This week’s TV fun:

OIA Football - Waianae vs Mililani - 7:30pm live on OC16 from Waianae. Despite both teams losing this past weekend - or maybe because of the losses - this game could have a big impact on the Red West title winner.

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Grats to Nolan Tokuda who told me before the season even started that Waipahu would surprise a lot of people. Coach Tokuda and Coach Sean Saturnio are very close friends. So the two scrimmaged during training camp and that’s when Tokuda knew the Marauders were for real.

I’ve written before about Coach Saturnio but - again - it’s wonderful to see the pride, discipline, and self worth that program injects into the players and school. Every once in a while, nice guys and teams, don’t finish last.

FYI…Waipahu hosts Leilehua on Saturday at Waipahu. (Not on TV)

Here are some great shots from Thursday night’s ILH volleyball from Kamehameha. Thanks Dayne!

Last Friday did not go as planned for quarterback Andrew Manley.

First, Leilehua lost their homecoming game and share of first place in the OIA Red West as Waianae rallied to beat the defending state champions. This is Andrew’s first loss at the varsity level since taking over the controls of the Mules’ offense during the OIA playoffs last season.

During that run the high’s were of course very high for Manley and his teammates.

This season was on track for another fun run. That’s until the aforementioned homecoming loss. Where, to be honest, the Seariders were the better team.

Now I’m sure Manley was bummed about losing but imagine getting told your house was broken into while you were playing your guts out. That’s right a group of thieves used the cover of that game, where a good chunk of Wahiawa was at, to break into the Manley household. Guess they were bright enough to figure the family would be preoccuppied for a few hours.

I mean talk about dirty. But breaking into the house of one of the key players who brought so much pride to Wahiawa with the HHSAA title, way to go on setting a new low.

Now I mentioned they were “smart” for doing it during the game but they were also dumb. The group was caught while carrying out a four foot chest that had jewelry in it. Andrew’s mom Cathy told me they could have simply poured the contents into a bag and would have been off. But thankfully by trying to carry the chest, they were slowed down and a neighbor spotted them. The neighbor held them until police arrived who called Cathy from information at the house.

Cathy got the call just after halftime and missed the second half of the game. Her husband stayed to support Andrew and give him the bad news. It seems some of the group had gotten away with Andrew’s video games along with (and I’m not kidding you) their Oceanic DVR - the one that held all of the Leilehua football games on OC16 this season.

I told her we’ll see if copies can be made to replace those on the DVR. The video game stuff still hasn’t been recovered yet.

If you ever get to meet the Manley’s you will find a wonderful bunch of people. Just the night before Andrew was part of the Chili’s Fundraiser we did for cancer research. I found him humble and genuinely having a good time and very much into serving people food for a good cause. Which is great to see considering he’s a high profile star athlete.

Andrew and his family will no doubt replace their stolen items but it’s just a shame something like that happened to good people. Kudos to their neighbor for watching out and taking action.

Just goes to show that it’s not all fun and games on homecoming night.

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Sorry for not posting new stuff earlier. I’m battling a flu bug and have been pretty much wiped out.

Thursday night - we have ILH volleyball - Maryknoll vs Iolani 5 pm and Kamehameha vs Word of Life at 6:30 pm. Mahalo to Lori Santi for subbing for me!

Friday - a huge game in the OIA Red East - Kahuku vs Farrington at 7:30 pm. Shades of Waianae/Leilehua with first place again on the line.

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FYI to thieves of Oceanic cable boxes and DVR’s…they’re coded to each house…wouldn’t work at your den. Now do the right thing and give the Manley’s back their stuff.

Happy new week all!

This is going to be a nice week for fans of high school sports. Not only do we have a great football game on tap for Friday - Leilehua vs Waianae.

But… Tuesday marks the start of the OC16 Sports coverage of girls volleyball. And we start off with a bang in the ILH.

Tuesday - September 23 - St.Andrew’s Priory vs HBA 5 pm and Punahou vs Kamehameha at 6:30 pm.

If you haven’t seen HBA, the Eagles feature Sarah Palmer who some consider to be the top player in the ILH. Palmer, a junior, has verbally committed to play at Texas. My sources say she’s like Kanani Herring but without as big a jump. Hits a real heavy ball but can also pass and defend with great skill. So here’s a chance for the state to see her display the entire tool box.

The feature game with the Buff-n-Blu and Warriors speaks for itself. The Warriors are loaded despite the graduation of Herring. But we’ll see if their weekend trip to play in Vegas has any impact come Tuesday.

Football on Friday - yes, it’s Leilehua again. But interest in the defending state champs is high…and this is based on ratings and amount of emails we get. It’s “home coming” night for the Mules and they will face a big time test with Waianae. This should really give us all an idea of how good the Mules are.

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Answering your questions now.

Puanani writes in:
My opinion on the Leilehua and Pearlcity game, I think that #12 should of got the trophy for the impact player of the game. He played really good. The only thing that #6 did, was make two touchdowns, #12 had the katoosh of game, kick punt recovery, tackles, and one touchdown. He played his ass off. So I would really like to know how the impact player of the game is chosen. Seems like to me, it goes according to how much touchdowns they make. But their were other games that I seen a couple players having the same amount of touchdowns, and then thats when you guys look at the other “stuff.” Come on now, be fair, and look at the all around things that they do, not base it only on touchdowns.

I would like to know how you guys choose the impact player of the game? I think that it is not fair on how you guys go about choosing them.

Well Puanani, thanks for your passion about the game. Overall, we give out a few awards each TV game. A “Team Player” award which the school/team select for a player who embodies being a great teammate. At the end of every game, we also have name an “Impact Player.” This used to be called the player of the game but we changed the name to reflect that somebody could come in and just make a play or two that really “impacts” the outcome. (In football we also have a video award for Katoosh or hit of the game.)

Pua you seem really concerned about touchdowns being the only factor. True, TD’s are huge, especially if they’re the game winner. But tackles, special teams, and all of that factors in too. The people making the decision include the on-air talent and producers in the truck - who watch everything.

Past awardees have included defensive players…not just the quarterbacks and receivers.

In the case of Leilehua versus Pearl City - bigtime wideout Edieson Dumlao was out of the starting lineup because of a concussion. Getting the start in his place, Cheves Aberilla Ramento. Who had his biggest game…his first score was the first score of the game and was a great trick play with Rico Newman tossing a strike to him for a 63-yard catch and go. From there on, Pearl City never really recovered. That’s an impact no?

Universally, we know that Andrew Manley, Newman, and a few other Mules could always be named the best play maker in any given game. So we try to spread the wealth…when possible.

After the game, coaches and his teammates were thrilled he got the award. Ramento is about 5′7″ 150-pounds, good in classes, and works hard in practice. I am fine with his selection as Impact Player for this game.

Thanks again Pua for writing in…we appreciate that you pay close attention to all aspects of football.

Happy Monday all!

I’ll use today’s blog to answer some questions that have come in.

Oscar - “I think it would be a great idea if we start our own “heismen” trophy thing…”

I’m guessing you’re talking about an award on the high school level? If so, I think that’s a great idea. The hard part would be organizing an impartial group to manage it. I’ll poke around with the sports writers and see what’s out there. Thanks Oscar!

Russell - “is there any waipahu game televised this season…if there is any please tell me what date and time it will be shown in oc16?’

At this point Russell, no Waipahu regular season games are scheduled. Hopefully we see them in the postseason…I think it’s nice that they’ve had a solid start after going up to the Red Division.

Keahi Pelayo - “Wow! 20 years! Congrats and great job. Here is to 20 more. Aloha, Keahi”

Thank you for the kind words Keahi…we’re hoping for 20 more!

Kawai - “just wanted to say thanks for televising the farrington games..my brother dayton kealoha is the quarterback for farrington..being that the games are televised its easier for family/friends who missed the game to watch it at a later time..so thanks for that..and also to mention that this week is farringtons homecoming..everyone is excited..mahalo nui”

You are very welcome Kawai…your brother and his teammates are really impressive in action.

Otila - “Im trying to find the video of Aiea VS. Anuenue. Are you going to post it or is there any other way I could watch it? Im from Indiana and Im trying to get a hold of all my brothers football games. If possible, please let me know ASAP. Thank you!”

Hi Otila…generally games are available in our sports library about a week after they first air. So if the techs get to it, this game should be ready by Friday of this week.

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Speaking of this week…our games are:

Friday - Pearl City vs Leilehua 7:30pm - live from Pearl City - it’s our first game there and it’s the Chargers’ homecoming!
Saturday - ILH football - Word of Life vs Damien 7pm - live from KS field - first time for Word of Life on TV since their football is making its debut this year. Can’t wait to see Coach Joe in action.

Hello all,

Sorry if you had difficulties watching OC16 programming and Friday’s football game over the weekend. We received a large batch of emails saying viewers weren’t able to watch the live stream on their computers.

We passed on the “code red” and our techs went into action. By Saturday night, the live stream was up and running again. So again I apologize for any inconvenience this caused. We do read every email comment that comes in and try to act on them as fast as we can.

So please drop me or the website a line with any troubles or concerns that you have with our sports or website. I’ll do my best to get the answers you need from our team here.

Have a great Monday!

Oh! And don’t forget the games this week… Hawaiian style football Friday - Anuenue vs Aiea at 7:30pm from Mililani and on Saturday it’s Farrington vs McKinley at 7pm from Roosevelt.

Well our first week of high school sports is in the books and I thought it was a fun weekend.

First the HD broadcasts looked great! Leilehua’s Hugh Yoshida stadium, including it’s semi-green field showed up very nicely on the ol’ tv screen. As for football, the Mules are a bit suspect in pass defense - especially the longer passes. Iolani slipped a number of receivers deep and could have really made it a game with a few more connections. Overall, Leilehua looked fine and solid. Andrew Manley at quarterback looked poised. Good command of the field and surgical on most throws. Wait until he and the offense really get into their groove. O-line also improved from the week before on providing protection. For Iolani…wow…Kela Marciel is indeed an uber athlete! Raiders are a team that never quit for sure.

Saturday…

I thought Mililani and Saint Louis were going to put up 40-something points each! But after an early shootout…the Crusaders took control. Just using their base package that team really executed and provided a peek at how good they could be. Kudos to John Hao for his late taking over as head coach and getting everything settled in nicely. Jeremy Higgins at QB was awarded our Impact Player award and he looks to be another good QB at QB high. Both the O-line and D-line performed very strong. Mililani is still trying to get into a rhythm with their quarterbacks. Taz Stevenson is a threat at any position but on offense he is certainly a marked man. He’ll need his teammates to step up to help open him up on offense. Trojans will be tested again this week with Leielhua at Leilehua.

And…

Here’s some pictures to look back at!

If you would like to share your sports photos with us here at OC16, let me know! We would love to see teams from across the island find a home here at www.oc16.tv - so just send me an email at dave.vinton@twcable.com

To set the mood…

Here are some snaps from last year’s HHSAA Championship Football Game with Leilehua and Saint Louis. They are courtesy of Dayne Teves.

Enjoy!

Summer vacation is officially over for the OC16 Sports Team as we kickoff the 20th season of high school sports this weekend.

Friday - we have Leilehua hosting Iolani - it’s a battle of the two defending state champs as the Mules won the D1 title and the Raiders claimed the D2 crown. Game time is 7:30pm live from Hugh Yoshida Stadium.

Saturday - it’s Mililani versus Saint Louis - aka the two former great Crusaders quarterbacks turned coaches now facing off on opposite sidelines game. Smile. Yup, Darnel Arceneux versus John Hao. Intriguing because Mililani is always strong in the OIA West but are still trying to really put together a complete season or should we say postseason. The Crusaders have a new coaching staff headed up by the very capable Hao. So this is another attractive game to watch. Game time is 7pm live from John Kauinana Stadium.

And… If you haven’t heard, these games as well as the entire season will watchable in HD on channel 1016. Digital channel 96 and analog 16 remain as well. If you’re on outside of Hawaii - www.oc16.tv - will keep you in the game. Mac users, we’re still trying to install a fix so that the video player can run on Apples - sorry for the inconvenience!

All of us here thank you for your support and look foward to a fun and exciting new season of sports.

As we get giddy about starting our 20th year of local sports on August 22 with football, let’s remember volleyball shares the same time frame.

Volleyball was the third sport added after the initial launch of OC16 Sports with just football.

The game and the network have certainly grown up over the last two decades.

So much so, OC16 is proud to announce the creation of “OC16 Goodwill Volleyball Classic” in order to recognize and reward the fine young student athletes of this sport.

This first year teams will be a mix of OIA and ILH schools. Coaching staffs will also be mixed from the leagues. Each school will be offered a spot to select one of their players to represent that school. Schools and leagues will be doing the picking. OC16 is just happy to provide the game and TV coverage.

I personally think this will be awesome to watch as the skill level will be very high. But it should also promote sportsmanship in action as the young ladies mix from different schools and leagues.

Put down November 19 and 20 as the dates for the classic. We can’t wait to see first serve in this!