According to Saint Louis school president Glenn Medeiros, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu has declared Kamehameha winner of the second-round tiebreaker.

This would mean the Kamehameha-Saint Louis game on Friday is for the ILH football championship rather than the second-round title. The winner would have the league’s lone berth in the upcoming state tournament’s Open Division bracket.

The reason for the disruption to the normal process is that the HHSAA has told the ILH that a representative is needed for the opening round of the state tournament, which is on Nov. 15.

“It’s an unfortunate situation and I’m hoping that the ILH will consider my idea,” Medeiros said. “Blane (Gaison of the ILH) called me today to tell me that the decision has been made that Kamehameha is essentially the winner of the second round and the next game is for the ILH championship. He stated that the HHSAA cannot adjust its schedule to accommodate an additional playoff game as originally planned.”

Gaison is the longtime executive director of the ILH. He is also a former Kamehameha student-athlete.

“Prior to that, Kamehameha was also given a bye before playing us (in the second-round tiebreaker series). Although we felt that we should have the bye since we won the first round, we still felt comfortable moving forward knowing that we would play both schools for the championship of the second round and then play for the championship of the ILH if we did not win the second round.”

Medeiros has proposed that in the event Kamehameha wins on Friday, the teams should play for the league championship on Sunday or Monday.

“I’m hoping that the ILH will do what I believe is right and fair and schedule an ILH championship game the following Monday if Saint Louis loses to Kamehameha,” Medeiros said.

There was confusion earlier in the week. Saint Louis co-athletic director Dan Hale said he was told that the first-round winner versus second-round winner format was intact on Monday. However, first-round winner Saint Louis got wind on Tuesday that Kamehameha would need only one more win to claim the league title. HHSAA executive director Chris Chun said that there would be no option to push the first round of the state tourney back because of an agreement with Spectrum/OC 16. He also said that there are no large venues available on Nov. 22, which is a bye for the Open Division bracket.

After Saint Louis went 2-0 to win the first round, Kamehameha, Saint Louis and Punahou each finished 1-1 in the second round. Saint Louis defeated Punahou 35-6 last weekend and was set to play Kamehameha for the second-round title, as is the normal ILH format. Instead, the league has removed the leverage that Saint Louis had earned by winning the first round and last week’s game with Punahou, Medeiros said.

A motion was proposed after the 2022 football season to determine the Open Division champion passed 5-0-1. It reads:

“The coaches have an interpretation that the season schedule is two rounds. The team with the best overall record is the ILH Champion. In the event of a 2-way tie, a one-game playoff between the two tied teams will be played to determine the ILH Champion. If there is a three-way tie, the ILH Office will conduct a card draw to determine (which) team draws the bye. The other two teams would play, with the winner playing the bye team for the ILH Championship.”

After two rounds, Saint Louis’ overall record was 3-1. Kamehameha was 2-2 and Punahou was 1-3.

“I don’t know what the HHSAA can do, but I do know that the ILH can potentially add that ILH championship game on Monday,” Medeiros said. “Today’s decision ignores the fact that we won the first round.”