Anonymity might work on the football field, but not at the friendly neighborhood pizza parlor, where the blockers meet to take advantage of the Saturday buffet special after practice.

"They know us, not by name, but when they see us, they know they have to work hard," senior guard Kahawai Soon said.

Tonight, it will be the Warriors linemen who will have their work cut out when they face Maui Interscholastic League champion Lahainaluna in a semifinal of the First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships at Aloha Stadium. Kickoff is 8 p.m.

The Warriors (8-1-1) have seen their share of active and aggressive defenses in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and even in preseason when they played Baldwin, which Lahainaluna tied and defeated this season in two meetings. They will encounter another swift defense in the Lunas (9-1-1), who moved up to from No. 7 to No. 3 in The Advertiser Top 10 after a thrilling 41-34 win against Mililani in first round play last week on the Valley Isle.

Intensity

"Our offensive line is excellent," Rego said. "They're great with their technique, they're strong and they basically can manhandle people. They play with lots of intensity. I love it."

Intense they are.

"We all have a little nastiness in us," senior center Tyler Williams said. "We like to play O-line like the way you play D-line. I think we do that pretty well as a unit."

And it's a tight-knit unit, noticed Warriors coach Kanani Souza.

"They're real close," he said. "They're like a fraternity."

It's a bigger fraternity than the usual five because the Warriors rotate the linemen during games. Five seniors — Williams (6-foot-2, 275), Soon (6-2, 275), Ian Estrada (5-10, 265), Kepa Gaison (5-11, 225) and Hayden Kahele (6-0, 260) — are joined by juniors Koa Yamashita (5-9, 250) and Ryan Pohl (6-3, 230). That depth assures the Warriors have quality blockers on the field the majority of the time.

"If somebody gets hurt, somebody goes down, there's always somebody ready to come up that is just as good, just as ready," said Estrada, who missed the win against Saint Louis because of a knee injury.

Williams knows something about injuries too well. He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament on the last day of camp and missed the entire season his sophomore year. As a junior, he tore his right ACL in the second game of the ILH season, again ending his year.

"I'm so appreciative of the fact that I'm able to play again," said Williams, who wears No. 57, the same as his idol, Chicago Bears Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz, who starred at Saint Louis. "I'm just grateful that I could come back."

Fun times

While this unit might be known for its aggressive play, off the field is another story.

"We're probably the funniest guys on the team," Estrada said.

The funniest might be Soon.

"Our favorite thing is cruising and eating, mostly," said Soon, who knew to the exact change the cost of the pizza buffet (for the record, it is $7.28.)

Who consumes the most pizza?

"I don't know about the most, but the one who eats the least is Kepa," Kahele said.

Which brings up Gaison's size.

"When they ask me 'What do I play?' and I tell them O-line, everybody's shocked," said Gaison, whose father Blane was a quarterback on two O'ahu Prep Bowl championship teams for Kamehameha in 1974 and 1975. "I'm the smallest guy (among the seven), but it's fun and I like it."

While Soon said he ended up an offensive lineman "by default because of my size," Gaison became one by accident. Gaison, who originally played linebacker, was asked to fill in on the offensive line when one player went down to an injury at practice several years ago. The coaches liked what they saw and an offensive lineman was born.

"He's a super athlete," Souza said. "Very seldom do you have an athlete like that on the offensive line."

Proving his athleticism, Gaison also punts and place kicks.

Unfamiliar foes

The Warriors know they will have battle with Lahainaluna, which has a quick offensive line of its own and executes its blocks for the Lunas' wing-T attack. The Lunas line and two running backs make a devastating sweep with wing back Wayne Phillips, the team's leading rusher with 799 yards and seven TDs.

"We don't see that kind of stuff in our league," Souza said. "That's the problem."

The Lunas haven't seen much of the Warriors either. Coach Robert Watson said the last time he saw Kamehameha was in the preseason game against Baldwin, which ended in a 14-14 tie.

"We'll try our best and hope we can make adjustments," Watson said.

While the Warriors seldom use players two way (maybe on short-yardage situations), most of the Lunas' skill position players see action on both sides.

"We've been very fortunate to keep our quarterback (Preston Medeiros) on one side of the ball," Watson said. "Our receivers and slotbacks all go two ways. We try to rotate as much as possible. We try to rest as many of the big linemen that we have, but our philosophy is that we need to put the best 11 out there on the field."

One two-way threat is Raymond Akoi, the team's leading receiver (25 receptions for 495 yards), who plays defensive back very well.

The Lunas have an athletic offensive lineman of their own in Fine Latu (6-1, 285), who also plays defensive line. His sack caused a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by defensive lineman/running back Glen Kuresa against Mililani.

While the Lunas run most of the time, their passing attack is very effective. Medeiros has passed for 1,131 yards, averaging 9.7 yards per attempt, which is one of the highest percentages among the 1,000-yard passers in the state.

"They're well-balanced," Souza said. "They'll run at you and they (use) play-action."

Famous alum

One of the most famous alumnus of Lahainaluna is Japanese baseball Hall of Famer Wally Yonamine. He also starred in football at Lahainaluna when he was a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Farrington, where he graduated.

"I used to listen to ILH football on the radio (on Maui)," recalled Yonamine, on a brief stop here earlier in the week before heading to Japan. "My dream was to play at Honolulu Stadium."

He said his father gave him permission to move to O'ahu, where he moved in with a friend.

Yonamine, 79, said the Lunas ran a single wing offense in which he was the single wing. He took the snap from center with the option to run, hand-off or throw.

"We had some big guys on the line," he said. "We used to give Kamehameha and Saint Louis some good games (in nonleague play)."

Although he made his mark in baseball, Yonamine also played with the San Francisco 49ers in 1947. He was recognized for that in 2002 when the 49ers played an exhibition game in Osaka, Japan.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.