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The addition of an Open Division to the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships was greeted by fans like an inauguration, in some ways.
After years of two divisions, I and II, and 12 teams, adding the Open Division turned the statewide event into a three-tiered, 20-team marathon. The pilot program had its pluses — every coach who responded to our survey had positive feedback — and naturally there are kinks to work out, as well.
COACHES PROVIDE SUGGESTIONS
Hawaii vs. California
Mililani coach Rod York would like to see it go one step further: a bowl game between the champions of Hawaii and California or Nevada.
“Wouldn’t it be great? We could play in December in Aloha Stadium when all the teams are at their peak. Imagine the Crusader and Red Raider crowd on the same side rather than against each other,” he wrote. “Opportunities for kids would be tremendous. Public interest would be high.”
Instant replay needed
Farrington coach Randall Okimoto was one of a few coaches who suggested that instant replay is a technology whose time has come.
“This game is just too hard for the human eye to capture every occurrence that goes on during a football play,” Okimoto wrote. “The outcome of a game should not be decided by a third party who by no fault of his own is expected to call a game that moves faster than the eye can see.”
Play ’ em 1 at a time
Hilo coach Kaeo Drummondo is speaking as a fan with his suggestion.
“I think it would be exciting to have a single championship event where all three games are played consecutively as opposed to D-II and D-I one day, and Open on the next,” he wrote.
The Hawaii High School Athletic Association still has a post-tournament committee meeting to conduct, so executive director Chris Chun declined to comment for now. Coaches, though, had plenty to say. Here’s a condensed version of their feedback about various aspects and issues.
The benefit to the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, which had been permitted just one berth into the highest classification of the football state tourney, is that they got a second team in. Of course, ILH coaches Cal Lee of Saint Louis and Kale Ane of Punahou were among those who gave a big thumbs up to the new format — as all of this year’s tourney coaches did.
“I think the format is excellent,” said Lee, whose Crusaders upset No. 1 seed Kahuku 30-14 on Saturday. “Open Division lets the big teams play the big teams. The way it is (in the OIA), Kahuku’s going to beat up on most teams. You think Radford wants to play Kahuku? The way it is with concussions, and they look at who they’re playing against, parents worry about the safety of their kids. The Open Division at the state tournament, I don’t see any negative whatsoever. I don’t know how it can be improved. I think all the coaches like the format.”
True enough. The 13 state-tourney coaches who responded to the survey were positive about the pilot program. Lee especially supports the possibility of regular-season interleague play, call it superconference or blended league or whatever you will. But that’s another topic for another day.
“We’re happy with the opportunity to participate in the tournament,” Ane said. “I hope that others feel the same way. You always want an opportunity to compete against the top schools.”
The ILH, the state’s only private-school-only league, came up short in Divisions I and II, but Saint Louis upset top seed Kahuku in the Open Division final. Despite rainy weather and a pay-per-view TV audience, the game drew more than 20,000 to Aloha Stadium.
“The last game was great to watch, a great atmosphere,” Ane added. “It’s what you want.”
Lahainaluna co-head coach Garret Tihada is among many who like the three-tiered format.
“Having three divisions just enhanced football for the fans, and it gave more teams a chance at winning a state title,” wrote Tihada, who guided the Lunas to the D-II state crown. “From watching the (Open Division championship) game, it is a huge success both from a football standpoint and a financial standpoint. Fans got a real treat.”
Ow Pair
Eyebrows raised when the state’s No. 3 (Punahou) and No. 5 (Kapolei) teams were paired together in the quarterfinal round of Open Division. Kapolei was the OIA third-place-game winner, but the game’s loser, Waianae, seemed to have a better draw (Farrington). Even though Farrington beat Kapolei the week before in the OIA semifinals.
“My biggest concern is the OIA third-place game,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez wrote via text. “The incentive should be to win that game for a more advantageous seeding in the Open tournament. If winning doesn’t help your standing, then the game shouldn’t be played.”
Punahou was surprised by the pairing, but diplomatic.
“We weren’t sure who we were going to play, but when you’re not the champions of the league, you have to play whoever is selected, whether it’s Kapolei, Farrington or Waianae,” Ane said.
Kapolei wound up upsetting Punahou 33-21.
“The powers that be should spend some time on a more concrete format on how the brackets should be aligned,” Baldwin coach Pohai Lee wrote via text.
Seeding in general is always a subject for debate at any level.
“There’s definitely some controversy on those subjects that needs to be discussed in order to produce a system that is as fair as we humans can make it,” Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said.
Early-round empty seats
Despite the big names — including former Hawaii and NFL coach June Jones in his first season as offensive coordinator for Kapolei — attendance was less than 6,000 at Aloha Stadium for the doubleheader that included Farrington-Waianae. If marquee was a factor, it didn’t play strongly, though the games were televised live. Fans have a history of holding out until the championship round.
“I thought the crowds would be bigger,” Ane said.
Still, there is no high school venue here that can accommodate 6,000 spectators.
Middle Nation
‘Iolani is often near the center of the HHSAA’s expansion. When there was no D-II state tourney in any sport nearly two decades ago, it was two football head coaches — Waimea’s Jon Kobayashi (now athletic director) and ‘Iolani’s Wendell Look — who expressed strong support for starting a second division.
‘Iolani was the lone ILH team to declare for D-I postseason play, then went 0-7 against a gauntlet of Top 10 foes. Damien coach Eddie Klaneski sees some flaws in the system.
“I felt that the D-I and D-II seedings were poorly done. Because we were notified so late about the change in the tournament, a team (‘Iolani) was already set for postseason before a game was even played,” he wrote via e-mail. “If the HHSAA continues to use this postseason format, I feel that the ILH and OIA need to come to some kind of agreement, or crossover the leagues. Otherwise, the ILH will have to figure out how they are going to do berths for postseason. I think that ‘Iolani is a great football program, but to not have to beat anyone to get into it is not right.”
‘Iolani reached the D-I final, losing to Mililani, 31-20.
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