Posted on: Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Crusaders, Buffanblu will face Utah's best

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Saint Louis and Punahou will each face a defending state champion from Utah in a high school football doubleheader Sept. 10 at Aloha Stadium.

Davis, in Kaysville, was Utah's 5A (highest level) champion in 2004 and Timpview, of Provo, won the state 4A title last season. Davis will meet perennial powerhouse Saint Louis at 5 p.m., followed by Punahou vs. Timpview at 8.

The doubleheader is being organized by Hawai'i High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya and is billed as the "HHSAA Foundation Football Classic." The HHSAA Foundation is a newly formed entity intended to financially supplement the HHSAA and assist with events and programs, such as the Nissan Hawai'i High School Hall of Honor.

Amemiya was referred to Davis and Timpview by the Utah High School Activities Association's executive director.

"I thought this was a natural fit, with the many ties Utah has with Hawai'i in football," said Amemiya, who added he would like to organize similar doubleheaders on a yearly basis. "This is another great opportunity to showcase Hawai'i football and to test our teams' skills against the best competition the Mainland has to offer."

In 2002, Kahuku played No. 4-ranked Long Beach (Calif.) Poly and Saint Louis faced No. 1 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) in a doubleheader that drew more than 27,000 to Aloha Stadium and attracted national media attention.

"This is another great opportunity for the kids in our program," said Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan, who guided the Crusaders in their 31-21 loss to De La Salle. "I don't think too many high school programs can compare with De La Salle, but any time you have a defending state champion, you know you're facing a solid program that has a lot of pride in what they did."

Saint Louis saw its streak of 18 straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships broken last season. The Crusaders, who have been nationally ranked often in the past two decades, already have exchanged game film with Davis.

"I was very impressed with what I saw," said Davis coach Ryan Bishop. "Obviously I knew they have a great program at Saint Louis, and everything I saw on film just solidified that. I don't think there's any state that plays better football than Hawai'i does, so this is a great opportunity for our kids to play a nationally regarded team."

Timpview's first-year head coach is Louis Wong, a former standout at Castle High School and Brigham Young University. Three of his assistants — Gary Clark, Jason Walker and Bobby Kauo — also are from Hawai'i.

"I think the top teams in every state are all good," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "It'll be a good test. We're looking forward to it."

Reach Wes Nakama at wwnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.