unpaid D-1 football

[unpaid]

The upcoming 2014 season seems very promising in terms of competitiveness.A case could be made that as many as six teams have a good shot to take the title.

1.Punahou. They have one glaring void at quarterback.Coach Ane can make do with a good game manager because he has runners and pass-catchers and linemen to surround the new QB.Defense will be beastly again with Canton Kaumatule and several more playmakers coming back.

2.Mililani. Offense is set with Milton and Malepeai..some good linemen return. Coach York would like to keep this run going.

3.Kamehameha. Sua-Godinet returns at the controls.Mika Tafua is a national top 300 prospect.

4.St.Louis. The Crusaders are the most intriguing team. With Cal Lee,you don;t have to talk potential....the reality of what he has done for Hawaii high school football is enough. The question is...how fast can he start? Offense will not be a problem with Ulu-Perry blocking for a host of offensive returnees.Defense was the sore spot last year and may be again this year..but expect Coach Lee to turn that around.

5.Kahuku..Red Raiders should rebound from a very un-Kahuku like 2013 season..Lee Leslie has plenty of talent to work with. The question is how fast can he install his system..how soon can the team execute it like second nature.?

6.Campbell. To me,the Sabers have become a very solid public school program that can consistently land between 5 and 7 in the polls each year. If they could just trick that offense up and get into finals at states.

7.Farrington. Might have the Govs a little low. Liana comes back for season 3 as the QB,so that is a good start.Farrington can usually find a 1,000-yd rusher or two also.

8.Leilehua. Might have the Mules a little low but there are only ten spots in this rank.Ikaika Piceno should be back to catch balls from the next QB who gets plugged into the state's most consistent passing attack.

9.Waianae...whatever the SeaRiders may lose to other schools in talent,they seem to find kids to step up and keep Waianae in contention for a play-off berth and a chance for a trip to states.

10.Kapolei.

[Rocket95]

Hawaii High School football is almost here. Your top ten seems legit. But for some reason I feel that with all the changes in the off season, I really don't think there's a strong favorite to win it all. Best of luck to all the teams, players and coaches. Let the good times roll.

[saynotomercs]

Hawaii High School football is almost here. Your top ten seems legit. But for some reason I feel that with all the changes in the off season, I really don't think there's a strong favorite to win it all. Best of luck to all the teams, players and coaches. Let the good times roll.

I don't think they're an unbeatable juggernaut, but Punahou has to be a strong favorite at this point.

[saynotomercs]

The upcoming 2014 season seems very promising in terms of competitiveness.A case could be made that as many as six teams have a good shot to take the title.

1.Punahou. They have one glaring void at quarterback.Coach Ane can make do with a good game manager because he has runners and pass-catchers and linemen to surround the new QB.Defense will be beastly again with Canton Kaumatule and several more playmakers coming back.

2.Mililani. Offense is set with Milton and Malepeai..some good linemen return. Coach York would like to keep this run going.

3.Kamehameha. Sua-Godinet returns at the controls.Mika Tafua is a national top 300 prospect.

4.St.Louis. The Crusaders are the most intriguing team. With Cal Lee,you don;t have to talk potential....the reality of what he has done for Hawaii high school football is enough. The question is...how fast can he start? Offense will not be a problem with Ulu-Perry blocking for a host of offensive returnees.Defense was the sore spot last year and may be again this year..but expect Coach Lee to turn that around.

5.Kahuku..Red Raiders should rebound from a very un-Kahuku like 2013 season..Lee Leslie has plenty of talent to work with. The question is how fast can he install his system..how soon can the team execute it like second nature.?

6.Campbell. To me,the Sabers have become a very solid public school program that can consistently land between 5 and 7 in the polls each year. If they could just trick that offense up and get into finals at states.

7.Farrington. Might have the Govs a little low. Liana comes back for season 3 as the QB,so that is a good start.Farrington can usually find a 1,000-yd rusher or two also.

8.Leilehua. Might have the Mules a little low but there are only ten spots in this rank.Ikaika Piceno should be back to catch balls from the next QB who gets plugged into the state's most consistent passing attack.

9.Waianae...whatever the SeaRiders may lose to other schools in talent,they seem to find kids to step up and keep Waianae in contention for a play-off berth and a chance for a trip to states.

10.Kapolei.

Thanks for the post unpaid. Good work.

Punahou should be fine at QB. I think Ephraim Tuiloa will be a top 5 QB in the state at minimum. I'm a little worried about the health of Kaumatule and Uluave as well as the departure of Fitisemanu. Plus the secondary hasn't been good for years now. But Taulapapa, Noa, and a menacing LB core puts them clearly at the top right now.

Mililani should have the best offense in the OIA by a decent margin. But they lose a ton off of that defense. I think Saint Louis will be a little better.

A healthy Apelu would go a long way for Kamehameha. They're replacing a lot of experience on the offensive line. The defense should be pretty good- they return more than just Tafua and Kane. Sua-Godinet has to get much better for them to contend for an ILH title.

Saint Louis is stacked on offense again. QB competition is good, but Kuhns needs to be given the reigns outright. Tagovailoa is very talented in his own right, but he doesn't have the natural feel that Kuhns has. Back 7 is deep but lacking in top-end talent. Defensive line is a real question mark. Do their two 2016 DTs who unjustly didn't get much run last year return? If not, Saint Louis is in a world of trouble up front.

Kahuku is my favorite in the OIA this year. They have a deeper bag of top-end talent than they've had the past couple of years. How good is their offensive line?

There are a lot of question marks with Campbell right now. Soloman Matautia might be a one-man show and the Sabers are one of the few OIA teams with multiple FBS prospects, but who takes the reigns on offense? Kapolei seems to have gutted their talent base. Fortunately for Campbell, they have much better coaching.

Farrington does what they do. It's too bad that Liana didn't take the leap I thought he would last year.

[unpaid]

Thanks for the replies...keep it coming!

Rocket95,I agree with you about the possibilities in 2014.for the last five years it.s been Kahuku or one of the Big Three from the ILH ...this year I feel there are more than just two contenders.Let's see what happens.

saynotomercs,I always enjoy reading your posts. I feel like I may have Kahuku too low,but they do have a new coach who is trying to install his schemes and there is a learning curve that involves some delay. That said,Doug Cosbie came in new to Kamehameha last year,and despite the reservations I have about new coaches in general, the Warriors finished second in the ILH. Maybe my concerns are unfounded with Kahuku as well,but we shall see.

Cal Lee is the Man in Hawaii prep football..if he can take St.Louis to the top in his first year back,then I would have to say he is the Superman of prep football.

[rrforlifebaby]

No real arguments with your preseason poll.
Like alot of people, anxious to see What happens in Red Raider land.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Crusaders win it all with Cal Lee back.
Hate to say it, but with Coach Reg at Punahou, Puns have elevated their coaching ability(even if he's only handling the Oline)...he may not be the best coach in the state, but Coach Reg does bring alot to the table.

A little over a month to go.
Wishing all the boy's the best.

Go Big Red!!!

[Optimus]

Kaiser will come back to reality and will show why they belong in DII.
I predict some bad blowouts coming the Cougs way. Returning players will know how it feels to be on the other side of RUTS

[huki-lau-lau]

Cal Lee is the Man in Hawaii prep football..if he can take St.Louis to the top in his first year back,then I would have to say he is the Superman of prep football.

First year head coaches winning a D1 state title has already been done

2005 - Kahuku Reggie Torres
2010 - St. Louis Darnell Arcenaux

I think if coach Cal Lee wins a state title his first and second year back then maybe we call him superman.
Kahuku first year head coach Lee Leslie has enough talent to make a run for OIA and state titles, only time will tell how his system will fit in with the kahuku athletes.

[rrforlifebaby]

Cal Lee is the Man in Hawaii prep football..if he can take St.Louis to the top in his first year back,then I would have to say he is the Superman of prep football.

First year head coaches winning a D1 state title has already been done

2005 - Kahuku Reggie Torres
2010 - St. Louis Darnell Arcenaux

I think if coach Cal Lee wins a state title his first and second year back then maybe we call him superman.
Kahuku first year head coach Lee Leslie has enough talent to make a run for OIA and state titles, only time will tell how his system will fit in with the kahuku athletes.

Honestly my braddah, it really shouldn't matter what type of system is being run in Kahuku. Red Raider Land has tons of athletes.
The biggest Fail is when people outside of the team get more involved than they should and/or get into the heads of the kids.
If the community just gives Coach Leslie room to breathe and grow, the program should be just fine and more trophies will be heading to the North Shore again.

[unpaid]

I am wondering how long the OIA will stay with it's move away from Red divisions based on geography. They now are committed to changing the teams in each D-I division every two years based on records.I think it will be hard to maintain rivalries when there is no guarantee that you play your opponent that you love to hate.

Was there a need for the OIA to do this. Really,if you look at the history of champions in the OIA,you will see things come in cycles.Waialua used to rule the OIA in the fifties,Waipahu had a run too,then Waianae,and now Kahuku.
Kahuku and Farrington have ruled the old East for many years while the old West was getting more competitive..Twenty years from now there will probably be different contenders...so why try to legislate competition?

Thoughts?

[reignjah11]

^With all the development goin on in kapolei area I think kapolei will be power team in the future.

[bandits1]

I agree that classic rivalries are fun, but for me the East was getting stale -- during the regular season, anyway. Basically there was just one East rivalry that mattered at all at the OIA or state-wide level, and that's of course Kahuku vs Farrington. The West has been exactly the opposite with Waianae, Leilehua and Mililani all taking turns being the conference elite and most of the other teams being at least competitive. And now the Campbell program looks to be on the rise, too.

I think the new alignment will at very least give the OIA teams a chance to play against and tune up for different styles of high-level offenses during the regular season. That'll hopefully prepare them better for the post season vs the ILH. And mixing up the East/West might mitigate at least a little bit the argument over which is the "best" conference. They can always re-align again later if it doesn't work.

[BowTow]

^With all the development goin on in kapolei area I think kapolei will be power team in the future.

Not with Hernandez as Head Coach.

[FatherofCody&Casey]

^With all the development goin on in kapolei area I think kapolei will be power team in the future.

Not with Hernandez as Head Coach.

And not with Mililani performing as well as it is. Speaking of which, has Mililani replaced Waianae as the king of the west and perennial challenger to Kahuku? A lot of people said that about Leilehua when Manley and Sadanaga were doing their thing, but Mililani has looked more dominant and is relying on bigger players. The state of Waianae reminds me of the state of Notre Dame football. A storied program that's fallen on hard times and can't seem to get up (save for one finals appearance, both for ND and Waianae). Notre Dame is a shell of its former self. Will Waianae always be a shell of the dominant teams of the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s?

[unpaid]

Football games are a few weeks away...summer practices are starting.Who do you have in your top ten?

Post it..you know you want to.D-I and D-II..maybe you are like the StarAdvertiser and only want one ranking for all teams...cool ...post it. Thanks.