There is a bug in the air and the Konawaena Wildcats are hoping it doesn’t sap their strength this week.

Coach Brad Uemoto is coughing, and his Wildcats are trying to get over that cold bug before they take on defending Division II champion Lahainaluna (10-1) on Saturday in the final of the First Hawaiian Bank /HHSAA Football State Championships.

It will be a first trip to Oahu for the ’Cats this season.

“The whole team’s been fighting it,” he said during a press conference at Aloha Stadium on Tuesday.

“We’ll definitely have a walk-through here when we land. I’m hoping to get that big-city, big-stadium jitters out for them. They can run around here and catch some balls, and kind of feel everything out. It’s good that we’ve played on turf before at home, back at Kamehameha-Hawaii and at Waiakea. That’s going to be big for us.”

Konawaena (9-2) ran the table in the BIIF after nonconference losses to Kapaa and St. Francis. The young offensive unit, led by senior quarterback Austin Ewing, has been blazing hot since the Big Island Interscholastic Federation regular season began.

Two weeks ago, Konawaena and Waipahu went almost into pinball-machine mode in the Wildcats’ 53-50 win. The teams combined for 1,156 total yards and 181 plays from scrimmage. Fifty-two of the snaps occurred in the opening quarter.

That pace will be difficult to repeat on Saturday afternoon. Konawaena and Lahainaluna met in the D-II semifinals at Konawaena last year, and the Lunas prevailed 28-14.

The Lunas, who ousted ‘Iolani 35-27 in this year’s semifinal, have long enjoyed the benefits of a streamlined wing offense that involves jet sweep motion men and myriad possibilities from the shotgun. The Luna offense relies on precision and deception, power and finesse. It all sets up misdirection plays that turn into 50-yard gains.

The unpredictability partly explains why the Lunas rarely have dominant individual players statistically.

Etuati Storer, their nimble QB, gets no empirical data for his magical ball-handling skills. Running backs Elijah Ragudo and Joshua Tihada, nephew of co-head coach Garret Tihada, are explosive out of the backfield, but rarely get more than 12 carries each.

The focus has remained one play at a time, one day at a time.

“I think we did a good job of not talking about it, or thinking about last year’s team. There’s a little bit of pressure, but I don’t really see an upside to it,” coach Tihada said.

The Lunas opened the season with a nonconference win at Pearl City 20-7 in a tough battle. Pearl City went on to finish second in OIA D-II, losing closely to Waipahu. It was a good precursor and experience for the younger Lunas new to the varsity.

“We’re coming in the night before,” Tihada said. “We just have to make sure our captains keep everybody in line, the normal things. Just make sure we have good leadership.”

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KONAWAENA OFFENSE

Senior Austin Ewing passed for 370 yards (30-for-53) without an interception in the 53-50 semifinal win over Waipahu. He delivered five touchdown passes and added one more on the ground.

“He knows the offense as well as I do. I put a tweak in and he gets it right away,” Konawaena coach Brad Uemoto said.

The Wildcats get enough done on the ground to keep most defenses honest. Chauncey Mariani-Louis ran for 66 yards on 23 carries against Waipahu. The ’Cats ran the ball 35 times, nearly 41 percent of its snaps.

A young receiver corps has matured.

“Our past two groups have been faster, but this group has been resilient. I don’t think they’re really doing anything special, but they’re consistent and that’s what we needed from them. (Offensive coordinator) Peter Ewing’s done a great job with them,” Uemoto said.

Tyler Libarios, a converted defensive end, had the game of his life with seven receptions for 135 yards, including a 54-yard TD in the semifinals. Austin Ewing also connected with Jeriah Cacal for two TDs and Mariani-Louis for another.

“We’ve got a good little group,” Uemoto said of the offensive line. “Our center, Avery Blanco, has done a great job all year.”

POS. NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

QB 6 Austin Ewing 6-1 170 Sr.

RB 9 Chauncey Mariani-Louis 5-9 190 Sr.

WR 3 Hunter Wehrsig 5-11 160 So.

WR 11 Jeriah Cacal 5-8 165 Sr.

WR 5 Kealakai Kihe 5-11 185 Jr.

WR 21 Tyler Libarios 5-11 170 Sr.

OL 64 Keanu Caldwell 6-3 300 Sr.

OL 66 Joshua Fernandez-Victor 6-1 270 Sr.

OL 57 Avery Blanco 5-10 205 Jr.

OL 58 Tevin Canda 5-7 250 Jr.

OL 50 Kolu Alani 5-10 180 Sr.

KONAWAENA DEFENSE CAP

The Wildcats needed to create their own breaks and did so against Waipahu. Orion Smith returned a fumble 34 yards for a TD, and the unit came up with two interceptions. The defense also stopped four 2-point conversion attempts and came up with a sack and fumble in the final seconds to preserve the win.

The jewel of the defense is often Paka Cacoulidis.

“He’s a tough kid and has been a starter since his sophomore year,” Uemoto said of the senior.

Alex Muti, the other DE, has great potential.

“He’s just a sophomore, if he puts on some muscle, there’s no doubt he’s a D-I caliber kid,” Uemoto said.

The linebacker corps is loaded with experience. Seau Amor and Michael Banagan-Brock are leaders for the unit. Cacal and Kala‘i Santiago are the corners. Boaz Ayers leads from safety.

“It’s assignment football,” Uemoto said of facing Lahainaluna’s intricate wing offense. “Sometimes, for us, it’s difficult, but we keep pounding it home. (Defensive coordinator) Sam Papali’i is doing a great job at it. He put the scheme in awhile back. Until we get to the field and seeing what their offense produces, it’s hard to tell. It comes down to tackling at times. We’re working on all of that.”

POS. NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LB 44 Michael Banagan Brock 5-7 205 Sr.

LB 32 Seau Amor 5-7 165 Sr.

LB 43 Ethan Abe 5-7 155 Sr.

DB 11 Jeriah Cacal 5-8 165 Sr.

DB 10 Boaz Ayers 5-7 145 Jr.

DB 7 Kala’i Santiago 6-1 160 Jr.

DB 25 Orion Smith 5-6 145 Jr.

DL 1 Paka Cacoulidis 6-0 210 Sr.

DL 23 Alex Muti 6-1 160 So.

DL 58 Tevin Canda 5-7 250 Jr.

DL 50 Kolu Alani 5-10 180 Sr.

KONAWAENA SPECIAL TEAMS

Harry Hill has six field goals this season, plus touchback range on kickoffs. The junior was 5-for-5 on PATs against Waipahu and drilled a 35-yard field goal. His longest FG of the season is 58 yards against Waiakea, which is believed to be a state record. The FG was a free kick, meaning it came after a fair catch.

POS. NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

P/PK 42 Harry Hill 5-11 200 Jr.

KR 9 Chauncey Mariani-Louis 5-9 190 Sr.

KR 7 Kala’i Santiago 6-1 160 Jr. PR 10 Boaz Ayers 5-7 145 Jr.

LS 34 Cruz Alani Horan 5-11 170 Jr.

HO 7 Kala’i Santiago 6-1 160 Jr.

LAHAINALUNA OFFENSE

Against a combined D-I and D-II schedule, the Lunas have scored a whopping 351 points in 11 games, nearly 32 per contest.

Sophomore Joshua Tihada, one of the Lunas’ two-way standouts, was superb in the semifinal win against ‘Iolani, as was senior Elijah Ragudo. By halftime, Tihada had 128 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Ragudo had 100 yards and one TD.

Lahainaluna’s ground-and-pound attack rolled up 307 first-half yards, all on the ground. The Lunas did not complete a pass all night. The only pass attempt was by Taai Galoia.

That’s not far off what the Lunas did in 2016. They threw the ball just four times in a 21-14 win over Kapaa for the D-II crown. Etuati Storer threw the pigskin three times with three completions for 41 yards.

The offense ran the ball 42 times for 136 yards, getting a team-high 10 carries from Ragudo, who finished with 27 yards. In all, Lahainaluna’s offense produced one touchdown against Kapaa. Two other TDs came via special teams and defense.

POS. NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

QB 9 Nainoa Irish 5-8 165 So.

FB 6 Kiliona Keohuloa 5-7 190 Sr.

HB 33 Joshua Tihada 5-8 160 So.

SB 24 Elijah Ragudo 5-7 140 Sr.

WR 18 William Bookland 5-9 135 So.

TE 44 Miki Winter-Tufuga 6-1 205 Jr.

LT 51 Dalton Lins 6-3 250 Sr.

LG 55 Apakasi Felemi 5-9 195 Jr.

C 73 Braeden Estores-Castillo 5-6 215 Sr.

RG 53 Joshua McCoy 5-9 215 Jr.

RT 52 Ikaika Viela 6-2 220 Jr.

LAHAINALUNA DEFENSE

After giving up only 158 points in 11 games (14.4 per), the Lunas looked wobbly in the semifinal round two weeks ago. The steady, physical and fast unit kept a lid on ‘Iolani for a half, but struggled after that as the Raiders nearly closed the gap.

Though Konawaena has a young receiving corps, they are deceptively fast and elusive. That’s a big factor for a Lunas defense that let ‘Iolani receiver Jonah Miyazawa catch 13 passes for 193 yards in the semifinal round.

Two-way standout Etuati Storer had a team-high nine tackles against ‘Iolani, and he also had an interception, a deflection and a tackle for loss. Senior defensive back Bailey Honda had seven tackles, while Siale Hafoka and Kaihulali Casco had six takedowns apiece

Casco had the last-minute interception to stop ‘Iolani’s final drive.

Honda was clutch in the ’16 championship game, returning a pick 55 yards for a TD.

POS. NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

DL 48 Koa Evalu-Robinson 6-2 260 Sr.

DL 56 Tausinga Hafoka 5-10 260 Jr.

DL 19 Nyles Pokipala-Waiohu 5-11 185 Jr.

LB 26 Elijah Moritz 5-11 185 Sr.

LB 20 Laakea Shim 5-11 160 Sr.

LB 14 Mystic Kauhaahaa 5-8 140 Sr.

DB 15 Siale Hafoka 6-2 205 Sr.

DB 8 Bailey Honda 5-8 135 Sr.

DB 3 Etuati Storer 6-0 170 Jr.

DB 7 Devon Sa-Chisolm 5-9 135 Fr.

DB 21 Kaihulali Casco 6-0 165 So.

LAHAINALUNA SPECIAL TEAMS

The Lunas would make former Hawaii coach Dick Tomey proud. They relish special-teams opportunities. It was Siale Hafoka, then a junior, who scored on a 23-yard blocked-punt return last year against Kapaa in the state final.

OL/DL Pablo Rico has range. He missed on a 50-yard field-goal try against ‘Iolani, and a 52-yard attempt was blocked. He was 5-for-5 on PAT conversions.

POS. NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

P 3 Etuati Storer 6-0 170 Jr.

PK 67 Pablo Rico 6-1 220 Jr.

KR 24 Elijah Ragudo 5-7 140 Sr.

KR 14 Mystic Kauhaahaa 5-8 140 Sr.

PR 14 Mystic Kauhaahaa 5-8 140 Sr.

LS 13 Kawehi Gillcoat 5-8 140 Jr.

HO 8 Bailey Honda 5-8 135 Sr.

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TOMORROW: DIVISION I PREVIEW: DAMIEN VS. HILO

SATURDAY: OPEN DIVISION PREVIEW: KAHUKU VS. SAINT LOUIS