ILH drops roster limits for football games

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Interscholastic League of Honolulu principals yesterday rescinded the league's controversial limit of 65 players suiting up for varsity football games.

The limit was in effect only for last season and was bitterly opposed by then-St. Louis coach Cal Lee, who had 108 players on his varsity roster in 2000. Some people close to Lee said it was one of the factors leading to his retirement at the end of last season.

League president Tony Ramos, principal of the Kamehameha Schools, said last night that the vote was not unanimous and that it came at the end of a long discussion at a regular principals' meeting on athletics yesterday morning. The argument that eventually carried, Ramos said, was that players who participated in practice all season but did not get to suit up for league games "felt like they were not part of the team."

He did not disclose the vote.

Kamehameha (80) and Punahou (66) were the other schools in the six-team football league with more than 65 players on their rosters last season.

Proponents of the player limit, including Iolani headmaster Val Iwashita, said last year that the sight of more than 100 players on the St. Louis sidelines was intimidating to smaller teams.

St. Louis has won the past 16 ILH championships and won games by scores as high as 84-0.

Lee, who remains as athletic director at St. Louis, could not be reached for comment last night.