When defending state champion Mililani and Saint Louis meet in the state high school football semifinals tonight, strap in for a nonstop roller-coaster ride of offensive fireworks.

It’s hard to remember this great of a quarterback matchup in such a big situation as the Trojans’ McKenzie Milton and the Crusaders’ Tua Tagovailoa.

There’s much more on the line now than in a scrimmage to start this season and a preseason game last year when Tagovailoa was just a sophomore. He was still battling returning starter Ryder Kuhns for the reins of offensive coordinator Ron Lee’s run-and-shoot offense. Mililani won that wild one 63-47.

Since then, he has blossomed into a top prospect of the class of 2017, and Milton has continued churning out yards and touchdowns, a shoulder injury the only thing slowing him. Some of their stats this season are eerily similar: Tagovailoa with 2,266 passing yards and accounting for 29 touchdowns (21 passing, 8 rushing) and Milton at 2,262 and 31 (29-2).

They have known each other since Pop Warner. "We were on the same team," said Milton. "He was the quarterback, I was a receiver."

A strong case can be made for Milton, running back Vavae Malepeai and receiver Kalakaua Timoteo — also the playmaking core of the 2014 championship team — as the most consistently productive passing, running and receiving big three combination in state history over the course of their varsity careers.

You have to go back to 1994 to find a single-season trio to compare: Saint Louis’ Darnell Arceneaux, Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala and George Ornellas.

Malepeai (1,672 yards, 27 touchdowns, 5 more receiving this season) and Timoteo (1,187 yards on 63 receptions with 19 TDs) might be the best running back-receiver combo since Kahuku’s Mark Autuia and Itula Mili in 1989 and 1990, or maybe even back to Tupu Alualu and Micah Matsuzaki. They were teammates of Malepeai’s uncle, star nose tackle Silila Malepeai (now a Mililani assistant) on Saint Louis’ 1988 Prep Bowl champs.

Cal Lee, the Crusaders coach then and now, said the Trojans playmakers remind him somewhat of his from 27 years ago.

"You don’t see that too often. Good for (Mililani coach) Rod (York) but not very good for us. Those are talented people," said Lee, the winningest high school football coach in state history. "What do you do? You just hope you make the right call. We have to make plays defensively. I think you try to slow ’em down. But you can’t try to take everything away. Can’t give them the home run; you try to minimize the run and force them to pass."

Timoteo said it doesn’t matter that the Trojans handled the Crusaders in the scrimmage three months ago, and he’s ready to fill any role to survive and advance to the final and a chance to repeat.

"As of last week it’s a new season," he said. "There’s a lot of heat in this rivalry. If it’s blocking, so be it. A 200-yard receiving game is great, but nothing is better than a win. Like Coach Rod says, at the end of the game we just want to be 1-0."

Malepeai — who was at Saint Louis before transferring after his ninth-grade football season — said his Oregon commitment is firm. Milton and Timoteo both said they’re still pledged to Hawaii, pending what happens with UH’s coaching change.

"I really want to play at home," said Milton, who also has an offer from Air Force. "But maybe the new coach won’t want me."

Timoteo has some Pac-12 teams pursuing him, and more will likely join the hunt as letter of intent day approaches.

"I just talked to (UH receivers coach Luke Matthews). We have a real good relationship," Timoteo said. "I just go with God’s plan."

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.