Baldwin defeated Maui 28-14 on Saturday night to capture the Maui Interscholastic League Division I football championship for the second year in a row and qualify for the upcoming D-I state tournament.
The Bears (8-2), ranked No. 9 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10, finished with an 8-0 league record after the win at War Memorial Stadium. The Sabers ended their season at 5-5.
In the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, Konawaena captured the only other state-tournament spot still available heading into the night by edging Kamehameha-Hawaii 27-23 at home.
The Wildcats (8-1) also earned the BIIF D-II crown for a second straight season. The Warriors finished their season at 6-4.
For final MIL, BIIF and Kauai Interscholastic Federation regular-season standings and updated overall records, click here: http://bit.ly/2dqsX46.
A list of state qualifiers follows.
Open
>> No. 6 Farrington (8-2)
>> No. 1 Kahuku (9-1)
>> No. 4 Kapolei (8-2)
>> No. 2 Punahou (7-2)
>> No. 3 Saint Louis (8-1)
>> No. 5 Waianae (8-3)
Division I
>> No. 9 Baldwin (8-2)
>> No. 8 Campbell (6-4)
>> Hilo (8-1)
>> ‘Iolani (3-7)
>> Leilehua (4-7)
>> No. 7 Mililani (6-3)
>> Moanalua (5-6)
>> Waiakea (3-8)
Division II
>> Damien (6-2)
>> Kapaa (7-1)
>> Konawaena (8-1)
>> Lahainaluna (6-4)
>> Waialua (6-2)
>> Waipahu (8-1)
TEAMS ELIMINATED FROM STATES:
OIA
>> Aiea (3-5)
>> Castle (4-5)
>> Kailua (3-5)
>> Kaimuki (5-4)
>> Kaiser (2-7)
>> McKinley (0-8)
>> Nanakuli (0-8)
>> Kalaheo (1-7)
>> Kalani (4-3)
>> Pearl City (5-4)
>> Radford (0-8)
>> Roosevelt (2-6)
ILH
>> No. 10 Kamehameha (3-6)
>> Pac-Five (2-5)
>> St. Francis (5-3)
KIF
>> Kauai (1-6)
>> Waimea (3-4)
MIL
>> Kamehameha-Maui (2-7)
>> King Kekaulike (0-7)
>> Maui (5-5)
BIIF
>> Hawaii Prep (0-8)
>> Honokaa (4-4)
>> Kamehameha-Hawaii (6-4)
>> Kealakehe (3-5)
>> Keaau (2-5)
So can all the haters of Iolani stop already? Look at the D1 list: 4 of the 8 teams thats half for those who r mathematically challenged that have records below .500. Now sit back and watch them roll through that bracket. Only mil ville will pose a threat.
@AOK whats your point? Look at the records of all the teams that were eliminated…looks to me like all the teams that made it to the playoffs deserve to be there.
Let me make one exception, Waiakea…Thats why that final DI playoff spot should be a play in between MIL and BIIF.
@TheRim So are you saying that Iolani is deserving as well? If yes, then you and I are in the minority. Practically everyone hated that they got an automatic berth into D1 States.
But, if no, my point was that half of the teams who made it had bad records (just like Iolani).
The way I see it, maybe it’s not right that they got in automatically. But, to me that’s irrelevant. If they win, or at least do well (which I believe they will) then it makes no difference that they were guaranteed to make it in after the Open/D1 tournament were created. Bottom line: If they are good enough to be there, then they should be there. It doesn’t matter how they were selected.
Same as Open with PUns and Saints. There may have been a time early in the season in which people thought Waianae could compete with those 2 (I ain’t mentioning Kahuku, because they’re obviously on another level). Now, that is not even a question. Kapolei before lost to Farrington might have had a case as well. Now, the top 3 is clearly: 1 Kahuku, 2 STL, and 3 Pun. And, if another tourney had gone down and only 1 ILH had been represented, well that my friend would have been a travesty.
#LetTheBestTeamsPlay #ConferenceAffiliationDontMatter
Just ask the defending state champs Red Raiders (and I ain’t even supporting them) who they would rather play: boys, you rather play Waianae (again) or Pun/STL? Come on ain’t even a question.
Maybe the haterz are KamKapalama?
@AOK – What I believe is ALL three divisions are represented by teams that deserve to be there. The only team, and I believe they would say the same, is Waiakea. They earned their way in by virtue of BIIF’s two slots, but my feeling is there should be a play-in between the 2nd place MIL and BIIF for that last spot. No matter what anyone says about Iolani, they deserve to be there, and yes, should be one of the favorites if Mizutani plays.
With a league record of 0-7, I don’t see how Iolani deserves a spot in the state tournament. I think that the D1 spot should have gone to the third placed team in the league as I feel that they are more deserving of the opportunity.
@Jus Sayin Obviously the 3rd place ILH team (Kam Kapalama) are more deserving than the last place (Iolani). But, they wanted to compete for the Open Tournament, not the D1. And I agree with their call. How sad it would have been to see even an underachieving team such as them if they just said we wanna go for the second class tourney. Rod York has already come out and said we wanted the Open, not the D1. As long as States is set up this way, none of the perennial top teams should ever aim for the D1.
@The Rim Agree 100
I’ve written my thoughts on FB to the HHSAA when they created this new format, and hopefully it can be heard again on this venue. I think that like the College Playoff system has a Committee, the HHSAA should also form a Committee of high qualified individuals who could mold the Open, Division 1, and Division 2 playoffs as best represents the schools and leagues. My argument back then was, that outer Island teams shouldn’t be confined to D1 and D2 championships, because their are years that they are better than at least the OIA 3 and 4 place teams. Baldwin had years where they were a Hail Mary and couple stops away from the State Championship (I didn’t go to BHS, that’s just a fact). If we had a HHSAA Committee that was fair and impartial, that had open and objective criteria, such as strength of schedule, common opponents, head to head match ups, etc., then they could allow outer Island teams to compete at the Open Division. My example doesn’t work this year, but just imagine if an outer Island team played an OIA team in the preseason and beat them. Then, they run the table in their conference, and have a common opponent that they beat more handedly than the OIA opponent. Then that outer Island team deserves to be accepted into the Open Division in place of that same OIA opponent who got the 3 or 4 seed.
Reading today’s article even furthered my call for a Committee, by seeing that Kamehameha should have definitely been in the D1 Tournament (I’m reading the other comments say they chose not too), so 2 spots should have been given to ILH teams with one being taken away from either the OIA 4 or BIIF 2. A Committee that would have criteria, open and transparent dialogue and selections (just like we see on Saturdays) would solve a lot of disparity issues and be fair to the outer Island and ILH teams in the future. If this makes sense to anybody with involvement in the HHSAA process, can you please introduce to the powers that be, and pass along this suggestion. What do you all think? Realistic or fantasy?