Two-time defending state champion Saint Louis opens the 2018 season No. 1 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10 preseason rankings released today.
Here’s the preview story on Saint Louis from today’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The Crusaders are No. 1 for the 20th straight week dating back to the final rankings of the 2016 season.
Saint Louis is unanimous at the top receiving all 10 first-place votes. The Crusaders have won 15 straight games dating back to 2016 and open the season ranked No. 12 in the country by MaxPreps.
Three-time defending OIA champion Kahuku is ranked No. 2. The Red Raiders received nine second-place votes and one third-place vote. The Crusaders and Red Raiders have held the top two spots in the Star-Advertiser rankings in 36 of the last 40 weeks of the poll dating back to 2015. Mililani held the No. 2 spot for two weeks last season and Punahou was No. 2 behind Kahuku for two weeks during the 2015 season.
Mililani, which has won state titles in 2014 and 2016 under coach Rod York, is No. 3 in the preseason poll with one second-place vote and seven third-place votes.
Punahou, which was the last team other than Saint Louis or Kahuku to be ranked No. 1 in the state (Weeks 8-10 in 2015), checks in at No. 4 with Campbell under second-year coach Darren Johnson ranked fifth.
The Sabers, who open their season Saturday evening in Ewa Beach against Hilo, is in the top 5 for the first time since Week 13 in 2013.
The rest of the top 10 looks like this: 6. Kamehameha; 7. Waianae; 8. Lahainaluna; 9. Kapolei; 10. Hilo.
The Seariders haven’t finished a season outside of the top six since 2014 while Kamehameha is trying for its first winning season under third-year head coach Abu Ma’afala.
Two-time defending Division II state champion Lahainaluna was the first MIL team to finish in the top seven in the state last year since 2011.
Kapolei is the only team ranked in the preseason top 10 that wasn’t ranked to end last season.
Twenty different teams received votes. The 10 teams to get at least one vote but not make the top 10 are: Leilehua 8, Farrington 7, Baldwin 3, Konawaena 2, Kapaa 2, Maui 2, St. Francis 2, Waipahu 2, Kailua 1, Damien 1.
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 |
Not that it means much…but St LuLu has earned it where it counts.
But I’ll say this… so much for “ILH superiority” (as far as the voters go).
Aside from St LuLu’s ability to recruit top talent with Lee at the helm, that is a myth. It will be interesting to see how they do with their new young QB…especially against good different defenses every week.
Now that Punahou finally got rid of their crappy OC, maybe they can get back over the hump.
Gonna be a great season all around. Looking forward to it.
Football season is here, let KATOOSH begin!!
Going to be interesting watching the Puns O. Alumnus Robbie Toma via Laie is the new OC right?
RRFL!!
St Louis is a win-at-all-costs football program. Why even bother calling them a “high school”? Just go the way of that IMG Academy in Florida and brad yourself as a football factory first and foremost, with some schooling at night to get you qualified for college.
MGI—YOU ARE TOTALLY CORRECT!! I GIVE CREDIT FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR JUST SHOWING UP!! BUT WE BEAT THE CRAP OUT THE ILH IN 77-78–PUNS–OBAMAS BOYZ–YESS WE DID KNOCK SOME OF THAT $$MONEY LOOSE–PRIVATE PARTS??YEAHHHH
SEARIDER, I was at that 1977 game between Punahou and Waianae. I will never forget that hit Nate Fletcher laid on Punahou’s John Kamana. Slammed him to the ground in an act of rage. That was real, WWF is fake. Punahou’s Mark Tuinei grew up in Nanakuli. His brother Tom played for Larry Ginoza at Waianae. Funny thing is, he got kicked out of Punahou late in his senior year, and shows back up on the Waianae campus to finish out school. I know a starter from that Waianae team, and he tells me word spread really fast around campus about who had the nerve to show up. His attitude was like. “eh, you no want to play for Waianae, you left to attend Punahou, we whipped your butt in the Prep Bowl, now you got the nerve to show up on our campus….”
Rankings is over-rated