ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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We're in for an epic season if this happens! Just thinking of all the exciting matchups that will take place every week is gonna be crazy!

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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Selfishly this probably means I can’t go to Aloha Stadium for every game now.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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This is great news, but it's pretty crazy how Iolani, and to a lesser extent Pearl City, either decided or had it decided for them to be in the lowest possible division. Iolani should definitely swap places with Radford, but deciding who Pearl City would replace is a little harder.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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EITSwarrior wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:03 am Selfishly this probably means I can’t go to Aloha Stadium for every game now.
Yes, I am a cry baby about the away side of the stands at higschool fields. I think only Mililani has away seats high enough to actually see the game. It’s been such a routine going to Aloha Stadium every week

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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bandits1 wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:12 pm This is great news, but it's pretty crazy how Iolani, and to a lesser extent Pearl City, either decided or had it decided for them to be in the lowest possible division. Iolani should definitely swap places with Radford, but deciding who Pearl City would replace is a little harder.
Years ago I would've bashed them and made a thread about that, but last year's team was pretty small. If Iolani fields a team as big as the Igber teams did and STILL decides to play in D2, that's cowardice at its finest as well as narcissism!
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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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EITSwarrior wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:03 am Selfishly this probably means I can’t go to Aloha Stadium for every game now.
@EITSwarrior: But, I think you're justified in being "selfish" here. Aloha Stadium is the best; lots of parking, lots of seats, high-tech scoreboard, decent bathrooms. The only thing that sucks is that food/soda prices are sky-high. But, at many school stadiums, there can be parking problems, sucky/limited seating, sucky scoreboard, sucky bathrooms, and poor lighting of the field.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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genks wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:12 pm
EITSwarrior wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:03 am Selfishly this probably means I can’t go to Aloha Stadium for every game now.
Yes, I am a cry baby about the away side of the stands at higschool fields. I think only Mililani has away seats high enough to actually see the game. It’s been such a routine going to Aloha Stadium every week
@genks: Yeah. Again, some school stadiums really suck.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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gopunahou wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:29 pm
bandits1 wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:12 pm This is great news, but it's pretty crazy how Iolani, and to a lesser extent Pearl City, either decided or had it decided for them to be in the lowest possible division. Iolani should definitely swap places with Radford, but deciding who Pearl City would replace is a little harder.
Years ago I would've bashed them and made a thread about that, but last year's team was pretty small. If Iolani fields a team as big as the Igber teams did and STILL decides to play in D2, that's cowardice at its finest as well as narcissism!
@gopunahou: Well, Iolani being in D2 for football has been controversial for years. I mean, I honestly don't care for Iolani School very much at all. I didn't want their girls' soccer team to win the D1 state title, for example. I was pulling really hard for Pearl City. When Iolani won, I felt very frustrated. I'm glad Pearl City made it close; they lost only by the score of 1-0. Can't get any closer than that. But, football is totally different than girls' soccer. It's harder to field a good football team than a good soccer team. Football is a violent sport in which violent contact is made on every play, especially by the linemen. Iolani School doesn't have the enrollment or the turnout to field a football team that can hang with St Louis School or Kahuku High. Of course, Iolani was pretty good when they had Igber back in the '90s. But, more often they usually don't have the size, especially on the line. And, when guys get injured, Iolani usually doesn't have the numbers. Compare Iolani with schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools might have anywhere from 50 to 90 guys on the roster, and the linemen usually have decent size. Worse, schools like Iolani that don't have a big roster, linemen often have to play both ways. It's simply very difficult to play against schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha when you're like that. Imagine being a two-way Iolani lineman, and you're playing St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools have linemen that are huge and good, plus they're fresh, not having to play both ways.
Last edited by HS Football Fanatic on Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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HS Football Fanatic wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:10 pm
gopunahou wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:29 pm
bandits1 wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:12 pm This is great news, but it's pretty crazy how Iolani, and to a lesser extent Pearl City, either decided or had it decided for them to be in the lowest possible division. Iolani should definitely swap places with Radford, but deciding who Pearl City would replace is a little harder.
Years ago I would've bashed them and made a thread about that, but last year's team was pretty small. If Iolani fields a team as big as the Igber teams did and STILL decides to play in D2, that's cowardice at its finest as well as narcissism!
@gopunahou: Well, Iolani being in D2 for football has been controversial for years. I mean, I honestly don't care for Iolani School very much at all. I didn't want their girls' soccer team to win the D1 state title, for example. I was pulling really hard for Pearl City. When Iolani won, I felt very frustrated. I'm glad Pearl City made it close; they lost only by the score of 1-0. Can't get any closer than that. But, football is totally different than girls' soccer. It's harder to field a good football team than a good soccer team. Football is a violent sport in which violent contact is made on every play, especially by the linemen. Iolani School doesn't have the enrollment or the turnout to field a football team that can hang with St Louis School or Kahuku High. Of course, Iolani was pretty good when they had Igber back in the '90s. But, more often they usually don't have the size, especially on the line. And, when guys get injured, Iolani usually doesn't have the numbers. Compare Iolani with schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools might have anywhere from 50 to 90 guys on the roster, and the linemen usually have decent size. Worse, schools like Iolani that don't have a big roster, linemen often have to play both ways. It's simply very difficult to play against schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha when you're like that. Imagine being a two-way Iolani lineman, and you're playing St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools have linemen that are huge and good, plus they're fresh, not having to play both ways.
Do you think that the Igber years are ceiling for Iolani football, much less the exception? Remember, in '97 and '98 (Igber's junior and senior years), they had a better and bigger team than we, not to mention a winning record against us.
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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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gopunahou wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:45 pm
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:10 pm
gopunahou wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:29 pm
Years ago I would've bashed them and made a thread about that, but last year's team was pretty small. If Iolani fields a team as big as the Igber teams did and STILL decides to play in D2, that's cowardice at its finest as well as narcissism!
@gopunahou: Well, Iolani being in D2 for football has been controversial for years. I mean, I honestly don't care for Iolani School very much at all. I didn't want their girls' soccer team to win the D1 state title, for example. I was pulling really hard for Pearl City. When Iolani won, I felt very frustrated. I'm glad Pearl City made it close; they lost only by the score of 1-0. Can't get any closer than that. But, football is totally different than girls' soccer. It's harder to field a good football team than a good soccer team. Football is a violent sport in which violent contact is made on every play, especially by the linemen. Iolani School doesn't have the enrollment or the turnout to field a football team that can hang with St Louis School or Kahuku High. Of course, Iolani was pretty good when they had Igber back in the '90s. But, more often they usually don't have the size, especially on the line. And, when guys get injured, Iolani usually doesn't have the numbers. Compare Iolani with schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools might have anywhere from 50 to 90 guys on the roster, and the linemen usually have decent size. Worse, schools like Iolani that don't have a big roster, linemen often have to play both ways. It's simply very difficult to play against schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha when you're like that. Imagine being a two-way Iolani lineman, and you're playing St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools have linemen that are huge and good, plus they're fresh, not having to play both ways.
Do you think that the Igber years are ceiling for Iolani football, much less the exception? Remember, in '97 and '98 (Igber's junior and senior years), they had a better and bigger team than we, not to mention a winning record against us.
@gopunahou: That's amazing, when you think about it. I guess times have changed. Back in the '70s and '80s, before there was a D1 and D2, Iolani played St Louis, Punahou, and Kamehameha straight-up, twice. Heck, in '80, Iolani won the ILH, which meant they beat Punahou, St Louis, and Kamehameha. And then they tied Waianae in the Prep Bowl. As you might know, Waianae was just as big and physical as Punahou, St Louis, and Kamehameha. I remember that year ('80), Iolani had a big, good O-line, and they had an outstanding receiver in Dirk Apao (good hands, and really fast). And you say that Iolani was bigger than Punahou in '97 and '98? That really is amazing. I just can't see Iolani being like that now. Can you imagine Iolani having a big O-line and D-line, with guys not having to play both ways? I can't. It just seems to me that Iolani might never be like that again. I don't why; they did it before, I know. But, I just can't see them doing it again.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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HS Football Fanatic wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:10 pm@gopunahou: Well, Iolani being in D2 for football has been controversial for years. I mean, I honestly don't care for Iolani School very much at all. I didn't want their girls' soccer team to win the D1 state title, for example. I was pulling really hard for Pearl City. When Iolani won, I felt very frustrated. I'm glad Pearl City made it close; they lost only by the score of 1-0. Can't get any closer than that. But, football is totally different than girls' soccer. It's harder to field a good football team than a good soccer team. Football is a violent sport in which violent contact is made on every play, especially by the linemen. Iolani School doesn't have the enrollment or the turnout to field a football team that can hang with St Louis School or Kahuku High. Of course, Iolani was pretty good when they had Igber back in the '90s. But, more often they usually don't have the size, especially on the line. And, when guys get injured, Iolani usually doesn't have the numbers. Compare Iolani with schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools might have anywhere from 50 to 90 guys on the roster, and the linemen usually have decent size. Worse, schools like Iolani that don't have a big roster, linemen often have to play both ways. It's simply very difficult to play against schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha when you're like that. Imagine being a two-way Iolani lineman, and you're playing St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools have linemen that are huge and good, plus they're fresh, not having to play both ways.
Nothing you wrote is really relevant anymore. It's entirely possible with this new statewide 3-tier regular season alignment that Iolani never plays the ILH's big 2 + Kam ever again.

My point is Iolani has proven beyond all doubt that it's football program and the quality of it's teams from year-to-year can and should be at least in the same division as teams like Waipahu, Castle and Nanakuli. Real athletes and athletic programs don't choose to compete in a division they can dominate, they choose the division in which they're competitive in, the one where they'll have to train, sweat and grind just as hard or harder than everyone else in the division just to stay competitive.

All that kind of goes for Pearl City, too, but as much success as the Chargers had in the last several seasons, they've never ever been a dominant program like Iolani is or was. PC has never won a league title at any level, much less a state championship. But I think they've been good enough in D2, which is basically the new D1, that they should 've chosen to play at the D1 level.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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gopunahou wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:29 pm Years ago I would've bashed them and made a thread about that, but last year's team was pretty small. If Iolani fields a team as big as the Igber teams did and STILL decides to play in D2, that's cowardice at its finest as well as narcissism!
If Nanakuli and Castle are "big" enough to compete in D1, so is Iolani. They're taking the easy road to another state championship. The problem is when they beat McKinley 49-6 for the "D3" trophy, no one will care because it will be obvious then like it is now that they're punching far below their weight.
Last edited by bandits1 on Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

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bandits1 wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:10 pm
HS Football Fanatic wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:10 pm@gopunahou: Well, Iolani being in D2 for football has been controversial for years. I mean, I honestly don't care for Iolani School very much at all. I didn't want their girls' soccer team to win the D1 state title, for example. I was pulling really hard for Pearl City. When Iolani won, I felt very frustrated. I'm glad Pearl City made it close; they lost only by the score of 1-0. Can't get any closer than that. But, football is totally different than girls' soccer. It's harder to field a good football team than a good soccer team. Football is a violent sport in which violent contact is made on every play, especially by the linemen. Iolani School doesn't have the enrollment or the turnout to field a football team that can hang with St Louis School or Kahuku High. Of course, Iolani was pretty good when they had Igber back in the '90s. But, more often they usually don't have the size, especially on the line. And, when guys get injured, Iolani usually doesn't have the numbers. Compare Iolani with schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools might have anywhere from 50 to 90 guys on the roster, and the linemen usually have decent size. Worse, schools like Iolani that don't have a big roster, linemen often have to play both ways. It's simply very difficult to play against schools like St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha when you're like that. Imagine being a two-way Iolani lineman, and you're playing St Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, or Kamehameha. Those schools have linemen that are huge and good, plus they're fresh, not having to play both ways.
Nothing you wrote is really relevant anymore. It's entirely possible with this new statewide 3-tier regular season alignment that Iolani never plays the ILH's big 2 + Kam ever again.

My point is Iolani has proven beyond all doubt that it's football program and the quality of it's teams from year-to-year can and should be at least in the same division as teams like Waipahu, Castle and Nanakuli. Real athletes and athletic programs don't choose to compete in a division they can dominate, they choose the division in which they're competitive in, the one where they'll have to train, sweat and grind just as hard or harder than everyone else in the division just to stay competitive.

All that kind of goes for Pearl City, too, but as much success as the Chargers had in the last several seasons, they've never ever been a dominant program like Iolani is or was. PC has never won a league title at any level, much less a state championship. But I think they've been good enough in D2, which is basically the new D1, that they should 've chosen to play at the D1 level.
@bandits1: Well, I give you credit for being willing to hold your alma mater's feet to the fire. OK; perhaps Pearl City hasn't reached the heights of football that Iolani has, but you never know. Just because Pearl City hasn't yet, doesn't mean it never will. In fact, I think that Pearl City today can probably hold its own against Iolani in football. Guys talk about tradition and the past, but I really don't think tradition and the past have a say in today. The reason I say that is that, for any high-school football team, the players care only about today. Sure, they might know guys who were on that school's team last year or the year before. But, kids on the team right now want to be good today, THIS year. When two schools step onto a football field, I really don't think the players care about which school has the stronger football tradition. I think the kids are focused on winning this game. I think the kids realize that what's past is past, but this game is yet to be won or lost. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I backed Pearl City in their girls' soccer match against Iolani for the D1 state title. Unfortunately, Pearl City lost, but it was a close match. Final score 1-0. I would probably back Pearl City in any sport against Iolani, simply because I prefer Pearl City High to Iolani School. So, if Pearl City were to play Iolani in football, I would definitely sit on Pearl City's side.

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Re: ILH-OIA merger—hope this is true

Post by gopunahou »

bandits1 wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:18 pm
gopunahou wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:29 pm Years ago I would've bashed them and made a thread about that, but last year's team was pretty small. If Iolani fields a team as big as the Igber teams did and STILL decides to play in D2, that's cowardice at its finest as well as narcissism!
If Nanakuli and Castle are "big" enough to compete in D1, so is Iolani. They're taking the easy road to another state championship. The problem is when they beat McKinley 49-6 for the "D3" trophy, no one will care because it will be obvious then like it is now that they're punching far below their weight.
The question is, if Iolani beats a weak team for the lowest division championship, will their backers brag about it and claim that their kaka don't stink because of it? Just because they've beaten a team that's on a different level than they? Yes, Iolani struggled against St. Francis and Damien last year, but I don't think that's the norm. In most years, having Iolani play Waialua is like having UH play the Patriots. And yet, Coach Look claims that having us play them is like having UH play the Patriots.
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