St. Louis proposal declined
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
The nation's top-ranked prep football team will not take up an offer to play Hawai'i perennial power St. Louis School this season.
Crusaders' athletic director and football coach Cal Lee said Monday that he was willing to take his team to California to play De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), which is No. 1 in Student Sports Fab 50 preseason ranking. But De La Salle athletic director Terry Eidson, an assistant to head football coach Bob Ladouceur, said yesterday he will respectfully decline Lee's offer to play the weekend of Sept. 14-15. Both teams have open dates.
"I appreciate their willingness to travel, but our schedule is ambitious enough," Eidson said in a telephone interview.
Lee said he missed Eidson's phone call yesterday. When told of Eidson's response, Lee said, "I can see his reasons. They have some tough games."
Eidson cited the Spartans' difficult schedule within a one-month period. They play Buchanon (Clovis, Calif.), which was 12-1 and finished in the top 50 last year, on Sept. 8; No. 34 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) on Sept. 22; and No. 2 Long Beach (Calif.) Poly on Oct. 6. De La Salle will play an area school, St. Francis, on Sept. 28.
In addition to the schedule, Eidson said St. Louis would have an advantage in preparation because the Crusaders would already have played three games by Sept. 14-15, while De La Salle would only be in its second game. He added that St. Louis begins workouts Monday, while De La Salle does not start until Aug. 20.
"They would be three weeks ahead of us," Eidson said. "That's asking too much" to add another nationally ranked team. (The Crusaders are ranked 36th in the Fab 50; state champion Kahuku is 31st.)
St. Louis starts non-league play Aug. 17 at Nanakuli, while De La Salle's first game is Sept. 8 against Buchanon.
The Crusaders, who have been nationally ranked for more than a decade, are trying to fill gaps created by the revised Interscholastic League of Honolulu schedule. Lee said that bye weeks are hard on the players, who have to wait two weeks to play a game.
An apparent non-league game at Waimea on Aug. 31 fell through when the schools could not reach a financial agreement.
Meanwhile, Hawai'i High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya continues to work on a football doubleheader between California's best teams — presumably De La Salle and Long Beach Poly — and O'ahu's top two teams, presumably St. Louis and Kahuku next season.
Eidson said a game with St. Louis this season might diminish a possible matchup next year. The possibility of the Spartans coming next season is "looking pretty good so far," he added.
Eidson said one of parameters is that neither team has played more games than the other by the time they meet.
The Spartans are shooting for their 10th consecutive California Interscholastic Federation North Coast Section title, while the Crusaders are seeking their 16th straight ILH crown.
Note: The Lutheran team scheduled to play at Hawai'i Prep on Aug. 18 is from California. A schedule in yesterday's Advertiser did not make that distinction.
