The Oahu Interscholastic Association football season kicks off tonight in empty stadiums, and there’s some classic, rugged matchups on tap in empty stadiums due to COVID-19 safety concerns.
But none of those OIA games are as big as the Interscholastic League of Honolulu contest going on at Aloha Stadium. That one pits No. 1 Kamehameha against No. 2 Saint Louis in a rematch. The Warriors got the better of the Crusaders in the first matchup, 23-21.
Tonight’s winner will take the regular-season ILH Open title and the top seed in the upcoming three-team playoff for the overall championship.
Three OIA Open Division games tonight are all going to be super interesting to fans (from afar), since none of these teams have played a real game in more about two years.
Kahuku vs. Kapolei from a few years ago. The two teams play tonight in an OIA opener.
If you had a chance, where would you go? To the ILH game or to Waianae at No. 4 Mililani, No. 5 Kahuku at Kapolei, or Farrington at No. 8 Campbell?
It would be a hard choice, unless of course you are a diehard fan of one of the teams or have a relative playing. By next week, fans will be allowed on a limited basis to the public school stadiums.
Over in Kapolei, people are getting excited about the expected starting quarterback there. His name might sound familiar: Tuli Tavovailoa. He’s the cousin of Tua (Miami Dolphins) and Taulia (University of Maryland) and the brother of Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa (Notre Dame defensive end).
You can watch Tuli’s freshman highlights by clicking here. He played for Thompson High in Alabaster, Ala., the same place Taulia played his final two high school seasons after two at Kapolei.
Tuli Tagovailoa, from his Twitter page.
At Mililani, Kili McMillian is expected to be the starting quarterback, and he’s only a freshman. You can watch him practicing in a video here.
Regular-season title on the line at Aloha Stadium
Kamehameha’s shutdown defense led to its win over Saint Louis early in the season. That unit’s performance tonight will either make or break the Warriors. They face quarterback AJ Bianco and a solid crew of receivers, including Trech Kekahuna, Devon Tauefa and Jaysen de Laura.
In their previous matchup, Kamehameha won it on Dylan Palama’s sack of Bianco on fourth down with just more than a minute to go as the Crusaders were nearing field goal range.
On the other side of the ball, Saint Louis has to contend with hard running of Noah Bartley (351 yards rushing, 135 yards receiving, 5 TDs) and the steadiness and smarts of quarterback Kealii Ah Yat.
Ah Yat, a junior, is the son of former ‘Iolani, University of Montana and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) quarterback Brian Ah Yat.
Below is this weekend’s schedule of games around the state. For all of this season’s previous scores, links to Bedrock Sports Hawaii’s stories of previous games, standings and Bedrock’s Top 10, go to Hawaii High School Football Master Schedule. It can also be found at BedrockSportsHawaii.com’s “Hawaii High School Football Central” located on the home page (scroll down a little ways):
You can return to the resources listed above often this season for the latest updates of scores and schedules.
THIS WEEKEND’S HAWAII HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES
(Schedule subject to change)
WEEK 8
FRIDAY, OCT. 15
ILH Open
>> No. 2 Saint Louis vs. No. 1 Kamehameha, at Aloha Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
ILH Division I/II
>> PAC-5 vs. Saint Louis II, at Aloha Stadium, 5 p.m.
OIA Open
>> Farrington at No. 8 Campbell, 7 p.m.
>> Waianae at No. 4 Mililani, 7:30 p.m.
>> No. 5 Kahuku at Kapolei, 7:30
OIA Division II
>> Kalaheo at Pearl City, 7 p.m.
BIIF nonleague
>> Kamehameha-Hawaii at Kealakehe
SATURDAY, OCT. 16
OIA Division I
>> Roosevelt at Waipahu, 6:30 p.m.
OIA Division II
>> Radford 2, Kaimuki 0, at Farrington High field, FORFEIT
>> Waialua vs. McKinley, at Roosevelt High field, 6 p.m.
>> Kalani at Kaiser, 6:30 p.m.
BIIF Division II
>> Pahoa at Hawaii Prep, 3 p.m.
KIF
>> Kapaa vs. Waimea, at Hanapepe Stadium, 2:30 p.m.
—–
ALSO AT Bedrock Sports: ILH D-I Champion ‘Iolani Schedules Three Games Against OIA Opponents
—–
