No. 1 Kahuku gains
yet another believer

For weeks, longtime football watcher and Kauai media personality J Robertson believed Mililani deserved a No. 1 ranking in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

Now, however, after Kahuku doused Mililani with a 36-13 result in the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship game, Robertson has changed gears.

"Kahuku has been there so many times, and they know how to win the big game," he said. "Mililani looked like they didn't totally believe in themselves, and Kahuku looked very much like they expected to win."

Kahuku (10-1) collected six out of the seven first-place ballots in the newest rankings released today. Kamehameha moved up a notch to No. 2, supplanting Mililani.

The Warriors had a bye last week, and will be watching from afar again with a bye in the opening round of the First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships. Kamehameha (8-2-1), champion of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, garnered the only first-place vote not in Kahuku's possession.

The only other change in the Top 10 came at No. 6, where Leilehua landed. The Mules, coming off a 14-10 win over Castle, moved up one spot, while Iolani dropped to No. 7.

With the win for third place in the OIA, Leilehua secured a state tournament berth.

Three of the Top 10 teams are not in the state tourney: Saint Louis, Baldwin and Castle.

Hawaii Prep, the Division II team that went unbeaten in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, remained at No. 10. Ka Makani defeated Konawaena 35-14 on Saturday to earn the league's lone berth in the D-II state tournament.