Lanai has been back in business playing football for five seasons, and now the Pine Lads are champions of the MIL 8-man league.
The Pine Lads (5-2, 5-1) defeated Seabury Hall 78-6 at home on Saturday to move into a first-place tie and a share of the league championship with Molokai (6-1, 5-1).
No playoffs were scheduled this season for the four-team league.
Lanai brought football back in 2014 after dropping it at the end of the 1953 season.
The Farmers won the title outright from 2015 to 2017.
In other MIL news, Baldwin remained in the chase for the Division I championship and a state berth by defeating Maui 24-14. With the win, the Bears clinched the second-round title. The Sabers won the first round, so a playoff will be held Friday, Nov. 2, at War Memorial Stadium.
MIL’s D-II championship was settled Oct. 12, when No. 6 Lahainaluna defeated Kamehameha-Maui 47-0. The Lunas won both rounds and are headed to states.
Two first-round MIL games (make-ups from the Aug. 25-26 Hurricane Lane weekend) will be played this weekend, but have no bearing on the outcome of division championships.
In the BIIF 8-man playoffs, second-seeded Pahoa topped third-seeded Kohala 34-6 at the Keaau High field Saturday. The Daggers (3-3, 2-2) move on to play Ka’u (5-0, 4-0) for the championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pahala Ball Field.
The Cowboys are going for their fourth championship in the last five years, since the start of BIIF 8-man. They also won it in 2014, 1016 and 2017.
Two BIIF championship games are scheduled for this weekend — Kealakehe (6-3, 5-2) meets Hilo (7-1, 7-0) in D-I on Friday at Wong Stadium, and Kamehameha-Hawaii (5-2, 5-2) visits Konawaena (5-3, 5-2) in D-II on Saturday.
In the KIF, Kapaa took over sole possession of first place with a 21-0 victory over Kauai on Saturday.
The Warriors (5-2, 4-1) can clinch the championship with a win over Waimea on Saturday.
If Kapaa loses that game, a playoff against Kauai (6-2, 4-2) will be held on Nov. 3.
The remaining schedule and updated standings from the BIIF, KIF and MIL follow.
WEEK 13
FRIDAY, OCT. 26
BIIF
>> Division I championship game, Kealakehe vs. Hilo, at Wong Stadium, 7 p.m.
MIL
>> Maui at Kamehameha-Maui, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 27
BIIF
>> Division II championship game, Kamehameha-Hawaii at Konawaena, 7 p.m.
KIF
>> Kapaa vs. Waimea, at Hanapepe Stadium, 2:30 p.m.
MIL
>> King Kekaulike at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.
BIIF 8-man
>> Championship game, Pahoa vs. Ka’u, at Pahala Ball Field, 1 p.m.
WEEK 14
FRIDAY, NOV. 2
MIL
>> Division I championship game, Baldwin vs. Maui, War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, NOV. 3
KIF
>> Playoff, if necessary, time and site TBD
2018 Standings
Updated: Nov. 25BIIF | ||||||
| DIVISION I | ||||||
| Team | Conf. | PF | PA | Overall | PF | PA |
| crz-Hilo | 7-0 | 210 | 36 | 9-2 | 306 | 167 |
| c-Kealakehe | 5-2 | 238 | 151 | 6-4 | 282 | 238 |
| Waiakea | 3-4 | 103 | 211 | 3-4 | 103 | 211 |
| Keaau | 2-5 | 109 | 185 | 2-5 | 109 | 185 |
| DIVISION II | ||||||
| Team | Conf. | PF | PA | Overall | PF | PA |
| cz-Kamehameha-Hawaii | 5-2 | 234 | 108 | 6-3 | 288 | 158 |
| cr-Konawaena | 5-2 | 190 | 69 | 5-4 | 228 | 150 |
| Honokaa | 1-6 | 54 | 196 | 2-6 | 74 | 210 |
| Hawaii Prep | 0-7 | 48 | 262 | 1-7 | 68 | 281 |
KIF | ||||||
| DIVISION II | ||||||
| Team | Conf. | PF | PA | Overall | PF | PA |
| z-Kapaa | 5-1 | 194 | 40 | 7-2 | 261 | 82 |
| Kauai | 4-2 | 79 | 52 | 6-2 | 147 | 72 |
| Waimea | 0-6 | 35 | 216 | 1-8 | 84 | 250 |
MIL | ||||||
| DIVISION I | ||||||
| Team | Conf. | PF | PA | Overall | PF | PA |
| xz-Maui | 4-4 | 194 | 172 | 5-6 | 261 | 255 |
| y-Baldwin | 3-5 | 172 | 270 | 3-7 | 247 | 373 |
| DIVISION II | ||||||
| Team | Conf. | PF | PA | Overall | PF | PA |
| xyz-Lahainaluna | 8-0 | 313 | 19 | 11-0 | 425 | 71 |
| Kamehameha-Maui | 5-3 | 229 | 198 | 6-3 | 280 | 216 |
| King Kekaulike | 0-8 | 109 | 358 | 0-10 | 142 | 409 |
BIIF 8-Man | ||||||
| Team | Conf. | PF | PA | Overall | PF | PA |
| rcz-Ka'u | 4-0 | 166 | 54 | 6-0 | 268 | 124 |
| c-Pahoa | 2-2 | 114 | 84 | 3-4 | 184 | 144 |
| c-Kohala | 0-4 | 26 | 168 | 0-5 | 32 | 202 |
MIL 8-MAN | ||||||
| Team | Conf. | PF | PA | Overall | PF | PA |
| d-Lanai | 5-1 | 322 | 156 | 5-2 | 364 | 218 |
| d-Molokai | 5-1 | 167 | 119 | 6-1 | 201 | 127 |
| Hana | 2-4 | 103 | 180 | 2-4 | 103 | 180 |
| Seabury Hall | 0-6 | 98 | 255 | 0-6 | 98 | 255 |
| d - co-champions | ||||||
| x-clinched first-round title | ||||||
| y-clinched second-round title | ||||||
| c-clinched playoff spot | ||||||
| r-clinched regular-season title | ||||||
| z-clinched overall title | ||||||
It’s the Ka’u Trojans that have won 4 out of the last 5 in BIIF 8-man; Kohala’s only championship was in 2015.
Nice to see 8 man football on the other islands, maybe teams like Waialua, Aiea and other Oahu schools that have a hard time getting 20 something players every year should consider this league.