Below is the FOURTH of Hawaii Prep World’s four-part quick look at the first round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I football playoffs Friday and Saturday.
This year, things are quite a bit different. In years past, teams playing in the first round faced elimination and also had a chance to move on.
Now, the first-round losers are still eliminated, but the first-round winners gain a spot in the state tournament. The following week, the quarterfinal winners lock up a spot in the inaugural state Open division and the quarterfinal losers head to the state Division I tourney.
Kailua at Waianae
Kickoff: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Seeding
>> Waianae is the OIA Blue No. 3 seed
>> Kailua is the OIA Red No. 6 seed
Records
>> Waianae (6-2, 5-2)
>> Kailua (3-4, 3-4)
Head coaches
>> Waianae: Walter Young (second season)
>> Kaiser: Joe Wong (third season)
Prize for winning: A quarterfinal matchup against Mililani (5-2, 5-2 OIA Red) and a spot in the either the Open or D-I state tournament.
Prize for losing: Elimination from OIA playoffs. Season over.
Coach Wong on playing against the Seariders:
“It’s all about taking care of the football. We can’t turn it over like we did last year (in a 37-22 loss to Waianae in the OIA quarterfinals) and expect to come out unscathed. We moved up and down the field and had a chance had we taken care of the ball. You can’t give that kind of team that amount of cracks at the football. They took the whole third quarter away from us and kept it away from us. That was the key in their win and our loss. They drove it downfield and punched it in. One of our turnovers was a pick six. Are we ready? I can never answer that question until (after the game) but we’re getting there.”
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