Molokai High School football coach Mike Kahale and the Farmers will play a full 11-player Maui Interscholastic League schedule in 2024. Maui News Photo/Robert Kollias
For the first time, the Molokai High School football team will compete at the 11-player level in the Maui Interscholastic League next fall.
The Farmers officially announced their intention to move from the eight-player level to the 11-player level – in time for the 2024 season – at a meeting of MIL athletic directors last week.
Head coach Mike Kahale and athletic director Lee DeRwin broke the news to The Maui News on Wednesday.
“Molokai, today is a special day, we are very excited and looking forward to playing football with 11 players in the 2024 season.” Derwin said.
With a sixth team added to the MIL’s 11-player ranks, schedules and formats were discussed at an ADs meeting on Wednesday.
Off-island travel will be added to the MIL’s 11-a-side soccer league schedule for the first time – Molokai joined the MIL in 1984 and the Farmers have been an original member of the league’s eight-a-side soccer division since its inception in 2010.
The Farmers will join Kamehameha Maui and King Kekaulike in the 11-player MIL Division II ranks in the fall — and the Warriors and Na Alii have combined to appear in the last three D-II state finals.
The top division MIL in the sport includes Baldwin, Lahainaluna and Maui High.
“Very excited about this opportunity. This has always been our goal.” Cahaly said. “But we were very intentional about the process, making sure we took care of everything we needed to in terms of building a program, culture, etc.”
Hope for an eight-player state tournament was pretty much extinguished when the Big Island Interscholastic Association moved all of its teams to the 11-player level a few years ago. According to Hawaii High School Athletic Association rules, three of the state’s five leagues must play a specific sport in order to hold an official state championship.
“One of the things we couldn’t do if we stayed in the eights, we didn’t get a chance to play in the postseason and ever compete for a state title.” Cahaly said. “The idea of having three leagues to achieve an eight-man state championship has fallen by the wayside.
“We want our kids to be able to have that opportunity. So, that’s another reason why this is a timely move for us.”
The schedule models discussed Wednesday were a full 10-game MIL doubleheader and a seven-game league schedule that would have teams play each other twice within their divisions and other division teams once each.
With the opportunity to participate in farewell matches and non-league matches, a seven-game slate appears to be the favorite to go with. Travel to Friendly Isle is only available on Mokulele Airlines, which will require more than one flight per team due to small seating capacity.
The Farmers are the seven-time defending MIL champions at the eight-player level – and they began adding 11-player games to their schedule in 2019.
Molokai had 40 players on its roster this season and hosted Waialua in a match in Holehua in September, losing a hard-fought game 31-24, the first 11-man game on the island in more than 60 years.
They also lost just 14-13 to the Pac-5 in a game on Oahu — the Wolf Pack advanced to the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II semifinals, where they lost to Kamehameha Maui in November.
There will be a small portion of Kahale who will miss the MIL’s eight-player ranks.
“You know, we were (part of) the original people, along with St. Anthony and Siberian.” Cahaly said. “That was in 2010, I think, the first season. We had to run as a club for two years before we actually got sanctioned. So, the eight-man league was great for us and gave us a chance to build a football program.”
* Robert Collias at rcollias@mauinews.com.
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Molokai High School football coach Mike Kahale and the Farmers will play a full 11-player Maui Interscholastic League schedule in 2024. Maui News Photo/Robert Kollias
Molokai High School’s football team is making a big leap as it prepares to move up to the 11-player level in the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL). This exciting development is sure to bring a new level of competition and opportunity for the students and athletes at Molokai High. With this move, the team will have the chance to showcase their talent and dedication on an even larger stage, and the community is eagerly anticipating the upcoming season. Stay tuned for all the latest news, sports updates, and job opportunities related to this exciting development for Molokai High School.