The final games of the 2014 Big Island Interscholastic Federation regular season are upon us, and there is a lot remaining at stake for next week’s league semifinals.
In Division I, two of the four seeds have already been locked up. Hilo, the defending BIIF Division I champion, has locked up the top seed by virtue of its undefeated 6-0 record. The Vikings will host winless Kea’au, who has clinched the fourth and lowest seed with its 0-6 mark.
No official announcement has been made by the league, but because of the proximity of the schools, the game will likely be played on Friday night, Oct. 17, at Wong Stadium. The BIIF aims to keep games that force one school to travel a long distance to be played on Saturday.
The middle two seeds will be determined during the league’s “rivalry week.” Kealakehe holds a slight edge over Waiakea for the two-seed and would sew it up with a win at Konawaena on Friday night or a loss by Waiakea at Hilo.
The only way Waiakea can earn the two-seed is if it beats Hilo and Konawaena defeats Kealakehe. That would create a tie as both teams would have a league record of 3-4. The tiebreaker would be Waiakea’s win over Kealakehe earlier this year.
No matter the seeding, the Waveriders and Warriors will meet in the other Division I semifinal, likely to be played on Saturday, Oct. 18.
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Division II is a lot more complicated.
Kamehameha-Hawai’i and Konawaena enter the final weekend of the regular season with identical 4-2 league records. If both teams win this weekend, the Warriors would earn the top seed based on its opening weekend victory in Kealakekua.
If Kamehameha-Hawai’i loses at Kea’au on Saturday and Konawaena defeats Kealakehe at home on Friday, the top seed would go to the Wildcats.
There is, however, a scenario in which three teams could tie for the top seed. Losses by Konawaena and Kamehameha-Hawai’i, along with a win by Hawai’i Preparatory Academy at Honoka’a on Saturday, would put all three teams at 4-3 on the season.
If all three teams are tied, the first tie-breaker would be based on the total point differential in games played between the teams. Hawai’i Prep would gain the top seed in that scenario because of its plus-four point advantage. Kamehameha-Hawai’i would be seeded second, just a point behind, and Konawaena would be seeded third with a negative-seven point spread.
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The likelihood of the three team tie-breaker happening is slim, especially since Kamehameha-Hawai’i is a heavy favorite in its Kipimana Cup game at Kea’au. That means HPA will likely be playing for the third seed in Division II, which it can clinch with a win over Honoka’a.
In 8-man football, the only game being played this weekend has championship implications. The top two teams in the division will meet as Kohala hosts Ka’u at 2 p.m. Saturday. A victory by the Trojans would clinch the inagural 8-man BIIF title. If Kohala wins, however, both teams will meet again in the league’s first 8-man championship game, which would be played before the BIIF Division II Championship game.
The date for the Division II title game will not be announced before the championship matchups are set.
BIIF Weekend Schedule
Kealakehe at Konawaena – 7:30 p.m Friday (Broadcast at ESPNHawaii.com)
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Waiakea at Hilo – 7:30 p.m. Friday
Ka’u at Kohala (8-man) – 2 p.m. Saturday
Kamehameha-Hawai’i at Kea’au – 3 p.m Saturday (no junior varsity)
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