D-I power in D-II semi

When Lahainaluna is this good, very little stands in its way.

The Lunas tore through the MIL this season much the way they did not so long ago. In 2004, a loaded squad dominated the league before upsetting Mililani 41-34 in the Division I state tournament.

Now, in the D-II semifinal round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships, top-seeded Lahainaluna (10-0) will host another OIA powerhouse on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku. Kaiser (11-1, 11-0 conference) ruled the OIA White (D-II) Conference, but it’s widely accepted that the Cougars have D-I talent.

Just like Lahainaluna.

"They’ve got athletes like we do," Kaiser coach Rich Miano said. "They’re well coached. They’ve got an offensive system that stays on track and does a good job. They’ve got some great defensive players like we do. It should be a great football game for anyone who’s interested in high school football."

The Lunas, with a relatively small enrollment, moved to D-II not long after the historic win over Mililani. They’ve reached the D-II final twice, losing to ‘Iolani each time. That includes last year’s 36-33 thriller at Aloha Stadium.

Lahainaluna co-head coach Garret Tihada has been a road warrior in preparation, scouting the Cougars thoroughly.

"It’s nerve-wracking. This is a legitimately good Kaiser team," he said on Tuesday. "I guess the word is excited. Our kids want to get out there and play, but we’ve got a little more work to do, get a little more polished."

This matchup pits the only two D-II teams ranked in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. Lahainaluna is at No. 7 and Kaiser is No. 9.

The Lunas have rested since an MIL season-ending 42-14 win over Maui. Kaiser had a bye week before the OIA White title game, but has been busy since. As the fourth seed, the Cougars are at a disadvantage. The top two seeds had byes last week.

"It’s not enough," Miano said. "You’d like to have a bye week. You’d like to have more time. We’ll do our best to get them up to speed as quickly as possible, but we’re going to have to keep up with them in that first quarter. We can’t emulate that speed with our scout team. We’re going to have to do a good job of making plays early."

A few things have changed since that historic win over Mililani. The Lunas’ field has been redone. They even hosted a few home games in recent years. But Bobby Watson and Tihada remain in charge as co-head coaches. The Lunas still play hard-nosed football, though their wing-T offense has gone through modifications over the years.

It’s probably a coincidence, then, that an offense that had more and more inclination to throw the ball last year has simplified this fall. With three explosive ballcarriers — Sione Filikitonga, Jared Rocha-Isalas and Christian Whitehead — the Lunas have run their misdirection plays with precision.

Filikitonga, their quarterback, rushed for 851 yards (9.8 per attempt) and nine touchdowns. Another junior, Rocha-Isalas, rushed for 844 yards (10 per carry) and 11 touchdowns, and Whitehead, a senior, rambled for 673 yards (7.2) and 11 touchdowns. In all, they average 368 rushing yards per game.

It’s the aerial scheme — 46 yards per contest — that had some wrinkles to smooth out.

"We couldn’t get our passing game going until later in the season. That’s why we ran the ball so much," Tihada said. "The first half of the season, we had guys open, but he was overthrowing them. Sione is starting to recognize what defenses are doing, he’s audibling more."

There still isn’t a Luna with more than eight receptions total, but their top five pass-catchers average at least 12 yards per grab.

It’s the kind of offense, with dives up the gut, fly sweeps and quarterback end-arounds, that can drive a defense crazy. Kaiser hasn’t seen much like it in the OIA White.

Tihada has scouted the Cougars the past two weeks: a 41-21 win over Pearl City and Saturday’s 59-6 rout of Konawaena.

"Across the board, they’re tough. Offensive line, quarterback, line, the DBs. We’ve been looking for a weakness," he said. "We can’t find it."

In fact, Tihada sees Kaiser as a bigger challenge than the one the Lunas had in ’04.

"I think this Kaiser team is better than Mililani was back then. We matched up better back then with them," he said, noting that Mililani didn’t have a team as physically large.

"We’re much bigger and stronger, too," Tihada added. "It comes down to the guys up front. If we can’t handle them it’s going to be a long night. It’s the best line we’re going to see all year. By far."

With Hercules Mata’afa (6-3, 235) anchoring the defensive line and linebacker Connor Mowat (5-11, 240) back in the lineup after an early-season injury, Lahainaluna’s defense has been in lockdown mode. No opponent has scored more than 14 points in a game. In all, the Lunas have surrendered just 5.7 points and 146 yards per game.

Kaiser’s Fitou Fisiiahi, goes two ways. As a linebacker, he sets the tone defensively. As a tailback, he runs downhill on every carry and has punished defenders for 647 yards (7.2 per carry) and 16 TDs.