New ILH rule threatens ‘Iolani’s reign

‘Iolani’s football team has won six straight Division II state titles and eight of the last nine.

A new Interscholastic League of Honolulu rule assures that for that dynasty to continue more than two more years, it will have to carry over to Division I.

The ILH classifies mixed-gender schools as Division I if they have more than 750 students in grades 9-12. Division I schools — ‘Iolani, Punahou, Kamehameha and boys-only Saint Louis — each can use an exception allowing it to compete in Division II in one sport. ‘Iolani is the only school using that exception, in football.

The league recently mandated that any D-I school using the exception will be required to move into Division I for at least one season if it wins a league title two years in a row. The mandate takes effect this season, which means that the Raiders pushed into D-I with heavyweights Kamehameha, Punahou and Saint Louis as soon as the 2015 season.

‘Iolani football coach Wendell Look was almost indifferent about the rule change.

"It’s league-wide, not just football. It still goes up to the committee to review," he said.

Despite fielding one of the smallest lineups in the ILH in terms of physical size, ‘Iolani has won the last six D-II state titles and seven of the last eight, all under Look. The Raiders have won nine straight ILH titles.

In addition to the mandate, the league has changed its football scheduling format. Instead of one round-robin for D-I and D-II teams plus a second game among divisional foes, there will be only a round robin this fall. That will be followed by two-round division playoffs. The first-place team in D-I will have a bye in the first round.

For varsity football newcomer St. Francis, the revised format is embraceable. Peaking in the playoffs, rather than start-to-finish consistency, takes precedence now.

"It might be to our advantage. We’ll make the playoffs, that’s my understanding, and hopefully keep playing better each week," athletic director Sol Batoon said. "We really don’t care as long as we don’t play the Division I guys twice. You know ‘Iolani and Pac-Five are D-I caliber. They got 100 kids out. We got 40 out. Hopefully, we can survive."

The Cosbie show:  Kamehameha’s new coach

For Doug Cosbie, having a familiar name thanks to a standout pro career cuts both ways.

To his players at Kamehameha, he is Coach Cosbie. It’s their fathers who are more familiar with the former Dallas Cowboys tight end.

"Or their granddads, maybe. It’s definitely a different generation," Cosbie said.

Cosbie is also a former college coach and athletic director.

"It’s been pretty smooth," Cosbie said of the transition to coaching high school football.

"It’s a new language, a new offense, defense and special teams. But the game still comes down to blocking and tackling, being at the right place at the right time," he said. "It’s the same philosophy I learned under Coach (Tom) Landry and Coach (Bill) Walsh."

Cosbie played for Landry at Dallas and coached under Walsh at Stanford.

His oldest son’s family lives here.

"We’ve always enjoyed Hawaii. It’s nice to spend time with my granddaughter," he said.

Time is a luxury.

"We’re doing 12-, 14-hour days," he said of his staff. "This is our passion."

The new-look Warriors open nonconference play on Aug. 9 at Castle. Their ILH opener is on Aug. 31 against Saint Louis at Aloha Stadium.

Kohala drops football

With just 15 players, Kohala has dropped out of BIIF varsity football this season.

Though the team had 41 players interested during the spring, most failed to get their physicals by the deadline of July 24. In addition, hardly any players turned out for summer conditioning and weight training.

"We really want to give as many opportunities to as many kids, but they need to know fundamentals and they need to be prepared," athletic director Laurie Koustik said. "Otherwise, it becomes a safety issue."

With a hefty fine for forfeited games soon to be in effect — $1,600 per forfeit — the Cowboys are stepping off the field just in time.

"She tried. She had that meeting. She sent letters to the parents," BIIF executive director Lyle Crozier said.

Last year, Kohala opened the season with 29 players. By the third game, there were just 19, as injuries and academic probation took tolls. Some players simply didn’t attend practice, figuring they would get playing time anyway.

Kohala’s departure comes shortly after the league modified its schedule from segregated divisional schedules to a league-wide round-robin format. League powerhouse Kealakehe was slated to open against Kohala on Aug. 31.

Low numbers at Ka‘u and Honokaa are also concerns for the league.

Lancers hire Ong

Sacred Hearts has hired Kelly Ong as its volleyball coach.

Ong was an assistant coach at Saint Louis and a club director at Elite Sports Academy. Before that, she was an assistant coach at ‘Iolani (2009-11).

She played volleyball at Hawaii (’03-06).