the previous coaching staff in place and has been busy implementing his program this month in practice.

"There's always things that occur when you have a transition and we're working through that transition," Rosolowich said. "We're progressing and as long as we continue we'll be a very competitive football team."

Kahuku, ranked 38th in the country according to Student Sports, has been in Utah since last Friday and practiced at Utah and in Brigham Young's new indoor facility in preparation for Saturday's game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Kahuku lost to Skyline 24-21 in 2000 in their last trip to Utah. The Red Raiders returned the favor in 2001, winning 19-14 on the North Shore.

"We're not just playing a good team, we're playing a good program," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "Any time you play an out-of-state program we feel a lot of pressure to represent the state of Hawaii.

"We always remind our boys that we're playing for more than just ourselves."

Livai said a crowd of 20,000 is expected for the game, including many who have ties to Kahuku. Two of the top college players in the state, Utah offensive lineman Chris Kemoeatu and BYU defensive back Aaron Francisco, are Kahuku graduates.

"The last time we played there we had as many or more fans as Skyline did," Livai said.

The Red Raiders return home next week and take on Saint Louis in a rematch of last year's Division I title game on Aug. 28.

Schedule changes: Hilo's scheduled game against East Alaska has been canceled and Pearl City's game with Kalaheo has been moved from tomorrow to Saturday.