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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, October 28, 2005

Five teams still have shots at ILH titles

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

The foggy Interscholastic League of Honolulu football title picture may finally come into sharp focus after tonight.

Or it could get cloudier.

With the end of the regular season a week away, five of the ILH's six teams are still mathematically in the running for the Division I or DII championship. And it's possible all five could still be in position to win a title even after today's three games.

Punahou travels to Iolani at 3:15 p.m., with a doubleheader at Kaiser Stadium pitting Kamehameha against Pac-Five at 4:45 p.m., followed by Damien vs. Saint Louis at 7:30.

Here is the scenario for each team (Pac-Five, at 0-5 in the ILH, is out of title contention):

  • Kamehameha (4-1): A victory would clinch at least a tie for first place in Division I. If the Warriors win and Punahou and Saint Louis lose, they will clinch the title outright.

  • Punahou (3-2): Basically, needs to win. A loss would require a Pac-Five victory over Kamehameha in order to stay in the title hunt.

  • Saint Louis (3-2): Basically, needs to win, too. A loss would require a Pac-Five victory over Kamehameha in order to stay in the hunt. If Crusaders win, next week's showdown with Kamehameha will be for at least a share of first place.

  • Iolani (3-2): Needs a victory to stay in contention for the overall championship. If Raiders win, they clinch at least a tie for first place in Division II. If Raiders win and Damien loses, they are DII champs. If Iolani loses and Damien wins, next week's game between the two will decide the Division II championship.

  • Damien (2-3): Needs a victory. A loss would make Iolani the Division II champion. If Monarchs win, and Iolani loses, next week's game between the two will decide the DII title. If both teams win today, Damien could still force a playoff for the crown by beating the Raiders next week.

    Of course, none of these scenarios covers the case of a tie game, or Pac-Five upsetting Kamehameha, which could further complicate matters. And unlike other leagues, the ILH does not use head-to-head results as a tiebreaker to determine championships. So, for example, if Kamehameha and Punahou end up tied with 5-2 records, they will have a playoff for the title even though Kamehameha won both meetings with Punahou.

    The same would hold true if Saint Louis finished tied with either team.

    If there is a three-way tie among Kamehameha, Punahou and Saint Louis, there likely would be a card draw to determine which team is out. The other two would then play for the championship, probably on Nov. 11.

    Finally, if Kamehameha wins the Division I title outright with a 5-2 record and Iolani also finishes 5-2, the two may meet to determine the overall championship. But only if both teams agree to play the game.

    Simple enough?

    Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.