Since 1998, Kahuku's record is 75-9 (.893), with four OIA championships and one Eastern Division title. In that same span, Kailua is 52-16-1 (.754) with one OIA co-championship, one runner-up finish and one White Conference title, also sharing the East crown with Kahuku last season.

"It used to always be Kahuku and Wai'anae that were looked at as the top two (OIA) programs, but now I guess we've taken (Wai'anae's) place," Kailua coach Darren Johnson said. "This is three straight years now that we're playing in the championship game, and our guys want the title now."

Of course, 15-time champion Kahuku stands in the way. And this year's edition of the Red Raiders looks as powerful as most in the past. Kahuku has dominated the competition so far, winning its 10 games by an average score of 42-7.

Kailua has come the closest, losing 26-9 on Oct. 17 in a game that was much closer than the final score. The Surfriders trailed 12-9 with 4:09 to play when Kahuku faced a fourth-and-goal from the 1.

The Red Raiders scored on the play, and converted a Kailua interception into a touchdown on the ensuing possession.

"We didn't play well in that last 3› minutes," Johnson said. "We gotta learn how to start and finish well."

One major difference between the Surfriders then and now is the return of running back Kekoa Sua, who rushed for 963 yards and 17 touchdowns in the first five games before suffering an ankle injury and sitting out four games.

Sua returned for last week's 20-12 semifinal victory over Mililani, rushing for 48 tough yards on 14 carries.

"He looks like he's 100 percent," Johnson said.

That's good news for Kailua, because now it can use Sua and Damien Torres, who rushed for 929 yards and nine touchdowns on 90 rushes (10.3 yards per carry) in five games after taking over for Sua.

"Both of them are tough runners, and it'll be helpful for them to have two guys (carrying the load)," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said.

Johnson said Kailua will need Sua and Torres against the Red Raiders' stalwart defense.

"We gotta use both, because they're both real good," Johnson said. "Damien really came into his own when Kekoa was out, but our guys all work extremely hard and there's no quit in any of them. Our backs usually get stronger as the game goes along."

But to take the game into the final minutes again, the Surfriders probably will need the help of mistakes and turnovers by the Red Raiders to slow them.

"The first time we played them we made mistakes on the first 11 plays," Livai said. "On the first play, we fumbled, and then we missed blocks like crazy. It's hard for any team to play a perfect game, and we've shown many times that anybody can beat us on a given night if we make too many mistakes. We gotta limit the mistakes and be able to bounce back from them."

Johnson thinks his team has corrected errors from the first meeting, and is hopeful it won't make any more tonight.

"We're happy that we've gotten better and fixed the mistakes we made," Johnson said. "Our guys have been working very hard and are very excited about having this opportunity to play for the championship again. Now we feel like we actually gotta get over that hump and win it."