That would be the Punahou Buffanblu, who went 6-4 and climbed to No. 6 in The Advertiser's state wide Top 10 poll of coaches and media but were left out of the playoff picture despite finishing with four victories in five games, including a 14-6 win over then-unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Kamehameha on Oct. 24.

Punahou's only loss in that span was a 29-21 heartbreaker to ILH champion Saint Louis, a game in which the Buffanblu led 21-13 in the fourth quarter.

Punahou's season ended abruptly because the Interscholastic League of Honolulu sends only one team to each state tournament — Division I and Division II — and the Buffanblu got caught in the middle.

But for four Punahou seniors, tonight's Hawai'i Union Builders Foundation Goodwill Classic represents one last time to show the rest of the island how much they've improved. Quarterback John Morris, wide receiver Koa Duncan, defensive lineman Robert Brown and defensive back Chris Shiramizu are members of the West All-Star team, which takes on the East at 7:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.

"This is the best of the best," said Brown. "This is where our rivals become our teammates."

Their new teammates from Damien and Kamehameha are thankful for that, considering how the Buffanblu were playing against them at season's end.

After a 2-3 start, not many people paid attention to Punahou, although the Buffanblu had shown potential in losses to Kailua, Kamehameha and Saint Louis. Morris threw for 226 yards, 258 yards and 272 yards in those games, respectively, but also had a total of nine interceptions.

"We'd always get drives going, but we couldn't get it in the end zone," Duncan said.

Morris, a first-year starter, said his lack of experience hurt early in the season.

"My reads weren't as crisp," he said. "But later, there was no doubt in my passing; I knew where to throw it. We had the greatest receiving corps, and at the end of the season all of the reads were there."

Brown said the same thing happened on defense.

"By the end of the season, we knew exactly what to do," Brown said.

Shiramizu agreed.

"At the beginning, the big plays always hurt us in the end," he said. "But then we found out what our strengths were: speed and heart. We used that to compensate for our lack of size."

Fans took notice on Oct. 10, when 17-time defending ILH champion Saint Louis needed 16 points in the fourth quarter to rally past the Buffanblu. Then came a 41-9 victory over Iolani, and then the 14-6 shocker over Kamehameha, which was heading toward its first ILH title since 1979.

"We could have just given up, because we had no chance of winning the ILH at that point," Morris said. "But this team bonded really well through the season, with all the things we went through, and we came together instead of breaking apart."

Said Brown: "In that Kamehameha game, the state could finally see what Punahou football was all about."

The Buffanblu ended their ILH season with a 52-14 rout of Pac-Five. And then ... it was over.

"I felt like just when we were peaking, it just stopped," Morris said. "We were clicking so well."

The disappointment in not having a chance at the state tournament was softened a bit when Morris, Duncan, Shiramizu and Brown were invited to play in tonight's game, which draws seniors from all over O'ahu.

"It's cool to meet new people," Shiramizu said. "That's what I like."

All four Buffanblu all-stars hope to play in college. Morris is looking at Cornell and Dartmouth; Brown is interested in Villanova or San Diego; Duncan is looking at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or San Diego and Shiramizu is interested in Harvard, Pennsylvania, Brown and San Diego.

But they all have one last bit of high school football business to finish tonight.

"This season was about building respect for Punahou," Brown said. "This was the hardest we worked in offseason training; everyone showed up, not just one guy here or there. As seniors, this is something we can give back to Punahou, for everything it's given us."

EXTRA POINT: The Carvalho brothers, Brennan and Bronson, will play against each other for one last time in high school tonight. Both are offensive linemen, but Bronson played for Saint Louis and will be on the East squad, while Brennan played for Kamehameha and is on the West team. Their father, Bernard, is former standout at Kapa'a High School and the University of Hawai'i.