Kaua‘i football fans, I have to come clean. There’s something I need to tell you. Something that’s been sitting on my chest, begging to get out. It’s the truth. It’s an admission of guilt. Of doubt. It’s a statement of
Kaua‘i football fans, I have to come clean. There’s something I need to tell you. Something that’s been sitting on my chest, begging to get out. It’s the truth. It’s an admission of guilt. Of doubt. It’s a statement of prior misjudgment and a plea for forgiveness. It’s my mea culpa.
Several weeks ago, before Waimea and Kapa‘a faced off to decide the KIF title, a friend of mine asked which team would do better in the state playoffs.
I scoffed at the question. I told him it didn’t matter who won. The eventual winner would be lucky to get past the first round. Even if they did, the team would just be playing for a free trip to Honolulu. With the giant of ‘Iolani waiting, the playing of the semifinal game would just be a formality. A courtesy even.
I told him that no KIF team had established itself as a playoff contender. Too many close games. No convincing wins. The KIF was so tight this season that each week a different team looked like the best in the league.
The competition faced in playoffs would be too varied — too foreign. The Kaua‘i teams have only played themselves. How could that prepare them to play a team like ‘Iolani who faced DI powerhouses like St. Louis, Punahou and Kamehameha?
That’s where I made my mistake.
I confused the drag-em-out games in the KIF season with mediocrity when in truth, it was three quality football teams putting on a show this fall.
As we all know, the Kapa‘a Warriors more than made a name for themselves in the playoffs. They shut out the top-ranked offense of the Pearl City Chargers. In the game against ‘Iolani, the Raiders had to supplant a 10-point Warrior lead at the half and escaped with barely the skin left on their backs.
But it wasn’t just the Kapa‘a community the Warriors were playing for. It was for the whole island of Kaua‘i. While the other teams may not realize it after a tough season full of emotion and hard-fought games, Kapa‘a’s showing in the playoffs was a win for all three KIF teams.
The Warriors play against ‘Iolani showed just how influential the KIF can be in the discussion of Hawai‘i football. Kapa‘a wouldn’t have gotten where it did this year without Waimea and Kaua‘i.
No team in the state of Hawai‘i faced as tough of a road to the playoffs as the Warriors did. Their wasn’t a single easy game this season. You want to talk about a balanced league? Four of the Red Raiders five losses this season were by 10 points or less. For a team that finished 1-5 and didn’t get it’s first win until the last game of the year, to not get rolled-over once proves as a testament to the grittiness of the KIF this year.
The Warriors didn’t have to play schools like Punahou this year to warm up for the playoffs because they had six straight weeks of tough games. While the Warriors eventually established themselves as the KIF’s best — deservedly so — all three of this island’s teams could have represented well on the state level this season. The KIF was that good this year.
Whether it was Kapa‘a’s over-powering offensive line, Waimea’s ability to come up with big plays in the clutch or the flashes of brilliance by the young Kaua‘i offense and defense, it made for a season for the ages and bolstered the image of this league.
The Kapa‘a Warriors may not have beaten ‘Iolani last Saturday, but they showed the whole state, and me, why KIF football shouldn’t ever be looked over.
