Aloha Stadium is quite busy for a retired football Mecca.

The postponement of a matchup between No. 1 Saint Louis and No. 5 Kamehameha means Damien and Pac-Five will play on Friday at Aloha Stadium in prime time.

The Damien/Pac-Five game was originally slated for Saturday morning at Saint Louis’ field. Damien is 0-1 after opening the season with a 28-0 loss to No. 7 ‘Iolani two weeks ago. Pac-Five lost to ‘Iolani last week, 46-7.

The Monarchs and Wolfpack are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m., a slot that is normally reserved for the ILH’s Open Division behemoths. In the 5 p.m. matchup, ‘Iolani and Kamehameha I-AA go to battle. No spectators are permitted.

In three weekends of ILH football, including the upcoming one, three of nine games have been pushed back due to COVID-10 protocols. On one hand, that’s unheard of in Hawaii high school sports aside from weather-related scenarios. On the other, that’s a 67% success rate as schools remain vigilant about preventing spread of coronavirus.

At Saint Louis, neither the Open Division squad nor the I-AA team has played an ILH game yet. The flexible time frame of the fall season means teams will have opportunities to make games up. The state tournament is a month later than usual, set for late December and early January. All fall sports state championships are roughly one month later on the sports calendar.

“All these games are postponed and rescheduled, if possible,” said Wendell Look, ‘Iolani co-athletic director and the league’s football coordinator.

The ILH regular season, including playoffs, is set to conclude on Oct. 23 — roughly two months before the state tournament begins.

“There’s no cutoff date (beyond Oct. 23). That’s kind of why we did it this way, where there’s room in the back end,” Look noted.

The public school leagues — KIF, OIA, MIL and BIIF — are scheduled to begin game action on Oct. 15.

No. 7 ‘Iolani (2-0, 2-0 ILH) vs. Kamehameha I-AA (0-1, 0-1 ILH)

The Raiders are 2-0 following a 28-0 win over Damien and a 46-7 victory over Pac-Five. This will be their first trip to Aloha Stadium since the fall of 2019.

Kamehameha I-AA gave Damien all it could handle before the Monarchs prevailed, 25-20, two weeks ago at Aloha Stadium. The Warriors I-AA, essentially the school’s junior varsity squad, is having quite a unique chapter as far as JV teams go.

“They want to give their kids some competitive games and, hopefully, we can give them a competitive game,” said Look, who is also ‘Iolani’s football coach. “We don’t know too much about them, but Kamehameha always has talent and size.”

The Raiders’ ability to adapt over the years has been intriguing. This is the first time they have actually listed defensive players as “HYBRID” on the roster.

“We’ve always had those kind of guys. We don’t have true nose guards. We don’t have true linebackers. Don’t have true strong safeties. We have guys that play multiple positions and have to be able to adapt,” Look noted. “With the term hybrid, it has evolved in our game, I guess, ’cause I don’t know what else to put them as. I couldn’t list them as three positions. There’s only so much space in that (roster) block.”

The Raiders have been effective on the ground with running back Brody Bantolina leading the way. The senior has rushed for 188 yards and four touchdowns on 27 attempts. Cainen Torres and Kaeo Miyahira have combined for 32 carries, 127 yards and three TDs in reserve.

“The play of the offensive and defensive lines, that’s where it all starts. That’s always the big question mark for us, how are we going to be able to match up and execute against other teams,” Look said. “We don’t have decent size in football terms, so we just have to make it work. That’s always the question.”

First-year starter Micah Hoomanawanui has passed for 286 yards and two TDs without a pick so far. He has completed 69% of his throws. Kai Preusser has hauled in 10 of those spirals for 92 yards and a TD. Miyahira and Tristan Martinez have pulled in six passes apiece.

“How we approach each game is, we prepare for our opponent, but it comes down to us taking care of what we need to do,” Look said.

Damien (1-1, 1-1 ILH) vs. Pac-Five (0-1, 0-1 ILH)

First-year head coach Anthony “Bones” Tuitele has kept the load light for first-year starting quarterback Jensen Tanele. Damien has run the ball 59 times, including 31 carries for 116 yards by the athletic Tanele. The Monarchs have stayed on the ground for more than 50% of their offensive snaps, keeping the clock moving for their core group of two-way players.

Playmakers Sylas Alaimalo (eight catches, 121 yards) and Kamalii Labanon (nine, 45) have been the key targets for Tanele so far. The ironman approach is a necessity for the Wolfpack, who suited up 36 players against ‘Iolani. Linebacker/running back Joshua Arcayena led the ’Pack with 31 rushing yards.

Rome Lilio, their 6-foot-4 freshman, is also a promising basketball player. He had a 23-yard reception in the game at ‘Iolani.