Comments on: ‘Iolani looking for annual ILH upset

By: Moanalua

Moanalua — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 03:04:54 +0000

@J Walker: Agreed. I was in high school well before the D1/D2 split. D2 classification relegates the teams in it to second-class status. When I was in high school in he ’70s, Iolani, Damien, and Pac-5 held their own. I say D1/D2 status in the ILH–AND Red/White status in the OIA–should be eliminated. Let each and every school/team stand proudly in the same division. Then no victory or championship can be pooh-poohed as second-class for being in D2 or the White.

By: J Walker

J Walker — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 23:45:44 +0000

JD, Not arguing, but just pointing out that although Iolani has dominated in Div. 2 ILH, that pushing them up to Div. 1 would make them the only Div. 1 ILH program without a JV team. Those kids are going directly from Intermediate to Varsity, so if the purpose of having multiple divisions is safety, wins and losses aside, that should factor in (that is a commonality of the Div. 2 teams). What MAY (not saying it is) be a contributing factor to that is that Iolani’s average class size is about half that of Kamehameha and Punahou, and although St. Louis’ is smaller, it is not co-ed.

That said, I personally would love to see the ILH go back to the good old days with one division, winner take all! Afterall, what’s the point in saying it is about safety if you are going to make them play the Div. 1 teams anyway… in fact, in the current format, since all the teams play each other once (and inter-league crosses divisions), I don’t even see the purpose of the labels. Just my humble opinion.

By: JD Allen

JD Allen — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 07:04:23 +0000

This is the very reason Iolani belongs in D1. They ain’t a small team. The only reason they play D2 is because they can’t recruit big players to come there. There are 15-20 guys over 200 lbs nonetheless. Hardly the mark of a small team.

By: Jerry Campany

Jerry Campany — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 02:45:57 +0000

I’m with ya, helping hand. The playoffs change things, but losing to Iolani will be quite a thing to overcome, the same as it has been in the past.

By: Helping Hand

Helping Hand — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 23:33:07 +0000

Great article Jerry!

Just wanted to point out that if Iolani beats a Division I ILH team, it’s not the end of their hopes for the title (although its a big indictation). With the inclusion of Saint Francis this year, the ILH will have a new playoff format for determining league titles. So even if Kamehameha were to lose this week, they still can win the ILH by winning in the playoffs