Baldwin-St. Louis Highlights Tentative 2012 MIL Football Schedule

By Rodney S. Yap

The 2012 Maui Interscholastic League football schedule is highlighted with a preseason game at Aloha Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 25, between MIL perennial champion Baldwin High School and Interscholastic League of Honolulu powerhouse St. Louis School.

St. Louis head coach Darnell Arceneaux called Baldwin head coach AJ Roloos last month and the coaches agreed on a “home and home” schedule with the Bears traveling this fall and the Crusaders coming to Maui in 2013.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to play a quality team,” Roloos said of St. Louis, the 2010 state champions under Arceneaux.

Although no contract was signed, Roloos is counting on Arceneaux honoring their gentlemen’s agreement.

“It’s supposed to be a home-and-home deal with them coming to Maui next year. I am hoping they will keep their word.”

The tentative MIL football schedule has players reporting for conditioning Thursday, July 26. The first preseason weekend is Aug. 10-11 and the MIL regular season starts with Maui High hosting Kamehameha Schools Maui at War Memorial Stadium on Friday, Aug. 24. Lahainaluna faces King Kekaulike the next night, Saturday, Aug. 25, while Baldwin has a league bye and will play St. Louis in the second game (7 p.m.) of a scheduled doubleheader at Aloha Stadium.

Right now Kekaulike is the only MIL team with two scheduled preseason games — its opener against Roosevelt on Saturday, Aug. 11, followed visiting Kauai on Aug. 18. Both games will be played at Kekaulike Stadium.

Kamehameha Maui is hosting Kapaa in preseason week one after traveling to the Garden Isle last year.

As it stands now, Lahainaluna and Maui High do not have preseason games scheduled, but both schools are still trying to nail down commitments.

Several MIL schools, Baldwin and Lahainaluna in particular, received early commitments from Big Island and California schools only to have them pullout due to coaching changes or financial difficulties.

For the Lunas, part of it is by design as bleachers will be installed, along with the construction of a two-story press box at Lahainaluna Stadium. Work is scheduled to start in the summer and run through the fall.

“So we’re not hosting any games,” said Lahainaluna co-head coach Bobby Watson. “The bleachers and the press box are part of the (master) plan.”

The Lunas anticipate playing all their home games in Lahaina in 2013 for the first time ever.

For now, Watson said his team will travel to the Big Island and play a series of scrimmages during the first preseason week if they are unable to schedule Kealakehe or Pearl City.

Note there is no bye week during the Maui County Fair weekend, Sept. 28-29. Instead, both Upcountry schools — Kekaulike and Kamehameha Maui — will be hosting games that weekend.

This year’s first and second rounds are in the same order and each team was given an equal number of Friday and Saturday games.