Moving on up. That was the plan for the Leielhua football team, when the Mules were competing in the middle-tier Division I.
And after four seasons in D-I, this is the year the Mules made the move to the top-tier Open Division.
A progression upward. Leilehua athletic director Nolan Tokuda and head coach Mark Kurisu felt it was the right thing for the program. It was just 14 years ago that the Mules were top-tier champions in 2007, with Tokuda as the coach and Kurisu as his assistant.
Leilehua is the poster child, so to speak, for upwardly trending football programs. Roosevelt is another. The Rough Riders jumped from D-II to D-I this season.
Alfred Failauga, Hawaii’s all-time leading rusher, ran the ball against Leilehua a few seasons ago in a Division I game. Leilehua has since moved up to the Open Division, a place where Waipahu wants to get some day.
(Image credit: Bryson Carvalho’s Twitter page).
There could be more of this movement in the future.
Since the OIA-ILH regular-season alliance kicked off in 2018, the first (nonleague) week of the season is the perfect time for teams to test the waters in the division above them. They can get a sense of what it’s like.
One of those schools possibly trying to jump up a division in the near future is Waipahu, and the D-I Marauders always make it a priority to go against an Open Division school for its nonleague encounter.
This year is no different. Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho scheduled the Marauders to play Campbell of the Open Division on Aug. 6.
Of the seven known nonleague games Aug. 6-7 (which is one weekend before the regular season starts Aug. 13-14), all of them are interdivisional.
At last check, Roosevelt and Kahuku were still in the process of trying to get a nonleague game, and PAC-5 hasn’t ruled out the possibility of scheduling a nonleague contest. There are possibly a handful of other OIA and ILH teams trying to find a nonleague opponent.
BedrockSportsHawaii is not yet aware of any preseason games involving teams from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation and the Maui Interscholastic League.
Here is the preseason schedule so far.
FRIDAY, AUG. 6
Nonleague
>> Punahou (Open) at Kailua (D-I), 7 p.m.
>> Aiea (D-I) at Leilehua (Open), 7:30 p.m.
>> Castle (D-I) at Kapolei (Open), 7:30 p.m.
>> Waipahu (D-I) at Campbell (Open), 7:3o p.m.
SATURDAY, AUG. 7
Nonleague
>> Kaiser (D-II) at ‘Iolani (D-I), 3 p.m.
>> Pearl City (D-II) at Moanalua (D-I), 6 p.m.
>> Damien (D-I) at Radford (D-II), 6:30 p.m.
—
RELATED:
>> The 2021 OIA-ILH High School Football Schedule Is Out
>> Former Punahou Head Man Kale Ane Hired To Coach McKinley Football Team
>> Gary Wirtz Hired As New Waialua Football Coach
—
