Football
Crusaders and Warriors to meet in ILH D1 semifinal Saturday




The Interscholastic League of Honolulu postseason gets underway this weekend with three games on the schedule.

Six-time defending Division II state champ Iolani takes on Saint Francis at 2 p.m. Saturday in the first of three games at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium. That game will be followed by another D2 semifinal between Damien and Pac-Five at 4:45 p.m. The nightcap is a Division I semifinal pitting Saint Louis, the No. 4 team in the ScoringLive/OC16 D1 Power Rankings, and Kamehameha, the second-ranked team in the state.

The first time the Crusaders (6-2) and Warriors (8-1) met during the regular season, Kamehameha came away with a 38-17 victory, but that was on Aug. 30 — nearly seven weeks ago. This time around the teams meet with their seasons on the line and a date against regular-season champ Punahou (8-0) next week at stake.

Days before their showdown, the coaches of both teams — Saint Louis' Matt Wright and Kamehameha's Doug Cosbie — answered our questions about their respective teams, the ILH and Saturday's rematch.

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word.
Matt Wright: "Excited. I think we're excited about the opportunity to play KS with so much on the line. We've had the last couple of weeks off — with Saint Francis forfeiting, we've had a couple weeks to prep for them. We're excited to get on the field and you can't ask for more than opportunity."
Doug Cosbie: "Good. I think we're in good shape, we're pretty healthy and the kids are excited about the league playoffs."

SL: How near or far is your team from playing at its potential?
MW: "I would say we're about 85 percent right now. We still have about 15 percent left to go to really come together and be able to execute the way that we know we can. We've shown glimpses of it, but we need to be more consistent."
DC: "I think we're very close to playing at our potential."

SL: What did you learn from the first time your teams played?
MW: "That they like to blitz. We learned a lot about ourselves and what they do. You know, playing them that early in the season and trying to scout them by watching preseason games, you really don't get a chance to learn what a team's identity is. We all follow each other throughout the season and get a chance to learn what they're about what they like to do, but I'm sure that they have some wrinkles in back pocket, as do we. We're a different team now than we were when we first played them. I think both teams are."
DC: "They're a very good team and we anticipate another hard-fought, competitive, good game and the team that executes the best should win."

SL: What are your feelings on the formats of the ILH regular-season and postseason this year?
MW: "I personally think that as long as there's no (combined) ILH-OIA division, there's not not really going to be a magic formula. I agree with going to three divisions and then you can have true state tournament, but things being the way that they are now … I'm sure that they will have to take a look at the end of this season to see how this playoff format plays out. There's pros and cons to it, it's tough when you only play each other maybe twice, versus the format it was before. I think overall, as a state, there needs to be changes. Things can be done different, can be done better, but we can only worry about what we can control."
DC: "I think there could be a better one. I think having a bye then having to get beat twice, is probably a little bit too much of an advantage for winning the league — especially in football. The other two teams will beat each other up and the winner has to lose two weeks in a row and that's a big advantage."

SL: Who has been the MVP of your team this season?
MW: "That's a tough one. I think (wide receiver Devon) Stubblefield is right up there. I think (linebacker Jacob) Lacaden is in the mix and also some of the guys who don't get a lot of plays, but key role positions like O-line and D-line."
DC: "That's a hard one. I don't know if I could pick a individual, but I think our defense as a unit and our offensive line and our running backs have all played very well."

SL: What is your take on your opponent?
MW: "They're a good team. They've got a good running game. They've got an aggressive defense and it's going to come down to execution. We have to go out there and recognize what they're doing and execute our game. We can't get too caught up in what they do, just do our job, do it right, do it hard.
DC: "Extremely good football team. Anytime you're in the playoffs, the margin-of error is very small. They're well-coached. They have good schemes, good kids and we have a lot of respect for that team. We're going in anticipating winning as I'm sure Matt and Saint Louis, is as well. The team that executes better will win."

Kickoff between the Crusaders and Warriors is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. A live audio stream of the game will be available on ScoringLive.com and simulcast on NBC Sports Radio/AM1500.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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