Open/D-I Top Ten 2021

[ChadFukuoka]

@ChadFukuoka: If it was a matter of not getting vaccinated, I'm assuming it's the parents who are to blame. I mean, if your kid wants to play football but you say he can't get the vax, why, you're an anti-vaxxer. It has to be the parents, right? What kid wouldn't get the vax to play, if it were up to him? Another likely reason: Academics. I know of an OIA school, which shall go unnamed, that has--or, would have had--a decent-sized O-line, but several of the linemen are out due to grades. Finally, Kaimuki High has a small enrollment, and has had that for at least five years now.

I think Kaimuki, Waialua, and Kalaheo have the lowest enrollments out of all Oahu high schools. Nanakuli is probably one of the lowest as well.

It’s nice for Kalaheo alumni that the school hasn’t been merged with either Castle or Kailua. At least with the others, Kaimuki serves the Waikiki/Kaimuki areas, Waialua serves the Haleiwa/Waialua areas, and Nanakuli is a big enough geographical area that they should have their own district. I think Kalaheo is the only public high school on Oahu that might someday be at risk of shutting down if enrollment drops down enough. The others are in areas that are kind of far to go the school next door. Especially since there are several elementary schools and either one or two middle schools that feed into a high school.

@ChadFukuoka:

Keep in mind that Waialua High and Nanakuli High each also has a middle school merged into it, so you'd have to exclude the middle school enrollment from each school.

I don't think Kalaheo High will ever be killed-off; their alumni wouldn't stand for it. If the governor announced such plans, Kalaheo alumni would pack his office and make it very clear to him (or her; Vicky Cayetano is running for governor) that they will not allow it to happen. It's one thing to kill-off an elementary school; the state killed-off Liliuokalani Elementary back in the early-2000s. But once you start talking about a high school, well, a high school's alumni base is much more fierce than an elementary school's. Part of it is about school spirit. Not too many people take an elementary school's school spirit seriously; after all, some of its students (kindergartners) are barely older than toddlers. But when you're talking about a high school, hey: We all know how fiercely loyal many alumni are to their high schools. Once you start talking about the school spirit of a high school, it gets very real; very visceral. Take gopunahou, for example. Over the years, we've seen how fiercely loyal he is to Punahou School. Could you imagine what would happen if someone tried to kill-off Punahou School, for any reason? He'd be on the warpath, and I'm sure many other Punahou alumni would, too. It doesn't have to be a private school; alumni of public schools can also be fiercely loyal. Like, I know some. I think many if not most guys would take it very seriously if someone tried to kill-off their high school alma mater, private or public.

You’re older than I am, since you went to high school in the 70’s. Has any public high school on Oahu ever been merged or shut down? I can’t think of any. Several private schools have. Word of Life around 10 years ago. There was Star of the Sea (I think all girls school?), that shut down a while ago. I only know of that one because my aunt’s friend was an alumni of it. Probably some others even longer ago that I haven’t heard of, way before my time.

[HS Football Fanatic]

I think Kaimuki, Waialua, and Kalaheo have the lowest enrollments out of all Oahu high schools. Nanakuli is probably one of the lowest as well.

It’s nice for Kalaheo alumni that the school hasn’t been merged with either Castle or Kailua. At least with the others, Kaimuki serves the Waikiki/Kaimuki areas, Waialua serves the Haleiwa/Waialua areas, and Nanakuli is a big enough geographical area that they should have their own district. I think Kalaheo is the only public high school on Oahu that might someday be at risk of shutting down if enrollment drops down enough. The others are in areas that are kind of far to go the school next door. Especially since there are several elementary schools and either one or two middle schools that feed into a high school.

Don’t forget Kalani. In the early 2000s, there were rumors that Kalani and Kaimuki would merge.

Speaking of schools with low FB turnouts, I wonder why there hasn’t been a public school version of “Pac-Five.” I don’t think it’d be a disaster.

I’m guessing with Kalani, maybe because it’s in a wealthy area, a lot of kids attend private school instead? Kaiser is also in a rich area, but they also have some kids from Waimanalo who go there, instead of Kailua, depending on where they live.

I wonder if fans and alumni would resist the idea of a public school PAC-5 team. For both current students and alumni, they most likely lived in the town that they went to or are attending high school at. There’s a hometown pride factor. They grew up in that town. It might be weird for them to also cheer for players who are attending school in the neighboring district. Where with private schools, kids attend from all over the island, so you don’t have to live in the district.

@ChadFukuoka:

Well, Kalani High takes kids from Kahala, and we know what a wealthy neighborhood Kahala is. But, for decades, many Kahala kids have attended Punahou School specifically, instead. Kaiser High takes kids from Portlock, and Portlock is just about as wealthy a neighborhood as is Kahala. However, the majority of Kaiser High students live in Hawaii Kai, and I don't think we can classify Hawaii Kai as "rich"; at least, not "rich" as in Kahala or Portlock. I'd say Hawaii Kai is solidly upper-middle class. And yes, most Waimanalo kids go to Kailua High; I think only a few go to Kaiser High.

I don't know if I'm crying in the wilderness, but I think it might be better if we played-down the role of "hometown pride" when it comes to public high schools. Many alumni leave their high school hometown, and settle elsewhere. Therefore, not everyone living in a public high school's "homtown", are alumni of that school. I've suggested it before: A high school--public or private--should be seen strictly in terms of its students and alumni, and not seek to "draft" the geographic community in which it happens to be located. For example, let's say you moved to Mililani town. You'd have every reason to resist an attempt by Mililani High to claim its surrounding community as its own. You'd probably say, "Hey, wait a minute. I live in Mililani town, but I'm not a Mililani alumnus; I'm an Aiea alumnus, so I'm loyal to that school".

[HS Football Fanatic]

Word is Kaimuki has half their team waiting to hear about their vax exemptions from DOE. DOE dragging their feet on purpose to force then to get the vax.

Iolani playing Kailua at end of month, not sure how big their line is but don't they usually have a bunch of phat asses?

@OldManJenkins:
Well, I realize that you might be an anti-vaxxer (and I don't mean that in a hostile or insulting tone; I respect your views), so, I want to tread carefully here. Full disclosure: I'm very much pro-vax, so if the DOE is trying to get as many teens vaccinated as possible, well, I support that. But, I don't in any way condemn you if you disagree; we can agree to disagree. Obviously we both have at least one thing in common: We both are hooked on high school sports.

Hilarious about Kailua High's O-lines! Yeah, Kailua High is very similar to Farrington High in that both schools almost always have thick O-lines, almost every year. What I suspect is that Kailua High's steady diet of thick O-linemen comes mostly from Waimanalo. Waimanalo has thick boys, man. I suspect Farrington High's steady diet of thick O-linemen comes mostly from KPT and Kam IV; those projects usually have even thicker boys than Waimanalo. But, honestly, your last sentence is hilarious.

I give Iolani credit for scheduling Kailua. Again, Kailua High usually has thick linemen, while Iolani School usually doesn't. I have no idea what Kailua's O-line looks like this year, but I'm quite certain they'll be big enough to overpower Iolani's D-line. If Iolani's O-line is undersized, I'd like to assume that their D-line is even smaller. Two or three years ago, Iolani's D-line was actually bigger than their O-line, which is crazy. I guess Iolani HC Look valued speed over size on his O-line. Anyway, this year, I'd imagine Kailua will elect to simply run the ball down Iolani's throat. That not only utilizes Kailua's size advantage on the O-line, but a run-game eats lots of clock, which keeps Iolani's potent O riding the bench longer. Though I don't care for Iolani School, it's only fair to give them credit for taking-on a school that usually has big boys in the trenches. If Iolani School deserves credit, then they should get it.

@hsfootballfan im not a anti-vaxer, truly believe in the science of the vax but do believe in people's freedom to choose. If you choose no vax then be respectful and wear a mask. As a far as DOE, they should at least give a response either deny or accept. Don't drag it on, that only makes it difficult for the teams as a whole.

I think Iolani's D-line is 205lb, 180 and 160. I think someone mentioned their O a good is 190‽? But definitely going to be interesting if the D can put pressure and the O can give their QB time. He doesn't look like a good scrambler or too durable.

Excited to see the launch of the football season this week! These kids to unleash after a looong wait!

BTW all you guys with all the FB history is pretty cool and makes for great reading.

@OldManJenkins:

Well, I'm glad you're not one of those rabid anti-vaxxers such as we see on the mainland, storming school board meetings, yelling, and threatening board members.

Iolani School has been taking ILH D1 by storm, but I'm very interested to see how they'll do against Kailua High. I strongly suspect the Surfers are thinking, "Hey, you Raiders have been kicking everyone's butts so far, but you're not gonna kick ours. In fact, we intend to kick your butts. And, we have the size to do it. We're gonna make you eat humble pie."

[unpaid]

On the mainland,there are many public schools with low enrollments who cooperate with nearby schools in rural areas to combine in football so they have the numbers to compete.This is common in rural areas in Iowa,The Dakotas,etc. On the mainland,you are still talking about greater distances between small schools in rural areas than distances between low enrollment schools in any Hawaii island with the possible exception of the Big Island and Hana on Maui.On Oahu ,Anuenue gave up football. I don’t know if Myron B. Thompson(home schooled kids ) still exists. My guess is that Anuenue and MBT kids never would have had enough combined numbers to have done a public school co-op football team like you see on the mainland. Public school co-op only seems to be a private school thing in Hawaii.

Kalaheo. I am not sure why Kalaheo was built. In my Hs day, Kalaheo did not exist. Castle and Kailua were both over 1,000students. Kalaheo opens in the 70’s. What is the reality today? Castle still is over 1000 and maybe if you combined Kailua and Kalaheo’s enrollment that would equal Castle’s enrollment. So why did the boundaries get split up to create 3 schools where ,even In 2021 you really only need two high schools with the critical mass enrollment to give public school kids a shot in life.

[HS Football Fanatic]

I'm really interested in McKinley's program. Can Coach Ane revive a once proud Town team.

@TheNewNORM:

Well, McKinley High hasn't had a strong team since '04; that was the last year they made the OIA playoffs. They had a fairly decent team in '13. But, it's been pretty disastrous for them since then. They had a horrible season in '15; that year they lost to Kahuku High, 70-something to 0, and they lost to Waianae like 90 to 0 (yes, ninety to 0). I mean, McKinley alumni have seen their alma mater get kicked-around for the most part, for the past forty years. That's a long time. I don't think Kale can do a whole lot about it. I mean, he's not God. For one thing, McKinley High is in D2. Kale left an Open school, Punahou, and is taking the reins of a D2 school. I don't think he can recruit his way out of this predicament; how do you recruit players to a D2 school? Talk about Mission Impossible. I've heard McKinley High has some big kids, O-lineman types. However, not all of them are even going out for the team, I've heard. And, it's not because of Kale. I've heard they had the same problem before he got there. I mean, you never know, but I'm sorry to say that you'll probably be disappointed by McKinley High's football program. It's just one of those things. I don't think there's a whole lot that Kale can do. He recruited his way to prominence at Punahou School, but I simply don't see it happening at McKinley High.

[ChadFukuoka]

Don’t forget Kalani. In the early 2000s, there were rumors that Kalani and Kaimuki would merge.

Speaking of schools with low FB turnouts, I wonder why there hasn’t been a public school version of “Pac-Five.” I don’t think it’d be a disaster.

I’m guessing with Kalani, maybe because it’s in a wealthy area, a lot of kids attend private school instead? Kaiser is also in a rich area, but they also have some kids from Waimanalo who go there, instead of Kailua, depending on where they live.

I wonder if fans and alumni would resist the idea of a public school PAC-5 team. For both current students and alumni, they most likely lived in the town that they went to or are attending high school at. There’s a hometown pride factor. They grew up in that town. It might be weird for them to also cheer for players who are attending school in the neighboring district. Where with private schools, kids attend from all over the island, so you don’t have to live in the district.

@ChadFukuoka:

Well, Kalani High takes kids from Kahala, and we know what a wealthy neighborhood Kahala is. But, for decades, many Kahala kids have attended Punahou School specifically, instead. Kaiser High takes kids from Portlock, and Portlock is just about as wealthy a neighborhood as is Kahala. However, the majority of Kaiser High students live in Hawaii Kai, and I don't think we can classify Hawaii Kai as "rich"; at least, not "rich" as in Kahala or Portlock. I'd say Hawaii Kai is solidly upper-middle class. And yes, most Waimanalo kids go to Kailua High; I think only a few go to Kaiser High.

I don't know if I'm crying in the wilderness, but I think it might be better if we played-down the role of "hometown pride" when it comes to public high schools. Many alumni leave their high school hometown, and settle elsewhere. Therefore, not everyone living in a public high school's "homtown", are alumni of that school. I've suggested it before: A high school--public or private--should be seen strictly in terms of its students and alumni, and not seek to "draft" the geographic community in which it happens to be located. For example, let's say you moved to Mililani town. You'd have every reason to resist an attempt by Mililani High to claim its surrounding community as its own. You'd probably say, "Hey, wait a minute. I live in Mililani town, but I'm not a Mililani alumnus; I'm an Aiea alumnus, so I'm loyal to that school".

I’m aware that alumni move out of their towns that they went to high school in. What I meant is they still likely lived there during their high school years, since it’s public schools we are talking about. So it might be weird, for let’s say someone like me, if Aiea and Pearl City merged to form a football team, and as an Aiea alumni, I was cheering for a team with current players from Pearl City, who also were my rival school when I attended there. If alumni still follow their high school team after they graduate, they probably want to cheer for players from the town or district they also attended. Even if they don’t still live there, like me, they may still want to cheer for a team that represents the same town that they lived in for their 4 years (or less) of high school. Since public schools are defined by geographical areas, maybe both current residents and also alumni who lived away, don’t want to feel their school’s sports teams taken away by a potential merge.

[HS Football Fanatic]

I think Kaimuki, Waialua, and Kalaheo have the lowest enrollments out of all Oahu high schools. Nanakuli is probably one of the lowest as well.

It’s nice for Kalaheo alumni that the school hasn’t been merged with either Castle or Kailua. At least with the others, Kaimuki serves the Waikiki/Kaimuki areas, Waialua serves the Haleiwa/Waialua areas, and Nanakuli is a big enough geographical area that they should have their own district. I think Kalaheo is the only public high school on Oahu that might someday be at risk of shutting down if enrollment drops down enough. The others are in areas that are kind of far to go the school next door. Especially since there are several elementary schools and either one or two middle schools that feed into a high school.

@ChadFukuoka:

Keep in mind that Waialua High and Nanakuli High each also has a middle school merged into it, so you'd have to exclude the middle school enrollment from each school.

I don't think Kalaheo High will ever be killed-off; their alumni wouldn't stand for it. If the governor announced such plans, Kalaheo alumni would pack his office and make it very clear to him (or her; Vicky Cayetano is running for governor) that they will not allow it to happen. It's one thing to kill-off an elementary school; the state killed-off Liliuokalani Elementary back in the early-2000s. But once you start talking about a high school, well, a high school's alumni base is much more fierce than an elementary school's. Part of it is about school spirit. Not too many people take an elementary school's school spirit seriously; after all, some of its students (kindergartners) are barely older than toddlers. But when you're talking about a high school, hey: We all know how fiercely loyal many alumni are to their high schools. Once you start talking about the school spirit of a high school, it gets very real; very visceral. Take gopunahou, for example. Over the years, we've seen how fiercely loyal he is to Punahou School. Could you imagine what would happen if someone tried to kill-off Punahou School, for any reason? He'd be on the warpath, and I'm sure many other Punahou alumni would, too. It doesn't have to be a private school; alumni of public schools can also be fiercely loyal. Like, I know some. I think many if not most guys would take it very seriously if someone tried to kill-off their high school alma mater, private or public.

You’re older than I am, since you went to high school in the 70’s. Has any public high school on Oahu ever been merged or shut down? I can’t think of any. Several private schools have. Word of Life around 10 years ago. There was Star of the Sea (I think all girls school?), that shut down a while ago. I only know of that one because my aunt’s friend was an alumni of it. Probably some others even longer ago that I haven’t heard of, way before my time.

@ChadFukuoka:
As far as I can remember, no public high school on Oahu has ever been shut-down permanently. Governor Ben Cayetano tried to shut-down Kalani High in the late-'90s or early-2000s, but Kalani alumni would have none of it. Then there were rumors in the early 2010s that Kaimuki High might get shut down, as their enrollment declined dramatically. I haven't heard much about it since, and Kaimuki High is still around. In the mid-2010s, rumor had it that Nanakuli High might get shut down. As was the case with Kaimuki High, I haven't heard much about it since, and Nanakuli High is still around. In all three cases, it was declining enrollment that served as the impetus to consider shutting each school down.

[HS Football Fanatic]

On the mainland,there are many public schools with low enrollments who cooperate with nearby schools in rural areas to combine in football so they have the numbers to compete.This is common in rural areas in Iowa,The Dakotas,etc. On the mainland,you are still talking about greater distances between small schools in rural areas than distances between low enrollment schools in any Hawaii island with the possible exception of the Big Island and Hana on Maui.On Oahu ,Anuenue gave up football. I don’t know if Myron B. Thompson(home schooled kids ) still exists. My guess is that Anuenue and MBT kids never would have had enough combined numbers to have done a public school co-op football team like you see on the mainland. Public school co-op only seems to be a private school thing in Hawaii.

Kalaheo. I am not sure why Kalaheo was built. In my Hs day, Kalaheo did not exist. Castle and Kailua were both over 1,000students. Kalaheo opens in the 70’s. What is the reality today? Castle still is over 1000 and maybe if you combined Kailua and Kalaheo’s enrollment that would equal Castle’s enrollment. So why did the boundaries get split up to create 3 schools where ,even In 2021 you really only need two high schools with the critical mass enrollment to give public school kids a shot in life.

@unpaid:

I think Anuenue School is in something of a special category as a Hawaiian immersion high school. When they had a football team, the players would call plays in Hawaiian so that the opposing school had no idea what they were saying. I think Thompson school was a charter school; not sure if they still exist, either. Haven't heard anything at all about them for several years.

As for Kalaheo High, there had to be a reason for creating it, right? Kalaheo High was established it 1973. Generally, a new public high school is created because the population size requires it. My guess is that Kailua High got big enough that the state decided that there had to be another high school in the Kailua area. Kalaheo High has been taking students that previously would have attended Kailua High. I wonder if KMCAS had something to do with it. Kids who live on Kaneohe Marine Base go to Kalaheo High, which is kind or weird, when you think about it. Kids who live in Kaneohe attend Castle High. So, why have kids on Kaneohe Marine Base been going to Kalaheo High all these years, rather than Castle High? Could it be because Kaneohe Marine Base, despite its name, is actually closer to Kalaheo High than it is to Castle High? I don't know; I'm just speculating.

[HS Football Fanatic]

I’m guessing with Kalani, maybe because it’s in a wealthy area, a lot of kids attend private school instead? Kaiser is also in a rich area, but they also have some kids from Waimanalo who go there, instead of Kailua, depending on where they live.

I wonder if fans and alumni would resist the idea of a public school PAC-5 team. For both current students and alumni, they most likely lived in the town that they went to or are attending high school at. There’s a hometown pride factor. They grew up in that town. It might be weird for them to also cheer for players who are attending school in the neighboring district. Where with private schools, kids attend from all over the island, so you don’t have to live in the district.

@ChadFukuoka:

Well, Kalani High takes kids from Kahala, and we know what a wealthy neighborhood Kahala is. But, for decades, many Kahala kids have attended Punahou School specifically, instead. Kaiser High takes kids from Portlock, and Portlock is just about as wealthy a neighborhood as is Kahala. However, the majority of Kaiser High students live in Hawaii Kai, and I don't think we can classify Hawaii Kai as "rich"; at least, not "rich" as in Kahala or Portlock. I'd say Hawaii Kai is solidly upper-middle class. And yes, most Waimanalo kids go to Kailua High; I think only a few go to Kaiser High.

I don't know if I'm crying in the wilderness, but I think it might be better if we played-down the role of "hometown pride" when it comes to public high schools. Many alumni leave their high school hometown, and settle elsewhere. Therefore, not everyone living in a public high school's "homtown", are alumni of that school. I've suggested it before: A high school--public or private--should be seen strictly in terms of its students and alumni, and not seek to "draft" the geographic community in which it happens to be located. For example, let's say you moved to Mililani town. You'd have every reason to resist an attempt by Mililani High to claim its surrounding community as its own. You'd probably say, "Hey, wait a minute. I live in Mililani town, but I'm not a Mililani alumnus; I'm an Aiea alumnus, so I'm loyal to that school".

I’m aware that alumni move out of their towns that they went to high school in. What I meant is they still likely lived there during their high school years, since it’s public schools we are talking about. So it might be weird, for let’s say someone like me, if Aiea and Pearl City merged to form a football team, and as an Aiea alumni, I was cheering for a team with current players from Pearl City, who also were my rival school when I attended there. If alumni still follow their high school team after they graduate, they probably want to cheer for players from the town or district they also attended. Even if they don’t still live there, like me, they may still want to cheer for a team that represents the same town that they lived in for their 4 years (or less) of high school. Since public schools are defined by geographical areas, maybe both current residents and also alumni who lived away, don’t want to feel their school’s sports teams taken away by a potential merge.

@ChadFukuoka:
1. I don't think you have to worry about Aiea High and Pearl City High merging to form a football team; such a thing is unprecedented. If either school didn't have enough players to form a team, they would simply forfeit the season; they wouldn't merge with the other school to form a team. High school rivalries are too strong; high school identities are too strong.

2. I thought Aiea High's main rival was Radford High. I think Pearl City High's main rival is Waipahu High. Pearl City High was established about 40 years after Waipahu High was, and takes students that prior would have attended Waipahu High. I should also mention that Waipahu High moved to its present campus in '69. Prior to that, it was located where Waipahu Middle is today; that was their old campus. When Waipahu High moved to its present campus in '69, that campus was brand-new. Waipahu High was established in 1939, I believe. If you go to their present campus and look at the buildings, it's obvious that no way were those buildings erected in '39. For one thing, back then, classroom buildings were built of wood. Waipahu High currently has a few wooden portables, but any school can have that. Wooden portables are usually built as a quick, usually temporary fix when there are more students than there are classrooms.

[gopunahou]

Regarding the KSK-SLS game, IIRC, many of St. Louis's turnovers came on downs deep in Kamehameha territory. St. Louis can ill afford to let that happen again. They can also ill afford to let Kamehameha go on long drives that end in scores (which happened in KSK's 2nd game against us).

[HS Football Fanatic]

@gopunahou:

I have this bad feeling that St Louis will win. (I like Kamehameha Schools). I'm still convinced that St Louis' pass game is simply too strong. unpaid made some reassuring comments that St Louis' O-line is slow, and Kamehameha's D-line is quick. But, I still have a bad feeling. I'd feel better if Kamehameha's pass game were a little better. I mean, their pass game is OK, I guess, but it's not good enough to make me feel confident. As good as Kamehameha's run game is, I just don't think it's enough to beat St Louis again. The key, I think, is that Kamehameha's pass game HAS to get better.

[ChadFukuoka]

@ChadFukuoka:

Well, Kalani High takes kids from Kahala, and we know what a wealthy neighborhood Kahala is. But, for decades, many Kahala kids have attended Punahou School specifically, instead. Kaiser High takes kids from Portlock, and Portlock is just about as wealthy a neighborhood as is Kahala. However, the majority of Kaiser High students live in Hawaii Kai, and I don't think we can classify Hawaii Kai as "rich"; at least, not "rich" as in Kahala or Portlock. I'd say Hawaii Kai is solidly upper-middle class. And yes, most Waimanalo kids go to Kailua High; I think only a few go to Kaiser High.

I don't know if I'm crying in the wilderness, but I think it might be better if we played-down the role of "hometown pride" when it comes to public high schools. Many alumni leave their high school hometown, and settle elsewhere. Therefore, not everyone living in a public high school's "homtown", are alumni of that school. I've suggested it before: A high school--public or private--should be seen strictly in terms of its students and alumni, and not seek to "draft" the geographic community in which it happens to be located. For example, let's say you moved to Mililani town. You'd have every reason to resist an attempt by Mililani High to claim its surrounding community as its own. You'd probably say, "Hey, wait a minute. I live in Mililani town, but I'm not a Mililani alumnus; I'm an Aiea alumnus, so I'm loyal to that school".

I’m aware that alumni move out of their towns that they went to high school in. What I meant is they still likely lived there during their high school years, since it’s public schools we are talking about. So it might be weird, for let’s say someone like me, if Aiea and Pearl City merged to form a football team, and as an Aiea alumni, I was cheering for a team with current players from Pearl City, who also were my rival school when I attended there. If alumni still follow their high school team after they graduate, they probably want to cheer for players from the town or district they also attended. Even if they don’t still live there, like me, they may still want to cheer for a team that represents the same town that they lived in for their 4 years (or less) of high school. Since public schools are defined by geographical areas, maybe both current residents and also alumni who lived away, don’t want to feel their school’s sports teams taken away by a potential merge.

@ChadFukuoka:
1. I don't think you have to worry about Aiea High and Pearl City High merging to form a football team; such a thing is unprecedented. If either school didn't have enough players to form a team, they would simply forfeit the season; they wouldn't merge with the other school to form a team. High school rivalries are too strong; high school identities are too strong.

2. I thought Aiea High's main rival was Radford High. I think Pearl City High's main rival is Waipahu High. Pearl City High was established about 40 years after Waipahu High was, and takes students that prior would have attended Waipahu High. I should also mention that Waipahu High moved to its present campus in '69. Prior to that, it was located where Waipahu Middle is today; that was their old campus. When Waipahu High moved to its present campus in '69, that campus was brand-new. Waipahu High was established in 1939, I believe. If you go to their present campus and look at the buildings, it's obvious that no way were those buildings erected in '39. For one thing, back then, classroom buildings were built of wood. Waipahu High currently has a few wooden portables, but any school can have that. Wooden portables are usually built as a quick, usually temporary fix when there are more students than there are classrooms.

I was just using those schools as a hypothetical example. Both Aiea and Pearl City have enrollments around 1,000, more than enough to sustain athletic teams and for the school to operate.

When I attended, Aiea’s two rivals were Pearl City and Radford. Radford’s rivals were Aiea and Moanalua. Pearl City’s rivals were Waipahu and Aiea. I believe Radford considered Moanalua to be their bigger rival than Aiea. I also felt, as least based on the athletes that were there when I attended, that Pearl City was the bigger rival than Radford. I can’t speak for Pearl City, whether they considered Aiea or Waipahu to be the bigger of their rivals.

[HS Football Fanatic]

@ChadFukuoka:

My understanding is that the rivalry between Moanalua High and Radford High is particularly strong, and has been that way since the mid-'80s. For one thing, Moanalua High was established in '72, and has been taking students that prior would have attended Radford High. We're talking especially about the older district just below Tripler.

What's strange is that, at one time, Waipahu High's biggest rival was Campbell High. Up until the '80s, I guess, the two schools had what was called the "Cane Knife" football rivalry. That's because both schools were once pretty much surrounded by sugarcane fields (Campbell High, of course, is located in Ewa Beach). But, some years after Pearl City High was established in '71, I'm convinced that Waipahu High came to see Pearl City High as its primary rival. After all, Pearl City High takes students that prior would have attended Waipahu High. Today, I don't know that the "Cane Knife" football rivalry between Waipahu High and Campbell High even exists any more. In addition, the sugar industry has died-out on Oahu; not many sugar cane fields, if any, can be found on the island today.

[unpaid]

The Marine Corps assumed control of Kaneohe MCAS in the 1950’s. The base had been in existence since the late 1910’s or early 1920’s .first as an Army base,then a Navy base through WWII until the Marines took control. I am not sure that a relatively small military base would have had enough school age dependent kids to have caused a third Hs in that area to be built. After all, military dependents were probably going to local schools maybe as early as the 1920’s until 1973 when Kalaheo opened. Today you still have Castle with the biggest enrollment, and two other schools. Kailua opened in the 60’s I think and was as big as Kailua a few years later when I went to Radford. Then they open Kalaheo in the 70’s and what happens. Castle is still a large enrollment school and Kailua has shrunk to around 800 and Kalaheo even smaller. Don’t get it. Just saying,Castle over 1000, Kailua and Kalaheo under 1,000. Castle is going to have more resources given to it because of a bigger student body, they can get more AP classes than Kailua or Kalaheo. I don’t get why Kailua got broken up into Kailua and Kalaheo,two smaller schools,when ,as it stands today,Castle and Kailua could still be 1000 plus enrollment schools and the kids from Kaneohe MCAS could be going to either Castle or Kailua like their predecessors did for maybe 60 years.

Rivalries change. Aiea was the school down the road (No Moanalua in the sixties), but Waianae was the team you could not beat enough if you were a Ram through and through in my day. With Open,D-I,D-II and teams moving up and down among the tiers, traditional rivalries are mostly in the past now.

[HS Football Fanatic]

@unpaid:

Well, the mystery of why Kalaheo High was established, deepens. Be that as it may, that school has had its glory days in various sports, especially boys' basketball, of course. I mean, they kicked butt in the mid-'90s, playing basketball with the best of them, including schools that are D1 in basketball today. Even now, Kalaheo High is still fielding respectable boys' basketball teams. But, here's a request to anyone else "out there" cruising this thread: Can you tell us why Kalaheo High was established? Wasn't there a study done that found the school necessary in terms of population?' As far as I know, that's the only reason the state will build a new high school.

I recall that you once posted that you graduated from Radford High in the late-'60s? Man, that was a long time ago; I'm glad you're here, because there are times when I feel ridiculous about posting on a site that's about high school sports, and I graduated in the mid-'70s. I mean, if you're here, I'm OK to be here too, right? Thanks.

Anyway, I didn't know that there was a football rivalry between Radford High and Waianae High in the late-'60s; thanks for sharing that with us. Yeah, Moanalua High was established in '72. Heck, you were already out of Radford High for three years. But again, it's my understanding that Moanalua High is now Radford High's most "bitter" rival overall, not just in football. And you're right, the three-tier system of high school football in Hawaii complicates matters. After all, while Radford High is in D2, Moanalua High is in D1. So, the two "rival" schools don't even meet in what is the biggest high school sport. But, the two schools can voluntarily agree to play each other, right? Doesn't the OIA allow that, or not?