Bears and Lunas Compete in State Football Tournaments

***Check back for game coverage, highlights and images to be posted by Maui Now’s Rodney S. Yap.

Baldwin quarterback Chayce Akaka rejoices in triumph following the final buzzer Friday as the Bears beat Maui High, 56-7. Teammate Keli’i Kaiama looks on. Photo Halloween weekend 2015, by Rodney S. Yap.

DIVISION I: Baldwin Bears (8-3) vs. Waianae Seariders (8-3)

Maui MIL champs, the Baldwin Bears make their 13th state appearance tonight (Friday, Nov. 6, 2015) at the First Hawaiian Bank 17th Annual Football State Championships in a 4:30 p.m. match up against the Waianae Seariders at Aloha Stadium.

Tonight’s game will be broadcast live at 4:30 p.m. on Pacific Media Group’s own KMVI 900 AM and on television via Cable’s OC16.  The televised broadcast will include color commentary from Pacific Media Group’s Jordan Helle.

The Bears’ closest championship game breakthrough came in 2006, but Kahuku’s Hail Mary in the final 10 seconds of the semifinal stunned the Bears, 22-20, deflating any hopes of being the first neighbor-island team to reach the Division I final.

The Bears hope to avenge that loss as they meet up against Waianae in the quarterfinal round, and eventually play OIA champ and top seed Kahuku in the semifinals once again.

Bears’ Coach Pohai Lee makes his head-coast state tournament debut, along with seven other first-timers this year.  Lee is the nephew of Saint Louis head coach Cal Lee. He previously served as an assistant coach at Kaiser and Baldwin, with stints in the collegiate level on the mainland before taking on the Bears head coaching job.

The Waianae Seariders are third place in the OIA and clinched the final Division I berth after defeating Farrington on Halloween night.

Lahainaluna’s Elijah Ragudo (24) intercepts a Kamehameha Maui pass and returns it for a touchdown early in the first quarter Saturday. Kamehameha’s Covy Cremer trails the play. Photo, Halloween weekend 2015 by Rodney S. Yap.

DIVISION II: Kaimuki Bulldogs (7-4) at Lahainaluna Lunas (6-5)

In the Division II bracket, Maui’s Lahainaluna Lunas take on the Kaimuki Bulldogs in a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Lahaina’s Sue D. Cooley Stadium in West Maui.

The game will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on Pacific Media Group’s own KMVI 900 AM.

This will be the ninth straight divisional appearance for MIL champ Lahainaluna, after finishing as the state runner up in 2014, and 12th overall.

The teams have met up twice before in the state tournament: In 2007, the Lunas defeated the Bulldogs 52-20 in a semifinal win; and in 2010 Kaimuki defeated the Luna in an overtime 28-27 finish.

This is the fourth Division II appearance for OIA runner-up Kaimuki, and the first under head coach and Bulldog alum David Tautofi.

The Lunas will be led by veteran co-head coaches Garret Tihada and Robert “Bobby” Watson.