Unpaid D-I Football

[unpaid]

Campbell advanced one week further into the playoffs than Farrington did.

Punahou season was done while Kapolei was still playing. Once your season is over,to me your rank is at the mercy of teams who are still playing.last week ,I had Kapolei at three and Punahou at four after the Puns lost to the Hurricanes. Punahou SO and Kapolei loses to Kahuku so Kapolei has to go down. The teams immediately below also lost so they had to go down. Mililani won their D-I game and I bumped them up two spots to five. I did not see them as a top three team in the state so I did not move them up to three. Punahou and Kapolei are right next to each other and that is the way the rank played out to me.

Bottom line is you gotta keep winning to remove all doubt for me.

[HS Football Fanatic]

Does anyone think Mililani will commit the kind of penalties and turn the ball over as many times as Campbell did tonight? Ain't taking away anything from Iolani, but Campbell is playing as bad as they could and chose the wrong night to do it. They've turned the ball over FIVE TIMES in the 1st half. Will Mililani make these kind of mistakes next week? It was painfuy obvious for Campbell fans that their best success has come against teams with lackluster offenses and that their defense played its best when its offense didn't put them in horrific spots. Mililani is a far superior offensive team to them, although Campbell might be a far superior defensive team to Mililani. Mililani also won't struggle to find rhythm the way Campbell did tonight, as Gabriel and his receivers are far superior to anything Campbell offers. They've certainly got the offense to put themselves in favorable positions and also control the clock against Iolani. But can they protect the ball against a team that's proven tonight that one of their biggest strengths is takeaways? And will scoring 35-45 points (even against a solid defense like Iolani) be enough? I know HS Football Fanatic hopes the answers to those questions are yes.

@gopunahou: Right you are. Sorry for getting back to you so late. Actually, I was responding to your post three nights ago when my bottled water spilled onto my computer, shorting it out. Brought it in for repairs, but it's still not ready. I'm typing this on a public-library computer. You're a Punahou alumnus, so it's no surprise that you'd like to see Iolani lose this game. I'm not an Iolani alumnus, but trust me, I'd like to see Iolani lose this game as much as you do, if not more.
Campbell picked a really bad game to screw-up, didn't they? I mean, I think they were definitely favored. Now it comes down to Mililani. Mililani is our firewall; if they don't win, Iolani is state D1 champ. Heaven forbid. I think Mililani is indeed better than Campbell, but obviously they can't afford to screw-up. I think what needs to happen is that Mililani's defensive front-seven needs to try to dominate Iolani's O-line: Make them pay, get into their heads. They say Iolani prefers to run the ball, give it to Pascua. Well, Mililani's LBs, in particular, need to make him pay. When QB Mizutani tries to throw those long bombs into the end zone, Mililani's D-line needs to gain penetration and make him pay. Meanwhile, Iolani has a decent-sized D-line, so Mililani's O-line needs to see that as a challenge that's going to be met very physically. It's all up to Mililani now; there's no other team left to keep Iolani from that D1 state title. Go Trojans!

[ka'ahupahau706]

@HSFootballFanatic & @GoPunahou
As much as I don't want Iolani too win, I have a strong feeling they will. It'll probably be a close game hopefully. But I don't think Mililani can stop Iolani's offense with Pascua and Mizutani now healthy. If Mizutani was out, Mililani wins this one. But Iolani's defense is actually a tough defense, they run their games really close with the Big 3 up until like the ending of the 3rd qtr for some reason. Their D-tackles are big, but what makes them good against the other teams is that they are discipline and very scrappy. It's going to be interesting. Mililani on the other hand, not so sure about them. Haven't watched too much of their games, but they have a history of not having a strong defense especially a strong running defense. Mililani I believe has the firepower on offense, but will it be enough since Iolani has been prepped by facing offenses like Saint Louis and Punahou and Run heavy offense like Kamehameha? Should be an interesting match for the D1-State Title aka 7th place title. Hoping Mililani!

[gopunahou]

@HSFootballFanatic & @GoPunahou
As much as I don't want Iolani too win, I have a strong feeling they will. It'll probably be a close game hopefully. But I don't think Mililani can stop Iolani's offense with Pascua and Mizutani now healthy. If Mizutani was out, Mililani wins this one. But Iolani's defense is actually a tough defense, they run their games really close with the Big 3 up until like the ending of the 3rd qtr for some reason. Their D-tackles are big, but what makes them good against the other teams is that they are discipline and very scrappy. It's going to be interesting. Mililani on the other hand, not so sure about them. Haven't watched too much of their games, but they have a history of not having a strong defense especially a strong running defense. Mililani I believe has the firepower on offense, but will it be enough since Iolani has been prepped by facing offenses like Saint Louis and Punahou and Run heavy offense like Kamehameha? Should be an interesting match for the D1-State Title aka 7th place title. Hoping Mililani!

I can't believe I'm cheering for a team that denied us a championship two years ago, but as they say, lesser of two evils. I don't think Iolani can stop Mililani's O, and if that's the case, Iolani will find it hard to win.

[HS Football Fanatic]

@HSFootballFanatic & @GoPunahou
As much as I don't want Iolani too win, I have a strong feeling they will. It'll probably be a close game hopefully. But I don't think Mililani can stop Iolani's offense with Pascua and Mizutani now healthy. If Mizutani was out, Mililani wins this one. But Iolani's defense is actually a tough defense, they run their games really close with the Big 3 up until like the ending of the 3rd qtr for some reason. Their D-tackles are big, but what makes them good against the other teams is that they are discipline and very scrappy. It's going to be interesting. Mililani on the other hand, not so sure about them. Haven't watched too much of their games, but they have a history of not having a strong defense especially a strong running defense. Mililani I believe has the firepower on offense, but will it be enough since Iolani has been prepped by facing offenses like Saint Louis and Punahou and Run heavy offense like Kamehameha? Should be an interesting match for the D1-State Title aka 7th place title. Hoping Mililani!

@ka'ahupahau706: OK, now there are three guys on this thread who don't want Iolani to win. Let's hope the football gods grant our wish.

[HS Football Fanatic]

@HSFootballFanatic & @GoPunahou
As much as I don't want Iolani too win, I have a strong feeling they will. It'll probably be a close game hopefully. But I don't think Mililani can stop Iolani's offense with Pascua and Mizutani now healthy. If Mizutani was out, Mililani wins this one. But Iolani's defense is actually a tough defense, they run their games really close with the Big 3 up until like the ending of the 3rd qtr for some reason. Their D-tackles are big, but what makes them good against the other teams is that they are discipline and very scrappy. It's going to be interesting. Mililani on the other hand, not so sure about them. Haven't watched too much of their games, but they have a history of not having a strong defense especially a strong running defense. Mililani I believe has the firepower on offense, but will it be enough since Iolani has been prepped by facing offenses like Saint Louis and Punahou and Run heavy offense like Kamehameha? Should be an interesting match for the D1-State Title aka 7th place title. Hoping Mililani!

I can't believe I'm cheering for a team that denied us a championship two years ago, but as they say, lesser of two evils. I don't think Iolani can stop Mililani's O, and if that's the case, Iolani will find it hard to win.

@gopunahou: Exactly. I think it's important that Punahou alumni keep in mind that Iolani is their alma mater's most bitter rival, not Mililani. Yes, Mililani did deny Punahou the state D1 football title, but that was two years ago. However, since Punahou and Iolani are in the same league (ILH), they are doing battle with each other every year, in every sport. And, don't forget that Iolani denied Punahou the state D1 boys' basketball title just last year. Since Mililani is in the OIA, Punahou and Mililani play each other only in exhibition games, invitationals, and state tourneys. It's statistically possible that Punahou and Mililani might never play each other at all, during any given school year. So for all the aforementioned reasons, gopunahou, you have every reason to cheer for Mililani. I'm doing the same. Go Trojans!

[soleu]

@HSFootballFanatic & @GoPunahou
As much as I don't want Iolani too win, I have a strong feeling they will. It'll probably be a close game hopefully. But I don't think Mililani can stop Iolani's offense with Pascua and Mizutani now healthy. If Mizutani was out, Mililani wins this one. But Iolani's defense is actually a tough defense, they run their games really close with the Big 3 up until like the ending of the 3rd qtr for some reason. Their D-tackles are big, but what makes them good against the other teams is that they are discipline and very scrappy. It's going to be interesting. Mililani on the other hand, not so sure about them. Haven't watched too much of their games, but they have a history of not having a strong defense especially a strong running defense. Mililani I believe has the firepower on offense, but will it be enough since Iolani has been prepped by facing offenses like Saint Louis and Punahou and Run heavy offense like Kamehameha? Should be an interesting match for the D1-State Title aka 7th place title. Hoping Mililani!

@ka'ahupahau706: OK, now there are three guys on this thread who don't want Iolani to win. Let's hope the football gods grant our wish.

4

[bandits1]

I think it's faster to count up the ones cheering for Iolani. I might have missed it, but I haven't seen a single person here that's backing the Raiders, which is weird because I would've guessed if you back any ILH school, you'd back any other ILH school that happens to make a state final if yours doesn't. That's how I am. It's Pearl City --> any school that used to belong to the old Leeward District --> Western Conference --> any OIA school --> any public school --> any outer island school public or private. The only time I back the ILH is if they're playing a mainland team.

[bandits1]

Campbell advanced one week further into the playoffs than Farrington did.

Punahou season was done while Kapolei was still playing. Once your season is over,to me your rank is at the mercy of teams who are still playing.last week ,I had Kapolei at three and Punahou at four after the Puns lost to the Hurricanes. Punahou SO and Kapolei loses to Kahuku so Kapolei has to go down. The teams immediately below also lost so they had to go down. Mililani won their D-I game and I bumped them up two spots to five. I did not see them as a top three team in the state so I did not move them up to three. Punahou and Kapolei are right next to each other and that is the way the rank played out to me.

Bottom line is you gotta keep winning to remove all doubt for me.

Basically, what you're saying is in your mind Punahou was always the superior team, even after they got beat by double-digits by Kapolei? Is that where your "doubt" comes in?

The way I see it, if you want to figure which of two teams is the better one, get them on the same field/court/track/whatever and let them play head-to-head. The bigger the stage the better, and this season it doesn't get any bigger than the inaugural Open Division State Football Tournament. That happened and Kapolei won...end of story.

[finlandia]

Ha, I'm one for Iolani...but I'm an alumnus. The ILH has always been weird in that there's no shared sense of league spirit. When St. Louis was stomping everyone in football, we backed the OIA team in the Prep Bowl most years. Because enough already. Punahou would've been the same way due to the rivalry. The other schools, ok, no one had anything against them.

You want to see some Iolani/Punahou rivalry, though? Forget football. Boy's water polo is where the action is (at least, back in my day). When it's the two of you for the state title every year, it gets heated.

The recipe for beating Iolani hasn't changed in decades. Don't make any mistakes. Don't give Iolani any openings to take advantage. Contain the run. Overwhelm with greater power or athleticism to overcome Iolani's scrappiness and team efficiency. Stay cool and disciplined no matter what. But not easy to do. Campbell got rattled early and that was it for them. Many forced long passes and senseless penalties in that game.

[gopunahou]

Ha, I'm one for Iolani...but I'm an alumnus. The ILH has always been weird in that there's no shared sense of league spirit. When St. Louis was stomping everyone in football, we backed the OIA team in the Prep Bowl most years. Because enough already. Punahou would've been the same way due to the rivalry. The other schools, ok, no one had anything against them.

You want to see some Iolani/Punahou rivalry, though? Forget football. Boy's water polo is where the action is (at least, back in my day). When it's the two of you for the state title every year, it gets heated.

The recipe for beating Iolani hasn't changed in decades. Don't make any mistakes. Don't give Iolani any openings to take advantage. Contain the run. Overwhelm with greater power or athleticism to overcome Iolani's scrappiness and team efficiency. Stay cool and disciplined no matter what. But not easy to do. Campbell got rattled early and that was it for them. Many forced long passes and senseless penalties in that game.

Was this the case when Joe Igber played for you guys?

[HS Football Fanatic]

I think it's faster to count up the ones cheering for Iolani. I might have missed it, but I haven't seen a single person here that's backing the Raiders, which is weird because I would've guessed if you back any ILH school, you'd back any other ILH school that happens to make a state final if yours doesn't. That's how I am. It's Pearl City --> any school that used to belong to the old Leeward District --> Western Conference --> any OIA school --> any public school --> any outer island school public or private. The only time I back the ILH is if they're playing a mainland team.

@bandits: That's really interesting. For me, it's strictly about the individual school. For me, the league doesn't matter at all. There are some schools I like, and there are some schools I don't like. There are two schools that I simply don't care for at all, and it does just so happen that both of them are in the ILH. Furthermore, I guess you could say that I dislike those two schools enough that--if either of them were playing a mainland school--I would actually support the mainland school! I know that sounds crazy, but that's how it is for me. What can I say? It is what it is. I guess that that shows how different we all are on this message-board. Now as for your alma mater--Pearl City--I'm OK with them. I have no reason to dislike them. Therefore, should Pearl City play a mainland school, I would support Pearl City.

[HS Football Fanatic]

@HSFootballFanatic & @GoPunahou
As much as I don't want Iolani too win, I have a strong feeling they will. It'll probably be a close game hopefully. But I don't think Mililani can stop Iolani's offense with Pascua and Mizutani now healthy. If Mizutani was out, Mililani wins this one. But Iolani's defense is actually a tough defense, they run their games really close with the Big 3 up until like the ending of the 3rd qtr for some reason. Their D-tackles are big, but what makes them good against the other teams is that they are discipline and very scrappy. It's going to be interesting. Mililani on the other hand, not so sure about them. Haven't watched too much of their games, but they have a history of not having a strong defense especially a strong running defense. Mililani I believe has the firepower on offense, but will it be enough since Iolani has been prepped by facing offenses like Saint Louis and Punahou and Run heavy offense like Kamehameha? Should be an interesting match for the D1-State Title aka 7th place title. Hoping Mililani!

@ka'ahupahau706: OK, now there are three guys on this thread who don't want Iolani to win. Let's hope the football gods grant our wish.

4

@soleu: Welcome to the "Don't want Iolani to win" club! OK, so that's four of us now! Are you watching, football gods? (I can't bring myself to say, "Anti Iolani" club; somehow I feel that that would be a little too harsh to say about a high school. I mean, after all, high schools are about kids. But, I still don't want Iolani to win the state D1 title!)

[HS Football Fanatic]

Ha, I'm one for Iolani...but I'm an alumnus. The ILH has always been weird in that there's no shared sense of league spirit. When St. Louis was stomping everyone in football, we backed the OIA team in the Prep Bowl most years. Because enough already. Punahou would've been the same way due to the rivalry. The other schools, ok, no one had anything against them.

You want to see some Iolani/Punahou rivalry, though? Forget football. Boy's water polo is where the action is (at least, back in my day). When it's the two of you for the state title every year, it gets heated.

The recipe for beating Iolani hasn't changed in decades. Don't make any mistakes. Don't give Iolani any openings to take advantage. Contain the run. Overwhelm with greater power or athleticism to overcome Iolani's scrappiness and team efficiency. Stay cool and disciplined no matter what. But not easy to do. Campbell got rattled early and that was it for them. Many forced long passes and senseless penalties in that game.

@finlandia: I totally respect you. Yes, I don't care for your alma mater, but nonetheless I totally respect you as you support your alma mater. I refuse to stoop so low as to resent an alumnus for supporting his or her alma mater. An alumnus has a right--even a duty--to support his or her alma mater; I will never begrudge that. I know a few colleagues at my place of work who are "league loyalists"; some of them are OIA loyalists, some are ILH loyalists. As I mentioned in a previous post, I simply can't bring myself to be loyal to a league. I mean, if your alma mater is a bitter rival of some particular school, and that particular school happens to be in the same league as your alma mater, why should you ever have to feel compelled to support that school just because it's in the same league? Seems to me that if you insist on being a "league loyalist," you tie your own hands. I mean, if you don't like a certain school--for whatever reason(s)--why should you ever have to feel compelled to support that school? League loyalty artificially prevents you from acting on your true feelings about a school or schools which you dislike for whatever reason(s). Let it all hang out. To me, if you dislike a certain school, cheer against it. Why worry about whether that school is in your alma mater's league or not? Let your feelings about that school guide you. Why go against your own true feelings? Go with your flow.

[bandits1]

^^^You should just bite the bullet and italicize an entire paragraph for extreme emphasis haha.

And I cheer for the OIA because there isn't a single Oahu public school I dislike more than the major schools in the ILH. In-league or regional rivalries are one thing, but if you check out the online banter when this Open Division was first announced, those rivalries are nothing compared to the OIA-ILH rivalry. Nothing.