All things being equal, or as close to it as possible, championship games are often determined by that one extra play.

One extra weapon. One unexpected delight for the winner. A disastrous boo-boo for the defeated.

Kahuku already had a polished, unbeaten record entering the state tourney.

When Bradlee Anae made the switch from part-time, two-way lineman to full-time defensive end, Kahuku gained yet one more gold star on its defensive report card. Anae, a tall (6 feet 4) presence with the right countenance to fit in the defensive unit, was probably never so impactful as he was on Friday night. Saint Louis quarterback Tua Tagovailoa normally escapes all manner of defensive schemes. But when he ducked out of a blitz from one edge, there was almost always someone else — or a host of Red Raiders — waiting for his backfield maneuvers.

Anae was a regular visitor to that expanse of synthetic turf at Aloha Stadium. No. 99 made the night one of mostly misery for Tagovailoa, one of the most productive and unstoppable offensive weapons in state history.

Kahuku’s 39-14 win capped Vavae Tata’s first year at the helm. In Anae, Kahuku had a physical specimen who was strong enough to play O-line in previous seasons. He also had the hands — he plays basketball — to possibly play tight end or even wide receiver. The same goes for Noah Magalei, who left defense to play tight end exclusively, meaning he became one of the key weapons in Kahuku’s "Elephant" formation.

But this year, Anae, Magalei and so many of their teammates sacrificed to become a fit in Tata’s vision of a wrecking-ball offense and, without question, a big, fast and, at least on Friday night, often unpredictable defense.

"Whatever they need, I fill in and do whatever I can to help our offense and O-line," said Magalei, a 6-2, 280-pound senior.

He caught a TD pass against Waianae during the OIA season. The rest of his work and that of his offensive blocking mates can be best appreciated on video, slow-motion speed, paving the way for Kesi Ah-Hoy, Harmon Brown and other playmaking rushers.

"We worked since April with one goal, and this is it, to win states and bring the title back to Kahuku," he said.

Their sacrifices are part of the championship mentality.

"Selfless players. They play for their brothers to the right and left of them," Tata said. "That’s the beauty of Kahuku. They play their hearts out. Kahuku, everyone’s homegrown. I keep telling them, ‘You guys are a rare breed because everyone’s homegrown.’ Now all these other kids we play, they have kids from all over the place, but Kahuku? Farm strong."

Tata brought much of his experience and knowledge to the drawing board to counter Saint Louis, an offensive juggernaut under the tutelage of the original run-and-shoot tactician in the islands: offensive coordinator Ron Lee. But even Lee, who is to island offensive football as Yoda is to an entire movie franchise, couldn’t consistently utilize his arsenal against a larger, bigger group of athletes. Some of the pages in Tata’s playbook, borrowed from places he’s been, like Stanford, and defensive godfathers like Dick LeBeau, allowed the Red Raiders to present outright bull rushes from either side. More than that, it was about mirages.

"It’s all about a disguise game. The game of football has evolved. Everything’s all spread, all quick and fast. That’s why you’ve got to disguise on defense. Let those guys in the pocket think, ‘They’re in a cover-2 or cover-3,’ but in actuality, when the ball is snapped, we have our guy shifted or rotated," Tata said. "We still stress to our kids, don’t make it a track meet. You’ve got to use your hands. You’ve got to have violent hands, play with clean eyes, knowing what your job is and execute."

The Red Raiders not only prevented Tagovailoa from making his usual long runs, but brought a lot of pursuit on most of his forays beyond the line of scrimmage while playing mind games. Their game plan resulted in six Saint Louis turnovers, including two picks by Stokes Botelho, and an interception and fumble recovery by Keala Santiago. Plus four sacks, including two by Aaron Tapusoa.

"Our front seven needed to corral and contain No. 13 (Tagovailoa), and just apply pressure. The only person on the field who’s running out of time is the quarterback, so if he’s running out of time, there’s a clock in his head and he’s got to be thinking, ‘I need to get rid of the ball.’ Sometimes, when you’re harassing the quarterback, he starts throwing balls all over the place and we start to capitalize on it," Tata said.

The work of Tata and his staff was consumed by their defensive players. They got hungry for more every week.

"This week, the kids wanted to have a little fun, so we threw in some fire zones and some different blitzes," Tata said. "It was good for them to have some fun. Some of the kids on third downs, the kids were asking for some of the blitzes that we’ve installed. Kids win games, coaches lose games. It all comes down to what I said earlier: The toughest team wins."

After a long season of grinding away, day by day, insisting that they bring more to the field, Tata smiled more than he had all fall.

"I’m happy especially for our seniors. They’ve been through a whole lot, three coaching changes. There’s no better way to end the season," said Tata, who played for Cal Lee at Saint Louis more than a decade ago.

"Cal Lee and Saint Louis is a phenomenal team. Great team. It’s unfortunate someone’s got to lose. I feel blessed our kids came out on top," he said.

So there you have it. Kahuku scarcely lined up wide receivers, rarely even threw to tight ends, ran the ball exclusively behind linemen-turned-tight ends (like Stanton Alapa) and brought an entire community to its feet. The statistics on offense don’t pop out from a modern perspective. But the recipe is time-tested and true: run the ball, eat the clock, wear down your opponent, play low-risk, physical defense. Mix together. Dominate the second half against a weary foe.

Radford’s "Kahuku-ish" recipe finds success

Radford, the once mighty and large school, remains mighty in Division II. But what the Rams lack in sheer numbers, they make up for with an immense commitment to conditioning and dedication. Coach Fred Salanoa minced very few words, if any, but remained constant and supportive. His staff, loaded with former college players and veterans of previous and other league and state title teams, brought the right balance of energy and focus, intensity and composure.

Kapaa brought many of the same ingredients, and with the game up for grabs in the second half, it was junior linebacker Jordan Walker who made the pivotal play of the night with a sack of Kapaa punter/QB Kurt Napoleon, forcing a fumble that was returned to the end zone by Dillon Sunday.

For a team loaded with stars like Ace Faumui, Blaise Manabe and Kodi Ongory-Mathias, as well as the much improved Quintin Iriarte at quarterback, it was stunning to see a defensive lineman outrunning Kapaa players to the goal line. Sunday had his day, all right.

Radford finished the season unbeaten (13-0). The Rams’ recipe, similar to Kahuku’s, called for ground-and-pound football and sound, physical defense. Down 10-0 early, the Rams never lost focus. The defense, coordinated by former UH safety Matt Manuma, locked in and locked down the rest of the way as the Rams outscored the KIF champions 30-6.

"Jordan Walker, he’s a helluva player. He’s a Pac-12 type of player. He’s working, he’s on the rise," Manuma said. "We shut these guys down and credit to them. Ben (Leafa), Aaron (Faumui), (Deyshon) Slade, Dominic (Albalos), (Rex) Domingo, we had a helluva defense. They tried to run the ball, but we held it down."