#MIL football

The Warriors are taking the “college bowl” approach, spending the four weeks before the state tournament studying film, lifting weights and getting healthy before they play a semifinal game in the state tournament on Nov. 22.

Archer Fabrao will participate in her fourth state tournament that runs Oct. 27 and Oct. 30-Nov. 1 after the Warriors clinched their 21st consecutive state tournament appearance with a 25-12. 25-20, 26-24 win over King Kekaulike on Tuesday. 

Zedekaiah Campbell became the Warriors’ all-time leading rusher with a three-touchdown, 159-yard performance.

After losing 27 seniors, the defending champion Lunas will look to a new crop of rising leaders to lead them back to the state tournament. Baldwin and Maui High will have something to say about that.

Kaholi Krau, the first Mauian to attend the elite IMG Academy in Florida for more than one year, has returned home to play football and make up for lost time with his family.

The league will use the eight-game, two-round system to determine Division I and Division II state tournament berths after two seasons of unbalanced schedules were needed due to the Aug. 8, 2023, fires and the expansion to a six-team league that included Moloka’i in 2024. 

Kamehameha Maui, Maui High and King Kekaulike all have more than 50 athletes out for spring football practice, numbers rarely seen in the Maui Interscholastic League for the voluntary workouts.

Pohai Lee takes reins of Sabers football program after being head coach for Baldwin High School from 2015 to 2021.

Kamehameha Maui senior safety/wide receiver Nohi Casco, a threat on both sides of the ball, said the Warriors are gunning to end the Lunas’ eight-year MIL victory run.

In preparation for a sold-out Maui Interscholastic League football game (Lahainaluna vs. Baldwin) on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, War Memorial Complex facilities and some surrounding areas will be temporarily closed to the public that day.

Lahainaluna secured the DII state football championship after defeating Konawaena in 7 overtimes.  The 75-69 win is the second consecutive title for the Lunas.

Maui High School hopes Rodney Figueroa’s 20-plus years on the Maui Interscholastic League prep circuit will be the foundation to a highly successful football program.

Maui High School is fixing to hire its fourth football coach in 10 years, confirming the resignation of Keith Shirota, a Saber graduate and long-time educator on the Lono Avenue campus.

Never under estimate the power of goal setting or the value of education. Thanks to a strict up-bringing and the support of his late grandmother, Maui High school student-athlete Feleti Afemui accepted a full-scholarship Tuesday to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., considered by some to be the “Stanford of the East Coast.”

The pride of Maui High School, student-athlete Feleti Afemui, made his decision to attend Vanderbilt University next fall on a football scholarship official Tuesday, signing a National Letter of Intent before a classroom full of family, friends and faculty.

The King Kekaulike football team held its end-of-the-season banquet on Nov. 18 in the school’s cafeteria. More than 100 players, parents and administrators attended.

The last time a pair of Neighbor Island teams played for the state Division II football championship, King Kekaulike High School returned to the Valley Isle with the winning hardware, knocking off Kauai in the 2006 final at Aloha Stadium, 33-20.

Despite all the different looks and personnel moves Maui High School utilized, none could change the outcome of Saturday’s “Big Game” against cross-town rival Baldwin High School.

Baldwin High School’s backup running back Daniel Corpuz rushed for 99 yards and two first-quarter touchdowns to help the Bears preserve a 19-13 victory over Lahainaluna Saturday night in an otherwise meaningless Maui Interscholastic League football game at War Memorial Stadium.

Maui High School’s Hanisi Lotulelei finished with a career high 222 yards rushing and four touchdowns Friday night as the Sabers’ football team spoiled Kamehameha Maui’s senior night with a lopsided 26-7 win.