3-tier prep football system needs to be installed, ASAP

Next month Oahu Interscholastic Association football teams begin their annual spring tryouts, and the turnouts will be watched with particular interest.

As in, how many varsity and junior varsity candidates will turn out at some of the out-manned bottom finishers facing a second run through the Division I meat-grinder?

Radford, Kaiser and Nanakuli are among the teams that were moved up to Division I recently and paid a heavy price — physically and in the standings — for it.

They went a collective 1-21 versus D-I opponents last season, some barely limping to the finish line.

Consider, for example, the case of Kaiser, which was down to a 24-man roster for its final game, a 43-0 loss to Farrington. That necessitated several of the Cougars being two- and three-way performers.

Then, there is Radford, which was outscored, on average, 50-3 in its D-I games last season, managing just one offensive touchdown for the season. In one stretch the over-matched Rams lost 40-0, 83-0, 54-0 and 40-0 in consecutive games. Four times Nanakuli lost by 35 points — or more.

In the current climate of growing awareness of health and safety issues, forcing them to run a mismatched gauntlet a second season, another steady diet of the Kahuku, Farrington, Kapolei, Mililani, Waianae, etc. — is not exactly a rousing recommendation for players to turn out at schools that are trying to rebuild their football fortunes.

What would make more sense — not to mention equitable matchups, more exciting games and a better incentive to turn out for football — is embracing the proposal for a three-tiered (Open Division, D-I and D-II) format.

We saw for the first time in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state championships last season and, coupled with some of the mismatches on the D-I level lately, that should have spurred the public school OIA officials and their private school Interscholastic League of Honolulu brethren to adopt a regular-season three-tier alliance as well.

Alas, with deep-seated high school politics, why do today what you can put off until next year? Or the year after or…?

After decades of shunning any suggestion of multiple tiers, member schools had to be dragged into adopting just a two-tier format 14 years ago. If not for the principled stand by Damien’s Father Gregory O’Donnell, who threatened forfeits over week upon week of blowouts, we’d probably still be living in the one-tier era and seen a significant decline in high school football here.

These days, there are too many schools (29) with too many variables in enrollment, turnout, historical success and finances to be pigeonholed into two competitive pools.

In time that can change at places — Kaiser comes to mind — where they are building up from the youth leagues and improving facilities. But it takes time to build sustainable success.

In the meantime, where Kaiser, Radford, Nanakuli, Aiea and some others correctly belong at this stage of their programs is in the second tier of a three-tier system. Likewise for ‘Iolani, which has said it would opt for D-II if there are just two tiers to chose from. The Raiders, like many schools, are tweeners, too strong for the lowest level but not up to the week-in and week-out rigors of the top echelon.

That the men on the front line, the high school coaches, recognize that was underlined in December in the OIA when they voted overwhelmingly (21-0 with one abstention by some counts) to use turnout as a factor in establishing a three-tier system.

But not enough athletic directors wanted to even keep it on the table, citing scheduling difficulties. In upcoming meetings it would behoove them to take another longer, more thoughtful look at it in time for the 2017 season.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.