Classic teams best in West

Advertiser Staff

The four teams that will play in the HHSAA high school Football Classic in Aloha Stadium on Sept. 21 are ranked 1 through 4 in the West in the pre-season National High School Football Tony Poll.

Defending national-rankings champion De La Salle of Concord, Calif., is No. 1; Poly of Long Beach, Calif., is No. 2; defending Hawai'i champion Kahuku is No. 3 and St. Louis is No. 4 in the 11-state western region.

The games on Sept. 21 will match De La Salle, winner of a national-record 125 straight games, against St. Louis and Long Beach Poly against Kahuku.

The games, arranged by the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association, are the first between top-ranked California and Hawai'i teams. "The preseason poll validates our efforts. This should be a great doubleheader," said Keith Ame-miya of the HHSAA.

In the national pre-season Tony Poll, De La Salle is No. 1, Poly No. 5, and Kahuku is No. 12. St. Louis is not ranked.

The Tony Poll is conducted by Tony Bianco of Ft. Worth, Texas, and polls 16 veteran observers at high-school football hotspots on the Mainland.