High school football teams classified for Division II

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

The fuzzy picture of statewide classification for Hawai'i high school football finally, officially, came into focus yesterday after representatives from all five leagues agreed upon how to split up their teams and approved a format for the inaugural Division II tournament.

Six teams, with at least one representative from each league, will qualify for a three-week tournament to decide the championship for schools with small enrollments or numbers-challenged programs.

The representation and format for the eight-team Division I tournament will remain unchanged, except defending league champions Hawai'i Prep of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation and Waimea of the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation have declared themselves Division II programs.

Either Kapa'a or Kaua'i will be the KIF's Division I representative.

Also, 2001 Maui Interscholastic League champion Lahainaluna will be a Division II team, but may elect to play in the Division I tournament if it wins the MIL title.

The Division II tournament will feature at least two games on the Neighbor Islands, and possibly three. The Division II championship game will be played at 5 p.m. on Dec. 5 at Aloha Stadium as a prelude to the Division I title game set for 8.

"It was fairly smooth sailing," Hawai'i High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya said of yesterday's meeting. "All the leagues seem comfortable with the formats."

Hawai'i previously was the only state without across-the-board classification for football. A proposal for a Division II tournament was submitted at the Hawai'i Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference last month, and it gained approval there and at an HHSAA executive board meeting on June 25.

All that remained were the details, which were finalized yesterday.

"Our kids are excited, we've been excited since the first day they talked about it," said Iolani coach Wendell Look, whose program has won 80 games over the past 12 seasons but has no Prep Bowl or state tournament berths to show for it. "Everybody says we're competitive, and we've had some good years, but with the kids we have, it's tough for us to compete against Saint Louis and Kamehameha. And we had to beat them twice (to win the title). It was a physical challenge."

Now, Iolani will compete against Pac-Five and Damien for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Division II tournament berth. That representative will then face the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's White Conference runner-up in a play-in game for a chance to advance to the semifinals against Waimea.

"It's definitely not an easy road, because Pac-Five has really improved and Damien's got some size and the right attitude," Look said. "But at least this levels the playing field a bit. Some years, we were second in the league and ranked in the top five in the state, but we felt left out at the end. Now, the kids are really looking forward to the opportunity to be rewarded for their play."

The 22-team OIA has had power-based classification since 1992, and it will divide its Division I and Division II teams according to its Red and White Conferences. The six-team ILH classified itself in 2001 and will stick to its Division I and Division II formats.

The only difference for the OIA is that previously, its top two finishers in the White Conference qualified for the league playoffs and had a chance to win the overall championship. Now, the OIA's Red Conference will have an eight-team tournament and the White will have a four-team tournament, with champions crowned in each.

White Conference teams are not eligible for the OIA's overall title or the Division I state tournament.

"It's premature to think we could have won in Division I, but I think a lot of teams would like to have a shot at it," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. "To win your league, that's gotta be your goal. But I guess they don't want us to have our cake and eat it, too. If we're pegged as Division II, that's where we have to play."

Look said that's fine with him, and fans may like the change, too.

"There'll be matchups we haven't seen before, and you'll see good, competitive football," Look said.

Division I (26 teams)

BIIF — Hilo, Kea'au, Kealakehe, Waiakea

ILH — Kamehameha, Punahou, Saint Louis

KIF — Kaua'i, Kapa'a

MIL — Baldwin, King Kekaulike, Maui

OIA — Campbell, Castle, Farrington, Kahuku, Kailua, Kaimuki, Leilehua, McKinley, Mililani, Nanakuli, Pearl City, Roosevelt, Wai'anae, Waipahu

Division II (19 teams)

BIIF — Hawai'i Prep, Honoka'a, Ka'u, Kohala, Konawaena

ILH — Damien, Iolani, Pac-Five

KIF — Waimea

MIL — Lahainaluna, Pac-Three (Ka'ahumanu Hou, St. Anthony, Seabury Hall)

OIA — 'Aiea, Kaiser, Kalaheo, Kalani, Kapolei, Moanalua, Radford, Waialua

Note: Lahainaluna is the only Division II team that is eligible/may elect to play in the Division I tournament if it wins its overall league championship.