With wins over Castle and Waianae, the Kapolei Hurricanes have proven to be one of the most overlooked teams to start the 2019 prep football season.
Voters are noticing now and have given the Hurricanes their highest ranking in two years in the latest Honolulu Star-Advertiser Football Top 10 released today.
The Hurricanes (2-0, 1-0 OIA Open) are ranked No. 7 heading into Thursday’s night clash against No. 1 Saint Louis in Kapolei.
Kapolei hasn’t been ranked this high since it was No. 5 in the third week of the 2017 season after reaching the Open Division state semifinals in 2016.
Quarterback Noa Bailey has thrown for 566 yards and seven touchdowns and has completed 61 percent (40-for-66) of his passes with senior receiver De’Zhaun Stribling his favorite target (23 receptions, 266 yards, 4 TDs).
The Hurricanes are the first opponent for three-time defending Open Division champion Saint Louis, a unanimous No. 1 once again. The Crusaders own the state’s longest winning streak at 26 games. The next longest? Two.
Punahou remains at No. 2 despite an injury to quarterback Hugh Brady, but its lead over No. 3 Mililani is just a single vote. The Trojans move up a spot after beating Campbell 30-26, riding Saint Louis transfer Malosi Sam and his 43 carries for 259 yards. Sam had more carries than Campbell had plays run on offense.
Kahuku also jumps up a spot to No. 4 after beating Kamehameha, getting five interceptions and eight sacks from its defense.
Campbell drops two spots to No. 5 and the Warriors remain at No. 6 despite the loss.
Following the Hurricanes is No. 8 Leilehua, which still hasn’t given up a point this season in wins over Farrington and Kailua.
Waianae dropped two spots to No. 9 following the loss to Kapolei.
Moanalua is back in the Top 10 after Griffin Motas‘ last-second field goal stunned ‘Iolani 21-20.
Na Menehune was ranked No. 7 entering the OIA playoffs last year when there were upset by Castle. They share the No. 10 spot with Damien, which was idle over the weekend after starting the season with an overtime win at Lahainaluna, breaking the Lunas’ 21-game winning streak.
Hilo was the only team outside the Top 10 to receive votes with four.
TOP 10 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, AUG. 15
>> No. 1 Saint Louis at No. 7 Kapolei, 7:30 p.m.
>> No. 5 Campbell at Farrington, 7:30 p.m.
>> No. 10 Damien at Radford, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUG. 16
>> No. 6 Kamehameha at No. 2 Punahou, 3:15 p.m.
>> No. 3 Mililani at No. 4 Kahuku, 7:30 p.m.
>> Waipahu at No. 8 Leilehua, 7:30 p.m.
>> No. 10 Moanalua at Kailua, 7:30 p.m.
Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10
| FOOTBALL | ||
|---|---|---|
| Updated: 10/23 | ||
| RANK | SCHOOL | VOTES |
| 1. | Kahuku (10) | 100 |
| 2. | Miililani | 86 |
| 3. | Campbell | 81 |
| 4. | Punahou | 73 |
| 5. | Saint Louis | 53 |
| 6. | Kapolei | 50 |
| 7. | Konawaena | 40 |
| 8. | Farrington | 23 |
| 9. | Lahainaluna | 18 |
| 10. | Kamehameha | 8 |
With no disrespect to Brady cause of injury, Kahuku should be 2nd. Then when they beat St. Louis , 1st.
Luck for Punahou that the last 4 games are the monsters of the Open. Maybe Brady can mend. Kahuku is creeping up. Gotta keep healthy. Waianae looks like a team that can progress. Leileihua another team. Remember, for the sake of the Open League, Leileihua was dropped. They have always played in the top tier OIA since the 90s.
you would think so, yeah, all facts? but we all know how the haters be out there and the media bias. we were always the enemy of the state. but only one thing to do: win the koa again and bring it home
At least Kahuku moved past Campbell in this rankings. ScoringLive has Campbell ahead of Kahuku. Even with being 0-1.
Well to be fair, if Mililani loses to Kahuku at Mililani, it’s because of all the off season recruiting that Kahuku did to get mainland and ILH recruits.