MIL releases updated football slate
Season to begin Oct. 22; because of time crunch, groups to play 6 games rather than 8
The Maui Interscholastic League will play a customary season that incorporates six games for every group beginning on Oct. 22 when Maui High School goes to play Lahainaluna at Sue Cooley Stadium.
It will be the most brief MIL football season since the association extended from four groups to six out of 1995 when King Kekaulike and Kaahumanu Hou joined the positions.
The first round of MIL play will be a full cooperative record where every one of the five groups face each other more than four games each.
The second round will be just in-division play with two games each for Division I groups Baldwin, Maui High and Lahainaluna. Division II groups King Kekaulike and Kamehameha Maui will confront each other twice in the second round.
MIL football facilitator Jon Viela, the athletic chief at Kamehameha Maui, affirmed that all games count and the association has a season finisher date put away for Dec. 17 for Division I groups ought to there be two distinct victors in the first round and second round.
There is an open date on Dec. 18, however the D-II victor will be controlled by the three-game no holds barred record ought to there be two diverse round champs.
"The MIL is extremely one of a kind as our association is made out of both state funded schools and private foundations with each represented by their own unmistakable conventions and rules," the association said in a public statement messaged to The Maui News on Thursday. "It is through participation and understanding that we keep on cooperating to give freedoms to Maui County's understudy competitors."
The public statement said that arena limit with regards to fans is still not really settled and will undoubtedly change. Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino said Wednesday he intends to reexamine the district's "More secure Outside" drive on Sept. 30. The drive, which precludes fans from going to games alongside limitations on eateries and bars, begun last week because of rising COVID-19 case numbers in the area.
"As the circumstance stays exceptionally liquid, the MIL keeps on chipping away at an onlooker plan that considers consistence with HHSAA, state, district, school and private setting approaches to permit access of family, understudies, and the overall population to all occasions with the security of those gatherings at the front line," the public statement said.
The delivery noticed that "the second round was changed around the change to the length of the period."
Practices start Monday following a six-week stop following the state Department of Education's Aug. 4 declaration that all players, mentors and volunteers should be completely inoculated for COVID-19.
Veteran Baldwin lead trainer Pohai Lee is only glad to have a season, which will be the most limited of his vocation. The Bears start their timetable on Oct. 23 against King Kekaulike — every one of Baldwin's games are on Saturdays and five of the six beginning at 3 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.
"I imagine that is the best way to go, truly, since time is running short casing," Lee said of the six-game record. "I will play it any way they need to put together it and I'm simply glad that they got a timetable out."
Seven of eight Saturday games on the full timetable are 3 p.m. begins at War Memorial, which at in excess of 15,000 seats is the biggest fans-permitted arena in the state.
Lee said his mentors and players are all set to work.
"I realize we are as a training staff and I know seeing the players around grounds, they are tingling to go," Lee said. "It's simply a matter now of seeing what sort of numbers appear, formally appear. That is the unavoidable issue mark that we have."
Lee said he simply needs to have a season interestingly since 2019.
"It's not the sum, I think the significant part presently is simply getting on the field and playing," Lee said. "Also, that is our concentrate at the present time."
First-year Maui High lead trainer Robert Dougherty was employed in November 2019. He said a month to get ready for the opener is a fast turnaround, particularly since the players need to work their direction back into shape.
"You know, it's a short measure of time," Dougherty said. "It's each of the an in any event, battleground, we will all have similar issues. I figure it is brilliant to detachment for somewhat more than we do to keep folks new and stuff like that. What's more, we may have a ton of more youthful children playing in the association this year.
"You know, we need to dominate matches, however we additionally need to get these children experience and play however many individuals as we can, attempt to foster the more youthful children however much we can. In this way, it's a sensitive equilibrium, essentially for us — we will adopt that strategy."
The timetable has JV games booked before each varsity game, yet apparently JV play might be in peril basically as a result of the obscure program sizes.
"I don't think thus, from what I've heard from the quantities of different schools," Dougherty said of JV play. "Our numbers are fair — I'd say we could pull it off, however it'd be quite intense."
2021 MIL Football Schedule
Cycle 1
Friday, Oct. 22
Maui High at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 23
Baldwin versus Ruler Kekaulike at War Memorial Stadium, 3 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 29
Lahainaluna at King Kekaulike, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Maui High versus Kamehameha Maui at War Memorial Stadium, 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 5
Ruler Kekaulike at Kamehameha Maui, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 6
Baldwin versus Lahainaluna at War Memorial Stadium, 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 12
Kamehameha Maui at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 13
Maui High versus Baldwin at War Memorial Stadium, 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 19
Maui High at King Kekaulike, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 20
Baldwin versus Kamehameha Maui at War Memorial Stadium, 3 p.m.
Cycle 2
Saturday, Nov. 27
Maui High versus Lahainaluna at War Memorial Stadium, 3 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 3
Kamehameha Maui at King Kekaulike, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 4
Baldwin at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 10
Ruler Kekaulike at Kamehameha Maui, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 11
Baldwin versus Maui High at War Memorial Stadium, 3 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 17
Division I season finisher, if important, at TBD, 7 p.m.
Note: JV games booked for 4:30 p.m. (7 p.m. varsity starts) and early afternoon (3 p.m.)
