The Kansai League is the college football league in West-Japan. The champion of the Kansai League plays against the champion of the Kantō League for the college championship in the Kōshien Bowl in December.
The college champion then plays against the champion of the X League for the national championship in the Rice Bowl on January 3.

Hometowns:
Dōshisha, Kyōto, Ritsumeikan (all Kyōto), Kansai, Kinki, Ōsaka Sangyō (all Ōsaka), Kōbe (Kōbe),
Kwansei Gakuin (Nishinomiya-Uegahara).

Kaisers win season opener

The Kansai University Kaisers won the Kansai League's opener of the fall season. They defeated the Kinki University Devils 7-3 in front of 1.500 fans at EXPO FLASH FIELD in Osaka. The Devils controlled the ball for 30 minutes and four seconds of the 48-minute playing time but the Kaisers took the lead with a 60-yard pass from QB Yasuhisa Moriguchi to WR Katsuya Nagakawa two minutes and 36 seconds into the third quarter. The Devils' only score, a 30-yard field goal, came with two minutes and 36 seconds left in the third period.
In other week one action the Kansai League's two top teams had little problems. The Ritsumeikan University Panthers defeated the Osaka Sangyo University Lions 42-3 with great performances by QB Masato Kinoshita and WR Naoki Maeda. Kinoshita opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run and threw four touchdown passes, Maeda gave the Panthers a comfortable lead with two scores at the end of the first and the beginning of the second quarter. With seven seconds left in the first period he caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Kinoshita and when the Lions were forced to punt on their next possession he returned the ball 52 yards for Ritsumeikan's third touchdown.
The Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters beat the Kobe University Ravens 40-10. After falling behind 13-0 early in the second quarter Kobe cut the deficit to six points with two minutes and 20 seconds left in the first half when RB Yohei Takeuchi caught a 15-yard touchdown pass. But the Fighters answered with a 89-yard kickoff return.
Relying on a strong running game the Kyoto University Gangsters opened the season with a 20-17 win against the Doshisha University Wild Rover. The biggest play of the game came with two minutes and two seconds left in the first half when RB Takuro Miyagawa turned a pass from QB Tetsuji Miyashita into a 57-yard touchdown for a 10-7 lead. That score came 59 seconds after a 15-yard run by QB Yasutomo Murakawi had given Doshisha a 7-3 lead.

Kansai League scores and standings

(Text: Dieter Hoch)