Football
Maui, Baldwin to renew rivalry Friday night


All five leagues across the state will be in regular-season action this weekend and among those on the 22-game docket is a rivalry game in the Maui Interscholastic League.

When Maui (2-0, 1-0 MIL) and Baldwin (0-1) meet Friday night at Wailuku's War Memorial Stadium, it will mark the latest edition in the long-running series between the crosstown schools, which dates to 1939.

The Bears, who have claimed 13 consecutive league Division I titles, have dominated the rivalry for a while. The last time the Sabers took a game in the series came in the 2001 season, which also marked the last MIL championship and state-tournament appearance for them. Baldwin has won the last 26 meetings and leads the all-time series 90-47-12.

However, under fourth-year coach David Bui, Maui is the hot team heading into Friday, while Baldwin, under second-year coach Keneke Pacheco, is coming off a 49-10 drubbing against Edison (Calif.) last weekend.

We touched bases with the coaches of both teams a few days before their showdown.

ScoringLive: What have you learned about your team early on this season?
David Bui: "We've had some situations where we found ourselves in a little bit of trouble and good teams find a way to bounce back and pick themselves up and come back from that. I think we found that out about our team. We were behind early against both Kealakehe and Kamehameha-Maui then our boys came back and the result was two wins for us."
Keneke Pacheco: "I know that after one game that my team is going to keep playing. They keep playing, they keep plugging away at it. I'm happy with that. i learned that we have a lot of young players who need to understand schemes, so that we don't have any breakdowns in coverages. but other than that, I'm happy with what's going on."

SL: Which player or position group has been a pleasant surprise?
DB: "I'm pleased with the progress of our offensive line. O-line is always a key area and an issue of concern for coaches going into the season, so I'm happy with the job our o-line has been doing, opening up holes for running backs and establishing the ground game for us."
KP: "I think it was a pleasant surprise to see the backup receivers come in and do a good job of catching the balls and doing their possession catches. I think that was a real pleasant surprise, I really enjoyed that. We did pretty good on the run, so I was happy with that, but we have things we have to improve upon from after only one game, so it's back to the drawing board."

SL: Who is the best team in the MIL?
DB: "We'd like to believe we're the best team, but we haven't done anything yet. We've got to go out and prove it. Certainly there's a lot of talent all around the MIL. Baldwin and Lahaina are the perennial powers, so we're not going to name ourselves top dog or anything like that, but certainly believe we can be top dog this year."
KP: "It's hard to say, because the season is so young and we have to play out the season, but every coach feels that his team is the best, but thats why we play the games. We'll find out at the end of year."

SL: What's your take on your opponent this weekend and how do you feel your team matches up?
DB: "Baldwin is Baldwin. Their run defense is very tough, they've got big-sized kids and it's kind of hard to tell because they played a very good Edison team and they were missing some guys, so we've got to be ready for anything. They still got size, and they still got some very quality players on that team."
KP: "I think we matchup good against Maui High. They're having a good season, coming off two wins, they're excited and we're excited to play them. I think we matchup well. I think it's going to be a great conference game. It'll be great for the fans and everybody involved with the game."

SL: What is the rivalry like between Maui and Baldwin?
DB: "Last year in the second-round game against Baldwin where we lost 7-0 and it came down to the wire, I think everybody in the stadium felt the revival of the rivalry. In prepping for this week, emotions have been riding high and we're trying to keep calm and keep composed, but this is the great rivalry of the past and we're just trying to rekindle that."
KP: "From my perspective for the last couple years, Maui high has been climbing the ladder. They've been working at it, getting better, getting more players, dragging them out of the woodwork. Is there rivalry? Well, we're in the same conference and we compete for same title, so I believe that. To me, its a game and we're going to play as hard as we can and may best team win."

SL: What can we expect from Friday's game?
DB: "I think it's going to be a great battle and I think whoever wins that great battle is going to be very deserving of it. I think it's going to be a great fight and a great time. I hope everybody comes out."
KP: "I expect some hard hitting. There's going to be a lot of hustling around the field. I know that's what I've been preaching to my boys: about hustle, moving around field and knowing assignments. I'm expecting a good hard-hitting football game and I'm hoping that it'll be something that both Maui High and Baldwin fans can be proud of. I just hope that we can play to our ability."

Kickoff between the Sabers and Bears is set for 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku. The game will also be carried on ESPN Maui AM 900 radio or on espnmaui.com beginning at 6:40 p.m.

ScoringLive reporter Stacy Kaneshiro contributed to this report.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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