David Letterman has his own top 10, but he’ll never include a list of top reasons to go to a KIF football game this year. So I decided to compile a list of reasons of why you should attend a KIF football game this season. So here we go with the Top 10 reasons to go to a KIF football game:
10-What better way to spend a Friday night, without the fuss of making dinner, sitting on the couch watching television, or even sleeping. Instead, witnessing a KIF football game would allow you to not worry about dinner plans, or even trying to channel surf between commericals to find something good to watch.
9-The fellowship of friends. If you go to a KIF football game, you’ll see all of your friends and even meet new people. Your old friends will also be there and it’s a great way to look back to when you were in high school.
8-The bands. The price of admission to hear the three high school bands is pretty cheap. You get to hear great live music from some of the most talented high schoolers in the state. Plus, without the bands, the games wouldn’t be as peppy.
7-JV football. This past Friday night was a great example of great football at the junior varsity level. Although some might think of the JV level as a developmental type of league, it still gives you the same exciting level of play that you’ll definitely enjoy.
6-The cheerleaders. Some of the toughest individuals are off the field and on the track. The cheerleaders work very hard, just as the boys on the field do, but don’t get half the notoriety as the football players.
5-Supporting your alma mater. Whether a Menehune, Red Raider, or Warrior, coming out to support your alma mater is crucial. The faces aren’t the same, but the schools are exactly how they were when you were in high school. Also, it’s sort of like a mini class reunion at the games, because you see some of your classmates in the stands.
4-The officials. These individuals are a rare breed. They are definitely as important as any entity on the field, and as J Robertson said on Friday night, “Without the officials, we have no football games.” This is also a good time to mention the two familiar faces that were missing on Friday night (Stupe Shimogawa and Maxie Moreno). Both were longtime KIF football officials and both have done a lot for high school football on Kaua‘i, we’ll definitely miss their presence.
3-The coaches. They’ve worked hard with their players for most of the year and they have only six games to showcase their talents. Kaua‘i’s Keli‘i Morgado, Kapa‘a’s Wes Kaui, and Waimea’s Liko Perreira all have one thing in common: They make the games exciting to watch!
2-The parents. Like coaches, the parents spent countless hours out of their busy schedules to get their player to the high school level. I’m not a parent yet, but from a perspective of a player, parents give the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that their student has the most enriching experience in high school athletics.
1-The players. If you haven’t been able to regularly attend KIF football games in the past, then this is your year to make up for all those lost opportunities. You can’t miss out on seeing Kaua‘i’s star quarterback Kekoa Crowell, running back Brian “Roadrunner” Rodriguez, wideouts Kevin Cadiente and Jett “Airplane” Jasper, Kapa‘a’s Kalima “Go” Leong, who is as exciting to watch as any player in the KIF, Big Moses “Put your money where your mouth is” Punzal, who’ll give us a good share of great hits this year, Lance Taniguchi-Fu, who’s built like a stone wall, and Waimea’s Max “Da Hammer” Hadwin, the transfer student from Kaua‘i High, who is looking to make his own mark as a starting quarterback this season, so it should be very interesting to see him go up against the Red Raiders.
Also at Waimea, Eric Oroc, the Estes brothers, Justin and Kenny are going to give opposing teams headaches. Menehune running back Jon-Anthony “Sting” Reyes is a shifty back that reminds me of Barry Sanders.
There’s nothing better than KIF football on Friday nights. Come on, you’ve got Harold Naumu on the mic and the players you’ve watched from Pop Warner days.
So don’t miss out on any of the remaining games this season and by the way, the next game is at Hanapepe Stadium with Kaua‘i facing Waimea. JV start time is 5 p.m., with varsity action kicking off at 7:35 p.m.
