After a slow start, Kahuku is right back in the thick of things in the OIA Red East. Sean Nakamura | SL

View image 1 of 1

Today we look at a very wide-open OIA Red East division. Unlike the OIA Red West, only two teams have clinched a playoff berth with four spots remaining out of the five teams.

IN THE HUNT

Castle Knights

Back-to-back home overtime games for the Knights, back-to-back losses. Castle's season got off to an agonizing start, but they managed to get a win over McKinley before entering their season bye this week. Those overtime losses currently have the Knights with the sixth best Red East record of 1-3. Castle's faith is still in their hands with the best way to guarantee your spot in the postseason is to win out.

The bye week comes at a pivotal point in the season allowing the Knights to observe their division rivals. The one game they should have their eyes on is a Saturday bout between Kailua (1-2 Red East) and Kaimuki (0-3), two teams that Castle hopes to overtake to get into the postseason.

Kailua Surfriders

Kailua currently possesses a 1-2 Red East record, with their lone win coming in an overtime stunner over Castle. Between Castle, Kailua, and Kaimuki, the Surfriders are the only team that can clinch a berth this weekend. A win this Saturday gives Kailua the tiebreaker over Castle and Kaimuki meaning that Kailua will get a higher spot in the standings should they finish with the same regular season record. Even though Kailua will only be at 2-2, while Castle and Kaimuki are at 1-3 and 0-4, the Surfriders will clinch because the Knights and Bulldogs face each other to close out the season.

In the event that Kailua loses this weekend, their playoff hopes are still alive. The season opening win over Castle plays to Surfriders' favor as they only need to finish with a better record than the Knights to get into the postseason. That might easier said than done though, because Kailua closes out the season with games against Kahuku and McKinley.

Kaimuki Bulldogs

Despite being winless in the Red East, a loss this weekend does not eliminate the Bulldogs from the postseason. Unlike Aiea who is 0-4 in the Red West, Kaimuki currently sits at 0-3, giving them some leeway before the six Red East playoff berths are determined. To maximize Kaimuki's chances at making postseason, they need to come away with a win this weekend. A win over Kailua gives Kaimuki the tiebreaker and the edge in the standings should the two teams finish with the same record when the regular season is over.

If the Bulldogs are unable to pullout a victory this weekend, they'll need some help from Moanalua next weekend. A Kailua win this weekend will most likely have Castle and Kaimuki fighting for the sixth and final playoff berth from the Red East. In order for Kaimuki to control their own destiny, they would have to be trailing Castle by one game heading into the final week of the season. The two teams face off to close the regular season in what could shape up to be a mini-playoff game to get into the postseason. Even if the Knights are ahead of the Bulldogs by one game heading into this matchup, the winner will still get in over the other because they won the head-to-head matchup and will either finish with a better record or get in via the tiebreaker.

McKinley Tigers

After starting the season with two straight wins, the Tigers have dropped two straight. The egg laid against Castle could potentially come back to hurt them as a win in the past two weeks could have clinched a playoff spot for McKinley. If the Tigers were 3-1 in the Red East heading into this weekend they would already be a lock for the postseason. Still, at 2-2, it's hard to imagine Mckinley not getting into the playoffs with six of the seven Red East teams getting in; but it's still possible.

There would be a lot of things that could happen that leaves McKinley spectators come playoff time.

- First off, they would need to drop their remaining two games against Kahuku and Kailua not to make the playoffs. This punches Kailua's ticket into the postseason because the Surfriders would hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers.

- Second, Moanalua and Kaimuki will need to finish with a 3-3 record because Mckinley won the head-to-head matchup over those two teams. Na Menehune and the Bulldogs will need to finish with a better record than the Tigers if they want to move ahead of them in the standings. In order for these two teams to finish with a 3-3 Red East record, Moanalua will need to pull out a win over Farrington while Kaimuki will need to win three straight against the likes of Kailua, Farrington and Castle.

- If everything were to play out in this scenario, Castle will need to win over Moanalua to knock Mckinley out of the playoffs because the Knights hold the tiebreaker over the Tigers should they finish with the same record as them.

The chances of all of these happening are highly unlikely so McKinley making the postseason is a safe bet. All Mckinley needs is another win this season and they'll be golden.

Moanalua Na Menehune

Like McKinley, there is a series of events that could leave Moanalua out of the playoffs. This is what needs to take place in order for Moanalua not to make the postseason.

- Moanalua finishes the season with a 2-4 Red East record, dropping their last two games to Farrington and Castle

- Kaimuki would need to finish with a 3-3 record because Moanalua holds the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs. Kaimuki rattles off wins over Kailua, Farrington and Castle

- Kailua would also to finish with a 3-3 record by losing to Kaimuki, but also defeat Kahuku and McKinley

- In addition to dropping their game against Kailua, McKinley will have to finish with a 2-4 record. They get the nod over Moanalua because they won the head-to-head matchup at the start of the season.

- Because all of these events took place, Castle finishes with a 2-4 record with and will also hold the tiebreaker over Moanalua
Again, all of those things are highly unlikely to happen, but the possibility still exits.

CLINCHED

Farrington Governors

After losing two straight road games in the preseason, the Governors have rattled three straight wins in the games that matter the most. Farrington's season opener was a tough one with the Governors having to rally to stun the Knights in overtime. The win against Castle not only prevented the Govs from starting the year with an overall record of 0-3, but it also guarantees them a spot in the playoffs heading into this weekend. Castle currently sits with a 1-3 Red East record while Farrington is at 3-0. The worst Farrington can finish with is a 3-3 record, which is also the best record Castle can finish with. Since Farrington won the head-to-head matchup, they will get the nod over Castle in the standings.

In regards to the first round bye, everyone else besides Kahuku has two losses. All Farrington has to do get the first round bye is win two of their remaining three games. A win against Moanalua this week will also clinch that first round bye regardless of the remaining games.

Kahuku Red Raiders

Big Red has come a long way since starting the year 1-2 overall, going undefeated in all of their Red East games thus far. The main reason why the Red Raiders have clinched a playoff berth already is because of their home opener against Kaimuki. The Bulldogs currently have a 0-3 Red East record with Kahuku having the exact opposite. Even if Kaimuki were to win their remaining games and Kahuku were to lose all of theirs, Kahuku will still get a higher spot than them because they won the head-to-head matchup.

Barring some late season collapse, Kahuku's end of the season tilt with Farrington could determine the number one seed from the Red East.