Kahuku, Hilo don't have much history, but it's an interesting one


When Kahuku takes on Hilo in a first-round game of the First Hawaiian Bank Division I state football tournament Friday night, it will be their first meeting in nearly half a century. But that's only part of the story.

When they last met, the Big Island team was a member of the Maui Interscholastic League.

What's that?

Strange as it may seem, Hilo fielded two teams from 1962 to 1966. Its 'A' team was a member of the MIL, while its 'B' team played in the BIIF. Hilo A won the MIL title in 1963. Hilo withdrew from the MIL after the 1966 season, citing finances, according to research by former West Hawaii Today writer Bobby Command.

Kahuku played Hilo in the 1966 preseason in an unusual home-and-home series in consecutive weeks. Kahuku beat Hilo, 48-28, in Hilo on Sept. 10 and returned to Oahu to beat the Vikings, 47-0 on Sept. 17.

In Division II, Nanakuli and Kamehameha-Hawaii are playing against each other for the first time, while Kapaa and Pearl City are playing for the fifth time. The Chargers own a 3-1 lead in the series, but the Warriors only victory came in the 2011 D2 state tournament. Kapaa beat Pearl City, 7-0, at Vidinha Stadium.

In Division I, Farrington is 4-0 against Maui with their last meeting coming in 1984 in a postseason exhibition called the OIA Invitational. Farrington was runner-up in the OIA Honolulu District and beat Central District runner-up Mililani to earn the invitational game against Maui.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].