Nearly 50 years before Walter Camp saw Ebb Ellis run with the ball during a soccer match and envisioned a different game, a learning institution opened on Maui. The famous Hawaiian historian David Malo was among the first 25 students in 1831 at Lahainaluna, widely cited as the first high school west of the Rocky Mountains.

It only seems like Bobby Watson has been running the dorms and coaching football there that long.

"I came here as a boarder in 1970 and never left," said Watson, originally from Kahaluu. He’s been on the Lunas coaching staff since 1979 and a head coach the past two decades.

For the past five years, Watson has shared the head coaching title with former longtime assistant Garret Tihada.

"I’m really trying to step back," said Watson, 60. "Honestly, I’ve been trying to step down. Every year I say, ‘Garret, this is it.’"

"We’re not letting him get out," said Tihada, 43, who like his mentor is a former Lunas player.

Watson runs the defense and Tihada the offense. "Everything else we pretty much split down the middle," Tihada said.

It works. The Lunas are 9-1. What was intended as a quick transition has become a great partnership. Today, Watson and Tihada lead Lahainaluna into the state championship game against five-time defending Division II champion ‘Iolani.

"Those guys have been around for so long together and they know each other so well," ‘Iolani head coach Wendell Look said. "Garret’s dad, Lanny, and Bobby go back, way, way back. And obviously Garret has grown up with them. I think they click and they get along. They kind of know each other’s moves already."

Co-coaching a team into the state tournament is not unprecedented, as Rudy Alejo and Dean Nakagawa first did it with Damien in 2003. But winning it would be. The Raiders started their Division II title streak with a 28-21 win over the Lunas five years ago, the last year with Watson as lone head coach.

Lahainaluna’s defense, led by junior lineman Hercules Mataafa, was dominant this season, shutting out its first five opponents, and Nanakuli 28-0 last week. ‘Iolani is 8-3, but against a tougher schedule, and comes off a 43-0 thrashing of Radford.

"We’ve been fortunate on defense, but we haven’t seen anything like ‘Iolani," Watson said. "Hybrid pass and run, misdirection."

I asked Tihada if this will be the most disciplined team the Lunas play this year. "By far." Best coached? "Also by far."

In some ways the teams are reflections of each other.

"Tough," Look said in describing Lahainaluna. "That’s all you gotta say. Both physically and mentally tough kids. Knowing them for all these years, that’s what they develop, that’s what they preach."

You could say similar things about the Raiders. And the programs helped each other develop their cultures of discipline, teamwork and strength, sharing preseason camps in Lahaina in the 1990s. The Lunas have also honed their edge by doing the same at Waianae.

Lahainaluna is a decided underdog today. But if it pulls off the upset, maybe Tihada will finally let Watson retire.

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Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.