For a seventh week in a row, Kahuku is a unanimous No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Football Top 10.
Kahuku collected all 10 first-place votes after a 42-7 playoff win over Kapolei. The two-time defending Open Division state champions will clash with No. 2 Mililani for the OIA championship on Saturday at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Punahou defeated Saint Louis 24-10 to secure the ILH Open title. The Buffanblu moved ahead of Campbell to No. 3, their highest ranking since Sept. 11.
No. 4 Campbell will battle No. 6 Kapolei for the third and last Open Division state-tournament berth allotted to the OIA. That game will be at Roosevelt’s Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Ninth-ranked Farrington will face defending champion Waipahu in the OIA Division I final. Kickoff at Mililani’s John Kauinana Stadium is Friday at 8 p.m. Both teams have qualified for the state championships.
ILH Open champion Punahou, BIIF D-I champion Konawaena, KIF D-I champion, MIL D-I champion Lahainaluna and MIL D-II champion Kamehameha-Maui are idle until the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Championships. The D-I and D-II state brackets begin Nov. 10-11. The Open state bracket begins play Nov. 17-18.
Punahou will be without a game for three weeks.
“Without knowing who our next opponent is yet, the focus is physical recovery and sharpening our swords for the next battle,” Buffanblu coach Nate Kia said.
Konawaena is the defending D-I state champion. There is a two-week gap between games for the Wildcats.
“Luckily, we’ve been here before. We just go back to fundamentals, film and clean stuff up,” Konawaena coach Brad Uemoto said. “The key is to stay sharp but injury free. At this point in the season, it’s more about fine-tuning. We will continue to train and keep our bodies in good shape.”
Lunas co-head coach Dean Rickard likes the timing of a break.
“We’ve had five straight games and are a little banged up, so the extra week will allow us some much-needed rest and rehab of injuries,” Rickard said. “We’ll mentally focus on taking care of the little things fundamental- and technique-wise in order to minimize our mistakes and maximize our fullest potential on both sides of the ball.”
Star-Advertiser Football Top 10
Monday, Oct. 30, 2023
Rank School (1st) (record) Pts LW
1. Kahuku (10) (10-1, 6-0 OIA reg. season) 100 1
> def. Kapolei, 42-7
> next: vs. No. 2 Mililani, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
2. Mililani (9-1, 6-0 OIA reg. season) 87 2
> def. Campbell, 55-37
> next: vs. No. 1 Kahuku, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
3. Punahou (7-2, 4-0 ILH reg. season) 77 4
> def. Saint Louis, 24-10
> next: bye (HHSAA Open, Nov. 17-18)
4. Campbell (8-3, 5-1 OIA reg. season) 76 3
> lost at Mililani, 55-37
> next: vs. No. 6 Kapolei, Saturday, 6 p.m.
5. Saint Louis (4-5, 2-2 ILH) 50 5
> lost at Punahou, 24-10
6. Kapolei (8-3, 5-1 OIA reg. season) 46 6
> lost at Kahuku, 49-7
> next: vs. No. 3 Campbell, Saturday, 6 p.m.
7. Konawaena (9-1, 8-0 BIIF) 42 7
> def. Keaau, 48-6
> next: bye (HHSAA D-I, Nov. 10-11)
8. Lahainaluna (5-0, 5-0 MIL) 23 9
> def. Maui, 42-0
> next: bye (HHSAA D-I, Nov. 10-11)
9. Farrington (6-2, 4-2 OIA reg. season) 20 8
> def.. Kailua, 13-10
> next: vs. Waipahu, Friday, 8 p.m.
10. Kamehameha (4-5, 0-4 ILH reg. season) 11 10
Also receiving votes: Kapaa 9, Waipahu 7, Damien 1, KS-Maui 1.
