For the fifth-ranked Kamehameha Warriors, the fact is that they are — in the eyes of media voters — one of the best high school football teams in the state. They just happen to be in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, home of four Top 10 teams, including Punahou and Saint Louis.

“We try not to focus on all that stuff. We just want to execute and hopefully come out on top,” quarterback/wide receiver/kick returner Fatu Sua-Godinet said after a boiling-hot practice at Kunuiakea Stadium on Friday.

The end of fall camp came with a reward for the Warriors: popsicles. Coach Doug Cosbie brought the treats after a suggestion from special teams coach Dennis McKnight — yes, that Dennis McKnight. In fact, other former Rainbow Warriors on the staff this fall are Ricky Lumford and David Maeva.

“If we could suit up David, Ricky could probably do it. Dennis, I don’t know. He’s a little younger than me,” said Cosbie, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1980s.

While Kamehameha has eight returning starters on each side of the ball — a number that hardly any other program can match — the marquee names tend to be at other campuses. Cosbie and his squad pay no mind to the preseason pitter-patter.

“We had a tough year last year with injuries, but a lot of young guys stepped up,” Cosbie said. “If we can stay healthy, we’ve got a chance.”

It begins with Sua-Godinet, who wears No. 80 at practice but will still don No. 8 for games.

“He thinks he’s Jerry Rice,” Cosbie quipped.

What Sua-Godinet could look like is an ideal spread quarterback.

“We’ve got an army of running backs. We don’t have anybody like (Kaulana) Apelu. We’ll do it by committee,” Cosbie said. “It’s kind of like Oregon’s offense. Everyone thinks they throw all the time, but they run the ball quite a bit.”

The O-line lost some valuable blockers to graduation, including second-team All-State lineman Radson Jang. But they have an influx of new talent led by Chris-Jordan Ulufale.

In all, this year’s squad returns 25 seniors from a team that went 5-3 overall. The defensive front is seasoned, with four returning starters up front: Alema Kapoi, Nakoa Pauole, Wesley Faagau and Tainoa Foster. The latter, Foster, has a scholarship offer from UH. Kainalu Martin is a key in the secondary. The unit lost big contributors to graduation: Mika Tafua (BYU) and Dylan Kane (Oregon).

Sua-Godinet had a superb offseason, showing up at the Maximum Exposure Camp and wowing onlookers with his pass-catching skills. But at Kapalama Heights, his role is to run the offense at quarterback. He may switch to wide receiver from time to time, and Cosbie intends to use his speedy, versatile athlete as a cornerback and kick returner, too.

“He’ll be tired,” the coach promised. “He’s up for it and we want to get our best guy on the field. Everybody does the same thing. And he’s one of our best return men. I don’t care if they’re starters or backups, we want our best 11 guys on special teams. If they want to play on the next level, they’ve got to play special teams.”