Prep Football: Baldwin Opens Against Edison

By Fred Guzman

On the same weekend that the rest of their MIL football rivals kick off the league season, six-time defending champion Baldwin will be making its debut against a highly regarded team from California.

The Bears, who have risen to a tie for seventh in the Star-Advertiser prep poll without playing a game, will face the Edison Chargers of Huntington Beach in a 7 p.m. game at renovated War Memorial Stadium.

Edison features a pair of standout players – 6-foot-2, 190-pound quarterback Chase Favreu and 5-10, 170-pound wide receiver Troy Baljeu — who previously starred at Southern California powerhouse  Mater Dei before transferring to the public school.  Bryce Campbell, a 6-2, 210-pound linebacker is Edison’s top defensive player.

The Chargets are coming off 7-4 season that included a 4-1 mark for second place in the Sunset League,

The MIL campaign begins with pair of games on Saturday.  Lahainluna will host King Kekaulike at 1:30 p.m. and Maui High will face Kamehameha-Maui in a 7 p.m. game at War Memorial Stadium.

The Lunas split their two non-league games, suffering a 14-0 loss to Pac-Five nd rebounding for a 26-6 win over Keaau of the Big Island.  Kekaulike suffered a 27-0 road lost against Kapaa of Kauai, suffering seven interceptions in the game.

Kamehameha-Maui was routed 36-0 on the road by Kauai High last week, while Maui High was suffering  21-7 road loss to Waiakea.

Several other high-profile football games will be taking place around the state.

Among them: Top-ranked Kahuku at Kailua, No. 2 Saint Louis at No. 10 Mililani, No. 3 Punahou hosts No. 6 Campbell, No. 4 Farrington at Kaiser,  No. 5 Leilehua hosts Damien, Waianae at No. 7 Iolani, and No. 9 Kamehameha at Radford.

Damien will be trying to bounce back from the loss of senior quarterback Alan Mohika for the season to what a neurologist described as more than concussion, noting that he has had patients die from that type of head injury.

Mohika sustained the injury when he took a huge hit while throwing a third-quarter touchdown pass in a 27-7 non-league loss to Moanalua.