It's been over three months now since ScoringLive reporter Stacy Kaneshiro broke the news that the O’ahu Interscholastic Association Red Division would be moving away from a geographic format. With the dust settling in and the new divisions finalized for the next two year, here are some my thoughts on what the new format brings.

New Dynamics

With no geographic restrictions between the two new divisions, matchups that would only take place in the playoffs or preseason will now be a part of the regular season. Teams in the OIA will get to play a wider variety of teams on a more frequent basis. Fans of college and pro teams on a national level are always buzzing whenever their team’s new season schedule comes out. The new format should have the same effect on Hawai’i high school football fanatics when the two OIA Red Divisions gets retooled every two years.

Different teams in each division also mean that scouting and game tape will be at a premium. Coaches will have to spend more time game planning against teams outside of their geographical area due to the fact that they haven’t faced that team annually. It will be a whole load of new offenses to defend, defensive schemes to attack and individual matchups to exploit. A team that is built to combat certain styles in the old format might not succeed as much with different teams in each division. On the other hand, a team that struggled against a certain team could finally get over the hump and finish the season with a better record than they would in the previous format.

One of the examples that immediately come to mind is a team like Waipahu with its vaunted triple-option attack. In recent memory, no team in the East has used flexbone type formations, so it will be interesting to see how teams like Kahuku and Kaiser prepare for the Marauders. 

Ranking fosters more competiveness

Since the two Red divisions are not divided up by location, the 14 Red teams will be ranked by their previous season’s record and separated into odds and evens. With that in mind, teams will know where they stand in retrospect to the entire Division. Teams at the top will look to defend their spot while teams on the bottom will be looking to prove themselves. Theoretically, this should also make the level of competition balanced and equal within each division.

This should also make it fairer for teams in the White division wanting to move up and for teams in the Red wanting to stay in it. The previous format was seven teams in the Red West, seven teams in the Red East and nine teams in the White division. Since the new Red divisions are based by record and not by location, it won’t be mandated to have an equal amount of teams between the East and the West.

Over the past six years there have been more West based teams than East in the OIA White title game (eight to four). It’s fair to say that there has been a shift in power to the teams in the West. It’s only right to have the 14 best teams, regardless of location, in the league’s Division I body.

Rivalries

New teams in each division also open up the possibility of new rivalries within the OIA. Since the two divisions get retooled on a biannual basis, some teams that a team played against will carry over into the next two years. Teams that don’t usually play each other because of location could potentially end up facing against each other from anywhere from four to eight years, maybe even more.

A rivalry waiting in the wings that that has substance is one between Farrington and Kapolei. The Governors have ended the Hurricanes’ season in the playoffs in three of the past five years, so there’s bound to be a more intense game when the two teams meet in the regular season. One new rivalry that I want to see happen is one between Radford and Moanalua in a pseudo “Battle for Salt Lake Boulevard” type of contest.

Some detractors might say that the new format disbands existing rivalries but I tend to disagree. Though those existing rivalries might not take place in the next two years, there is still a chance for them to get revisited when the two divisions get retooled every two years. A break in these rivalries for a time will make the rivalry much more sweeter when they do meet up again.

Extended regular season

Even though there will still be the same amount of teams in the Red Division, the regular season will be increased from a six-game, seven-week schedule to a seven-game, eight-week schedule, thanks to a crossover game between the two conferences to begin the regular season.

This crossover game also adds diversity to a team’s schedule, as you will be the only team from your division to play against that team. Like the teams in your division, the crossover game is already set for the next two years in a home-and-home format. Your crossover opponent will essentially act like a pseudo eight member in your division.

Since each team will have a crossover opponent, this will ensure that all teams will start the opening week on equal footing in the standings. The previous format originally had six of seven teams playing in the opening weekend, with the odd man out having a bye or a non-league game.

Emphasis on grades

The added week of the regular season should also put a greater emphasis on academics. The OIA’s previous format allowed two weeks of non-league games to precede the league’s seven-week regular season. Because no grade checks can be issued until two weeks of quarter has passed, fourth quarter grades will be used to determine academic eligibility to start the football year. Since there is only one week for non-league games, some teams will not start the season in full strength.

Teams in the OIA have had a habit for starting the season slow and peaking in late September and October. Penciled in starters that started the season on academic probation will now be getting in their groove now that they had a few games of live action under their belt. But because there is only week of non-league games, teams will be forced to employ some second-stringers to start the regular season.

A lot of things can happen in the opening weekend of league play that could end up shuffling the depth chart around. A player on academic probation that a coach is counting on to be a starter could potentially lose their place on the totem pole if their understudy has a big game. The best way to maximize your playing time during the season is to take care of business in the classroom first, and then about what’s on the field later. There is a reason why “student” is stated first in the term student athlete.