Should Iolani be ranked?

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Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by HS Football Fanatic »

Seems that for the past five years at least, guys have had a lot to say about whether Iolani should be in D1. I recall guys going back and forth on that issue, and quite a few posts were generated, and sometimes on more than one thread. Seemed like a pretty hot topic every year. Well, Iolani was in D1 last year, and they're in D1 again this year. Just this past weekend, they defeated Radford pretty decisively. Not only is Radford D1 this year, they were state D2 champs last year. So my question is: Should Iolani be ranked? Not that I want them to be ranked; I'm not an Iolani alumnus. But, after defeating state D2 champ Radford quite decisively, should Iolani be ranked? Say, at #10? Just throwing that out there. I'm surprised that no one has broached the "Iolani question" yet, this year. That's why I generated this thread; the silence has been deafening. Also, I've noticed that no one on any thread has Iolani ranked yet, even after the Radford game. And again, please note: I'm not an Iolani alumnus, so it's not like I'm biased towards them.
Last edited by HS Football Fanatic on Mon Aug 08, 2016 4:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Markeke
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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by Markeke »

Yes, go rank them #1 in Division 2. Just joking. We all know Radford was a stacked team last year. Even Coach Sala noa exited at the right time. They were the OIA D2 recruited team. Faumui and Yanabe from Kalani. Others back from Mililani. With all the OIA rules in place, won't happen again. But Iolani is a good team and should be ranked according to how their season in the ILH plays out.

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

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Markeke wrote:Yes, go rank them #1 in Division 2. Just joking. We all know Radford was a stacked team last year. Even Coach Sala noa exited at the right time. They were the OIA D2 recruited team. Faumui and Yanabe from Kalani. Others back from Mililani. With all the OIA rules in place, won't happen again. But Iolani is a good team and should be ranked according to how their season in the ILH plays out.
@Markeke: Think they can knock-off Kamehameha?

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by bandits1 »

Iolani warranted much discussion when they were dominating D2, then some more discussion when the decision was being made whether or not to move them up to D1, but now that they are, in fact, a D1 team, IMO, they don't warrant any more discussion than any other non-playoff team until they start winning games against better teams. Radford isn't even close to being one of those better teams.

So far, Iolani has proven to be nothing against the three other ILH D1 teams and would be nothing against the top four OIA D1 teams. I'd even bet the "mid-major" OIA D1 teams -- Kailua, Moanalua and perhaps early on this season, Mililani -- could beat Iolani.

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by Markeke »

[quote="HS Fanatic

@Markeke: Think they can knock-off Kamehameha?[/quote]
Nope. Not in the first half of the ILH.

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by HS Football Fanatic »

Markeke wrote:[quote="HS Fanatic

@Markeke: Think they can knock-off Kamehameha?
Nope. Not in the first half of the ILH.[/quote]

@Markeke: Interesting. What makes you think they might be able to do it in the second round?

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by HS Football Fanatic »

Well, Castle thumped Radford last night, 47-6. Guess I overestimated both Radford and Iolani. After this Castle game, perhaps Iolani shouldn't be ranked. Considering that Radford won the D2 state title last year, they are really in a free fall. It's like, did they lose the entire team to graduation?

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by gopunahou »

HS Football Fanatic wrote:Well, Castle thumped Radford last night, 47-6. Guess I overestimated both Radford and Iolani. After this Castle game, perhaps Iolani shouldn't be ranked. Considering that Radford won the D2 state title last year, they are really in a free fall. It's like, did they lose the entire team to graduation?
Maybe they've got a truckload of players injured, on AP, or both. Regardless, I've got them winning 2 games (Radford). Iolani should beat Waimea next week since that's a home game for them. I've got them winning between 15-30 points.
Punahou Football: 12-1, 2008 ILH and State Champions! 11-0, 2013 ILH and State Champions, a team for the ages!

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by unpaid »

As a Radford alumnus,I think I have to clear up some misconceptions about the Rams.

I evaluate my Rams just like I evaluate every other team in my rankings thread...so here is the skinny.

Iolani beating Radford is not a reason to rank Iolani in the top ten of Hawaii D-I teams.

This is what Radford lost off of last year's D-II championship team. Around 26 seniors,which ,when you consider they suited up just shy of 60 last year,means a third of that championship squad graduated.These guys got the majority of playing time. Among this group,Radford lost it's starting QB,all but three starting OL,the top four receivers,and top four rushers. The RB Losses were especially big ,because Ace Faumui had 1300+ rushing yards and Kodi Ongory-Mathis had almost 900 yards. Nobody in the state had a better 1-2 punch on the ground than Radford last year. All that gone.

Transfers.Minihan kid transfers to St.Louis before last season. After last season,two D studs transfers. Jordan Walker was the D-II Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. Playing at Silverado in Las Vegas. Ace's brother,Aaron was a big 6-3 250 DL/TE. Transferred after last season ,playing for Orem in Utah. Did a few kids return from Mililani...Yeah,but the fact that they came back to Radford means that Radford was the high school complex they grew up in in the first place. If anybody did any recruiting with those kids ,it would have been Mililani. I just think they transferred to Mililani,didn't get playing time and came back to Radford.Good on them...better to be a Ram than a Trojan...he-he! No,I don't think Mililani recruited those guys..they were probably just following a coach who went from Radford to Mililani.

Recruiting. I have been following Hawaii prep sports since the late 1960's. I can't think of one coach who has ever been dismissed for recruiting.Eyes are always looking,so in 50 years nobody has tripped up? Kids are obviously switching schools, so,if there have been no repercussions to even one head coach, then maybe it's not recruiting. Maybe it's the family saying this is a better situation for my kid.Recruiting is illegal for public high schools. A family trying to give their kid a perceived better chance in life is not illegal....as long as the paperwork satisfies the league admins.

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by Markeke »

HS Football Fanatic wrote:
Markeke wrote:[quote="HS Fanatic

@Markeke: Think they can knock-off Kamehameha?
Nope. Not in the first half of the ILH.
@Markeke: Interesting. What makes you think they might be able to do it in the second round?[/quote]

First of all, Iolani does have a good team,good facilities,good coaches,good program,etc. But they are in a highly competitive league. If Iolani stays healthy with the key players, yes they can beat Kamehameha.

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by Neighbor »

Last year was last year. Don't factor too much of that into what's currently going on. Yes, they're D2 champs, but they lost a lot of players and they're in D1 now with a new head coach.

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Re: Should Iolani be ranked?

Post by gopunahou »

One question about Iolani: does anyone think that they'll reach the level they did between 1996 and 2001? Or were those years an anomaly/aberration?

Not only did Iolani beat/hold its own against every ILH team not named St. Louis between 1996-2001, they also had a boatload of D1 prospects. Every year between 1997 and 2002, there'd be at least one Iolani student that'd go to a major college. Graduates between 1997 and 2002 include Ed Taamu, Matt Wright, Joe Igber, Uriah Moenoa, Willy Kava, and Donny Mateaki.
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