UPPER TUMON, Guam — Not often does a high school football team get a shot at playing for two championships in a season.
Yet that’s the situation facing the Guam High Panthers as they head into November: They could be playing four games in a two-week span, both in the Interscholastic Football League and DODDS-Pacific Far East Class AA playoffs.
"I know a lot of kids in the States would kill to get another game," Miller said Saturday after Guam High survived a surprising challenge from John F. Kennedy 27-20 in Saturday’s IFL quarterfinal at Naval Station’s Blue Jacket Field. "We now have a shot at two championships."
Both the IFL and DODDS playoff slates initially showed the Panthers facing a scheduling conflict. The IFL’s semifinal, Guam High vs. Father Duenas Memorial, and the DODDS Class AA semifinal, Guam High at Kadena on Okinawa, were slated for 7 p.m. Nov. 1.
But the IFL semifinal was pushed back to Nov. 5 by the league’s governing body, the Independent Interscholastic Athletic Association of Guam. That allows Guam High to play at Kadena, return to Guam and get three days between the Kadena and FD games.
Should Guam High win on Nov. 1 and Nov. 5, the Panthers would either next travel to Seoul American or Yokota for the Class AA title game on Nov. 8, then return to Guam for the IFL’s Bamboo Bowl on a date to be determined.
"Everybody’s happy," Miller said, adding he and the team were thankful for the IIAAG’s decision. "The kids are excited, and I know they’ll savor the opportunity."
The Panthers took the first step toward a school-first IFL title by outlasting the pesky Islanders by a touchdown. Chad Albe, a junior, got his first start under center for Guam High.
The Panthers recorded 229 yards of offense, all on the ground. D’Andre Weaver scored three times, each inside the JFK 10-yard line, and finished with a game-high 146 yards on 17 carries. Brian Saunders added a 5-yard TD run. Nick Lang led the Panthers with eight tackles.
"We tried some different things and played it safe, and we got to rest some people," Miller said. "There were some things that didn’t go our way, moved us back when we should have scored, but these things happen. Overall, we played well. Our offensive line played really well."
Now Guam High makes its first off-island trip in school history.
"We’ll go to Kadena with our best foot forward, and hopefully we’ll move on to play for the Far East championship," Miller said. "If not, we’ll come back, play the (IFL) semifinal and hopefully play for that title. Either way, we’ll give it our best shot."