Three of our panelists feel like Saint Francis has exceeded its preseason expectations so far. CJ Caraang | SL

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On a weekly basis, ScoringLive's "Da Five" will pose five questions relevant to the prep sports world, and get response from five different individuals. What results will hopefully provide multiple angles of insight and analysis for fans to take in.

In this week's installment, our panelists provide their thoughts on the new state tournament format, some surprises of the season so far and their predictions on the big Waianae-Kahuku game.

1. What are your thoughts on the new state football format?

Brandon Ching, SL reporter: I am definitely interested in this new format and I think it's a good start. I think the Open Division is going to generate a lot of buzz and excitement because it gives another ILH team and the fourth-place OIA team a shot to compete. I'm for including more teams because there were state tourney-worthy teams that got left out in the old format.

The Division I tournament is interesting because now we can see where Iolani stacks up. The Raiders will take their punches against Punahou, Saint Louis and Kamehameha in the regular season, but when the tournament comes, I think they would match up well with schools such as Baldwin, Moanalua, Kailua, Hilo, etc. The Raiders are not Open Division material, yet they are too good to be in Division II so I think the competition in the D1 tournament will suit them better. Sure, there will be teams limping in the tournament with a losing record, but that can't be helped. As long as you get in, the records go out the door once the state tournament starts and the slates are clean. 

Shawn Sueoka, SL contributor: When the new state football championship format came out my first thought was "wow, this is happening this year?" I thought it was amazing the HHSAA was able to announce a new state tournament when the state had already begun its season. There's a lot of people with mix feelings about the new format, but I think overall it will bring a more competitive state tournament. With this format, you give more teams an opportunity to compete for a state title. I'm extremely happy that the D2 was not touched. With the teams that are allowed to participate in the new format for D1 and the Open Division. I think you'll see teams play harder and have closer games throughout the state tournament.

Gary Dickman, ESPN 1420 Radio: I'm so happy with the new state tournament for football this season. The timing of it is kind of strange, with it coming after three weeks of play, but it's still a major step in the right direction. I hope it's not a one-shot kind of deal though. It's also not perfect. This new format would have Iolani automatically qualifying for the state tournament no matter what its record would be. The Raiders could be winless, which I highly doubt, but would still be in the state championship for the Division I tournament. The third place team out of the four ILH Division I teams would've been left totally out this way. I would rather see the top two ILH teams sent to the Open Division and the third place team going to the Division I tourney. That would be ideal. But I'm also looking for what's ahead this November.

Michael Lasquero, SL reporter: There are some things I like, some things I don't like. I do like that more of the top teams can compete for a title, as there is at least more than one ILH team in the top five at the end of the year rankings. I like that the Division I neighbor island teams can compete for a title that they would otherwise never sniff with the powerhouse on Oahu. However, I do not like how the Division I berths are divided. There is no reason why the eighth place team in any league should be compete in a state tournament. No other state tournament in any sport has more than six OIA Division I teams receiving a postseason bid before this new format. I think this waters down the honor of making it to states. The mantra in the OIA Division I regular season is already "you win one game, you make it into the OIA playoffs." Now the mantra in the OIA playoffs will be "you win one game, you make it to states." I also don't like how Iolani is guaranteed a state tourney spot already because no spot should be "guaranteed" before the ending of the first month the football season. If anything, Division II should have been the one to be expanded because it has five different leagues participating and is generally more competitive and balanced than the Division I tourney. Fourteen out of 24 Division I teams statewide (58.3 percent) get to make a state tournament while only six of 21 Division II teams across the state (28.5 percent) get a postseason berth. Something isn't right there. I'm all for letting the best teams in the state tournament, but I think the current formula is broken. What we really need is a selection committee because this issue will come up in other sports' state tournament. We seen it work with the College Football playoff system, why wouldn't it work for Hawaii high school football? As long as we get unbiased members that are true fans of the sport, I don't see what would be wrong with this idea.

Jared Kanoa, SL contributor: I can see the push to increase competition by creating this new Open Division tournament, but I think they are really taking away from the value of being state champions. If you think about it, in this new system you will now have three different "state champions" instead of just two, one each from Division I and Division II. In the old system you truly knew who was the best of the best in Division I and who was the best of Division II, but with this new system, it increases the amount of teams who get into the postseason and just creates an excuse for a second-tier team, who does not have a chance in winning a Division I crown, to win something. If they were going to create a state tournament like this, I think they should have separated the teams from day one into three different leagues instead of just separating the lower half from the upper half of Division I. If they created a middle league, with teams that are not up to par with Division I, but are ahead of teams in Division II, from the start of the season, it would erase the sense of a depleted value with the title of "Division I state champion," which will be given out to one of these teams I feel. By creating a third league, you can create a whole different weight class and then coin another champion from that Division, instead of giving them a title that should be truly given to the best of the best in Division I.

2. Which team has underperformed so far?

Ching: Leilehua hasn't been very good so far, having been outscored 163 to 37 in three games, and I was expecting better things from the Mules. They have some good skill players on offense and can spread the ball to move it down field. They also have good defensive players like Braxton Victor and Moku Watson. But for some reason, they haven't been able to put it together as a team.

Sueoka: I would say some good teams have just played really good so their record doesn't reflect how good their team really is. Moanalua is a good team that has run into two good teams in Kailua and Waianae. The players are there for Na Menehune to make a good push this year. I thought Moanalua could have beaten Kailua had it had a better game plan for dealing with the Surfriders' pass rush. That was the difference in that game. Then you saw a more competitive Na Menehune team against Waianae. I think you can see Na Menehune make strides in the right direction, but they'll be one of the first to say they did not expect to be 0-2 to start the season.

Dickman: It's still early in the season in regards to which school has underperformed the most. There are schools that don't have their full roster yet; academics and injuries come into play, or there was move from D2 to D1. So I try to look at a school that had higher expectations than its 0-3 record shows; that is Leilehua, and it's still hard in a way to say they underperformed because of who the Mules lost to. It can't get much tougher than playing Punahou, Kahuku and Kapolei in consecutive weeks. I understand how tough this schedule is, but the Mules' closest loss was by 31 points.

Lasquero: Kaimuki. The Bulldogs were a team that had state championship aspirations heading into the season, but have been playing down to their competition in Waialua and Kalani these past couple of weeks. I know it's a long season, but the Bulldogs will have to figure it out sooner than later if they hope to make a long run this season. Once the hype settles down and the team regains the mindset that nothing is given, Kaimuki will start to turn things around.

Kanoa: I have to say even though Kapolei had a decent start to the season, I was kind of looking for more out of an offense that is led by the No. 2 quarterback a year ago and coached by, arguably, the father of the run-and-shoot offense here in Hawaii. Do not get me wrong, I believe this team has all the makings to shake Hawaii and the state tournament rankings to the bone, but they need to find the extra little something to beat the top teams. I look back at the Waianae game; Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns, but he only completed 46.8 percent of his throws and most of his incompletions came from holes created by the O-line for the defenders. If Tagovailoa has time to work his reads and work the pocket, he can sling it for almost double what he produced in this very tough matchup. If the Hurricanes can solidify themselves as a team and come together against big time opponents, nothing can stop them.

3. What team has been exceeding your preseason expectations?

Ching: Although it came up on the short end, I think Saint Francis made a big statement with its one point loss to Konawaena. The Saints have good size and skilled athletes on both sides of the ball. They have gotten exponentially better since they first formed a team and they are going to be contending for an ILH Division II title this season.

Sueoka: Saint Francis. We knew this team was on the rise and we knew they would be a competitive team, but I don't think anyone could have expected the Saints to take top-ranked Konawaena to the brink in their non-league game last week. After getting a chance to meet the players and staff, you can tell that this team is a team headed in the right direction. The game of football is all about adjustments, and when Saint Francis second-year coach Kip Akana decided to go from his traditional I-Formation offense to a spread formation, that's when you knew the Saints are headed in the right direction. The Saint Francis staff are trying their best to put their players in the best position to succeed. With the underrated and talented players that the Saints have, they're the "dark horse" for the D2 state championship.

Dickman: This is really tough, mainly because there isn't a team out there yet that has been so much better than I thought going into the season. I'll pick two teams that I didn't expect to be where they are, and that's Castle at 2-1 and Waipahu at 2-0. They haven't been truly tested yet, but they are both a little better than I thought.

Lasquero: I'll go with Saint Francis. Don't get me wrong, I knew the Saints were going to be good, I just didn't think they would be this good this early in the season. From what I saw over the summer, I thought Saint Francis would need to figure things out during the first six or seven weeks before peaking at the right time. However, it looks like the Saints have already got their system in place and are already expanding on the playbook and improving on what they are already good at. With Damien going 2-1 against D1 competition and Pac-Five sitting at 2-0, the ILH Division II should be just as competitive as its Division I counterparts.

Kanoa: I am going straight to Waianae for this question hands down. The Seariders are growing before our very eyes! Waianae is producing an offense that is hardly ever seen in the North Shore, it is learning to pass the ball! Jaren Ulu is slinging the rock with an accuracy of about 58 percent on the season and that running back corps is nearly unsociable or impossible to prepare for. I think the most amazing part of this team is how fast each and every player gels together to play a complete game of football. I am looking mainly at the outstanding defensive unit that is leading this team to victory. Statistically they look like any other defense with many holes, weak points, weak players and things like that — but when you look at the crucial moments, the clutch moments, the game-winning moments, they always deliver. I see Waianae rivaling Kahuku this weekend. I have no prediction for this game because when I was little my father told me to "never bet against a hot hand", but you should never bet against Kahuku either.

4. What has been the biggest surprise of the year so far?

Ching: I think the biggest surprise for me has been the HHSAA introducing the new three-tiered state tournament format because outside of the HHSAA and the league administrators, I don't think people saw this coming. I was shocked to see it on Twitter when it broke and I didn't believe it at first. November is going to be really fun and interesting this season.

Sueoka: This has been one of those season where everyone is pretty much where they're supposed to be. I think there's been a few small surprises with Kahuku attempting to be a spread team, Leilehua's offense struggling and Waianae's long touchdown pass to Isaiah Freeney to win against Kamehameha.

Dickman: As for a surprise team, I can't see a team that is surprising in a good way, so I'll go the other way. I think Radford has been a surprise, but I give them a pass at 0-2 in that the Rams moved up to D1 and they have a new coach with longtime head coach Fred Salanoa leaving after a great career at Radford. But it's been surprising seeing the scores in the Rams' two losses. They lost to Iolani, 42-6, and to Castle, 47-6. Those two scores have been surprising.

Lasquero: I really like that the Governors are making the effort to be a balanced team. After being primarily a running team in decades past, Farrington has decided to mix it up a bit with quarterbacks Bishop Rapoza and Justin Uahinui slinging it behind center. I think the Governors need some work in certain areas, but their willingness to pass the ball has been a pleasant surprise so far this year.

Kanoa: Biggest surprise of the year so far? There's a handful of good candidates like the release of a new state tournament, Waianae passing the ball, or even when the lights went out at the Saint Louis-Mililani game — but I'm going to say the biggeest surprise of the season will have to be when University of Hawaii's all time most famous coach, June Jones decided to don the teal and black and take on the young, but talented offense of Kapolei. Great to have you back on the island coach!

5. Who wins the big game between Kahuku and Waianae?

Ching: This game is definitely generating a lot of hype between two storied programs. Waianae has been playing very well lately and it sets up a battle between two undefeated teams. Waianae has been able to exert its will in the trenches and have run the ball effectively against their first three opponents. Kahuku has been running over opponents and have averaged 49.5 points, but is still piecing it together. With Sol-Jay Maiava, the Red Raiders can mix it up with the spread formation and can also punish you with the run game. In the end, I give the Red Raiders the home field advantage since it's a tough place to play and I think they will pull this one off.

Sueoka: If Kahuku sticks with its Elephant package, then there is no reason why they can't overpower and bully its way to a win. The Red Raiders have one of the best defenses, if not the best defense, and unless the Kahuku puts them in some bad spots, I don't see Waianae being able to do much against the Red Raiders' defense. Things will have to go the Seariders way in all aspects of the game. Waianae will need an outstanding performance from its defense, win the field position and turnover battle, and make some big plays on offense if it wants to win. Offensively the Seariders will need a lot of misdirection and they can get some good matchups with Isaiah Freeney, they need to get him the ball. If the Seariders are able to execute a similar game plan, I could see Waianae leaving the North Shore with a win. If the Seariders aren't perfect this week, I'll expect Kahuku to be the last undefeated team in the OIA D1 Blue Division.

Dickman: An early game of the year is coming up with Waianae traveling to Kahuku, a battle of unbeatens and two of the top four teams in the state, one that will have many eyes on it. I go back to last year with Waianae giving the Red Raiders their closest game of the year, losing 13-0 in the state semifinals last November. Waianae will not be intimidated at all, and will probably know Kahuku as well as anyone with playing them twice last year. I wouldn't be surprised if the Seariders wins, their rushing attack might be better than last year, but I'm going with Kahuku with the win. Overall talent will decide this game and I see Kahuku winning by one touchdown.

Lasquero: Kahuku, I'm not going going to dance around the question. As amazing as the Seariders have been the past three weeks, they are behind the 8-ball this weekend. That's because no team has defeated the Red Raiders on their home turf since 2007, when Kapolei did it in the OIA quarterfinals. Even if Kahuku shoots itself in the foot multiple times, and there were games where it almost blew it when Lee Leslie was the coach, the pride of the North Shore will still find a way to pull out the win whether it be via a defensive touchdown, a special teams score, or both. If I'm a Waianae fan, a one touchdown loss would be a win in my book. To be honest though, whatever happens on Friday will not matter in the grand scheme of things because there will be a round two between these two powerhouses.

Kanoa: Once again I refer you to the last sentence of what I wrote for question three. I cannot sway any direction in this game. This game is truly a hands off and let it just happen kind of game, which means sit back, relax, pop some popcorn with some mochi crunch and enjoy a great matchup between two of the hottest teams on the island. The North Shore will be pumping this Friday. So once you are finished watching the University of Hawaii face off against the California Golden Bears for the College Football Sydney Cup, take a mini sightseeing tour to the likes of Kahuku's football field and watch an excellent display of prep football.