Football
D2 championship boasts winningest active coaches


The two winningest active high school coaches in Hawaii will meet when five-time defending champion Iolani takes on Lahainaluna for the First Hawaiian Bank Division II state football championship.

Kickoff is 4 p.m. at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

The Division I championship between defending champion Kahuku and Punahou will follow. It is a rematch of last year's title game. They also met in preseason on Aug. 18, won by the Red Raiders, 21-13.

Raiders coach Wendell Look, in his 22nd season, is fifth on the all-time list with a record of 160-100-3.

Lunas' co-coach Robert Watson, in his 24th season, is ninth overall at 143-93-6. He has been co-coach with Garret Tihada the past five seasons.  In his first several seasons, Watson shared coaching duties with Mike Arakawa.

Combined, Look and Watson have coached more than 500 games.

The Raiders are seeking their sixth consecutive and seventh overall crown in the 10-year history of the Division II tournament. The only time Iolani did not qualify for the tournament was the debut year in 2003.

The Lunas are making their first appearance in the title game since 2007, when they lost to Iolani, 28-21.

King Kekaulike is the only Neighbor Island team to win a football state title. It beat Kauai in the 2006 Division II championship.

In Division I, the Red Raiders, the most successful program since the inception of the state tournament in 1999, will be seeking their seventh crown. They are 6-2 in the title game, including beating Punahou in 2005 (28-21) and last year (30-24).

Punahou is making its fourth title appearance. It last won in 2008, 38-7 against Leilehua).

Speaking of winningest coaches, Punahou's Kale Ane is trying to become the 25th coach in Hawaii to achieve his 100th career coaching victory. He is 99-52 in 14 seasons.

Kahuku's Reggie Torres is 64-15 in seven seasons and do not include three wins when he was suspended during that span last season when Walter Santiago served as interim coach. But Torres has coached two of Kahuku's six state titles; Siuaki Livai coached the first four.

The Red Raiders are riding a 17-game win streak dating to last season. They are trying to be the first undefeated champion since the 2003 Red Raiders (14-0).



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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