Nanakuli is moving from OIA-ILH Division I to D-II for football, league football coordinator Harold Tanaka said Thursday.

Kaimuki, which had been mentioned as a team to move up to Division I after finishing the regular season undefeated in D-II last year, will remain in Division II.

Last year, there were 10 teams in both the OIA-ILH D-I and D-II. For 2019, Nanakuli, in effect, is replacing St. Francis in the lowest tier. St. Francis, an ILH school, is closing its doors at the end of this school year.

This year, there will be only nine teams in OIA-ILH D-I, due to Nanakuli’s switch.

“For Kaimuki, it was about numbers,” Tanaka said. “They feel like they don’t have the numbers of players to be at the D-I level. For Nanakuli, they feel D-II is a better fit.”

Hawaii team takes third in 7-on-7 national tourney

Coach Asai Gilman of Team 808 Elite took his football squad from the islands to Tampa, Fla., and it finished third out of 32 teams at the Adidas 7-on-7 National Championships over the weekend.

Gilman and assistant coaches Ricky Lumford and Kawika Kane did it with a straightforward approach, and their talented team responded.

Team 808 defeated BSP 31-14, FIG 35-7 and KT Prep 49-28, and tied Indy Select 14-all. The team lost to Ground Zero (Calif.) in the semifinals.

“Tell you right now, we’re opening some eyes, man. All these five-star athletes have total respect for us,” said Gilman, who was between flights in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. “These guys are the best in the nation. All these guys didn’t know who we were. They took us lightly. Just the swag, overlooking the unknown guys. They couldn’t keep up with our speed.”

Team 808 had many of the state’s top prospects, including Saint Louis quarterback Jayden de Laura, linebacker Nick Herbig and receiver Roman Wilson. Gilman’s teams traveled to Las Vegas in 2017 and California in ’18. The ’18 squad featured QB Dillon Gabriel of Mililani, now at UCF.

Lanai baseball player hits 4 homers in a game

Lanai’s Naighel Calderon boomed four home runs on Saturday, going 4-for-4 with six RBIs as the Pine Lads defeated visiting St. Anthony 10-1.

Lanai swept the Trojans over the weekend. On Friday, the Pine Lads won 10-1 in six innings as Calderon — who tops out at 84 to 86 mph — pitched a complete game, striking out nine and walking two in a one-hitter. When he’s not pitching, he’s at shortstop or center field.

“He’s been working hard in the offseason, during the season,” Lanai coach Ricky Sanches said. “His game doesn’t emulate one person. He’s kind of his own unique athlete.”

Calderon plays football, basketball and baseball. He takes 1,000 swings every day, on or off season, sometimes with dad (Charlie) throwing to him. He travels in the offseason for baseball and plans to continue his career in college. Last summer, he played in the neighborhood of 80 games from California to Nebraska to Illinois, back to California and then on to Georgia, playing in the Perfect Game tournament. The MVP team from Hawaii also played in Spain.

“He’s really fast and has good instincts. He can hit for contact and power. He’s not a big guy, but it’s in him,” Sanches said. “Maybe the closest (comparison) would be Shane Victorino. It’s not the same swing, but he’s fast and he can play outfield, too.”