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Lahainaluna football team to kick-off season on Aug. 20

By BY WALTER CHIHARA - | Jul 30, 2021

LAHAINA — Are you ready for some football?! Indeed, with the COVID-19 wipeout of high school sports — and especially football — since March of 2020, the entire state anxiously awaits the return to the gridiron for the Maui Interscholastic League and for conferences throughout the 50th State.

School begins next week with most students attending in-person classes and some virtual learning programs available.

Football programs have begun conditioning workouts and should be suiting up for full-pad practices as the public school year kicks off.

According to state, county and MIL reports, the league will kick-off the 2021 season on Friday, Aug. 20, with the Maui High Sabers traveling to the Lahainaluna High School campus to take on the Lunas at Sue D. Cooley Stadium.

That will begin an eight-game slate for the Valley Isle schools in both the Division I and II categories. There will be no preseason games, but scrimmages between the schools will be permitted before the MIL regular season kicks off.

Lahainaluna, after winning ten consecutive MIL D-II titles and four straight Hawaii High School Athletic Association State D-II championships (2016-19), had planned to move up to the D-I level for the 2020 season and will make that transition this fall.

The Lunas will compete with Maui High and Baldwin for the MIL title and likely face perennial nemesis Iolani at the state competition.

With COVID-19 infections increasing with the Delta Variant after the Fourth of July holiday, trepidation is rising concerning the viability of state Department of Education, state Department of Health and County of Maui protocols, restrictions and guidelines moving forward.

Added to the mix of confusion are conflicting state, county and private liabilities and concerns.

Eight of the MIL contests are scheduled at War Memorial Stadium, which is a county facility; eight games will be played at Sue D. Cooley and King Kekaulike stadiums, which are DOE facilities; and four games are set for Kamehameha Maui at Kainaiapuni Stadium, a private facility.

Thus, there are multiple rules and regulations for the state, county and private stadiums. For the Maui County facilities, for example, there is a limit of 200 participants for the outdoor activity and the stadium is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The state DOE and DOH have yet to set any guidelines, and school administrators and athletic directors await Gov. David Ige’s guidelines in the matter. It has been reported that the private schools will follow the directives of the DOE.

There are concerns over whether or not there will be any fans at the MIL football games, which are usually the highlight celebratory activities of the fall school year.

The 200-person county limit at War Memorial Stadium would be filled by players and coaches of the two teams and some support staff.

And the 7 p.m. closing time would have the games played in the broiling afternoon sun.

Some suggestions presented included vaccinated and unvaccinated seating, mask requirements, social distancing and other protocols. Video streaming has also been brought into the conversation.

Whatever the outcome, it will be a confusing journey through the 2021 MIL football season, and Lahainaluna fans look forward to the opportunity to support the team. Go Lunas!