It will be the first time since 1985 where teams other than Saint Louis or Kahuku will be playing the championship in either the Prep Bowl or state tournament.

No. 1 Kahuku, which had won three of the past five state titles and entered last night with a 10-game win streak, ends its season at 10-2. The Red Raiders also had won 24 straight games against Hawai'i opponents.

Leilehua, meanwhile, is playing in its first state tournament and last won the Prep Bowl in 1984.

Leilehua running back Justin Lawelawe latches onto a pass from Bryant Moniz. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Mules jumped to a quick 10-0 lead, and took nearly seven minutes off the clock without Kahuku running an offensive play. Ryan Bibilone's 35-yard field goal capped a 12-play, 62-yard drive after the opening kickoff.

Leilehua's Anthony Palomares recovered the ensuing onside kick and, four plays later, Moniz threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chustin Senas. Bibilone's PAT kick made it 10-0 with 5:23 remaining in the quarter.

"We decided to roll the dice and take a chance," Mules coach Nolan Tokuda said. "Nobody tries an onside kick against Kahuku that early, but we wanted to play on their mental game a little, and if you saw their body language after we went up, 10-0, they looked stunned."

Red Raiders coach Siuaki Livai said the early deficit did not change his game plan, but it did give Leilehua a big boost.

"They had the ball almost the whole first quarter," Livai said. "They got a lot of momentum and confidence after that."

Kahuku closed to 10-6 early in the second quarter on Siaosi Lauhingoa's 8-yard TD run, but the Mules later converted a Red Raiders fumble into an eight-play, 49-yard touchdown drive capped by Justin Lawelawe's 25-yard run.

Kahuku managed only four first downs in the first half, in which Leilehua won the time of possession factor, 14:08 to 9:52. The Mules ran 34 plays to the Red Raiders' 22, out-gaining them 161 yards to 96.

Kahuku gained a first-and-goal from the 10 early in the fourth quarter, but tailback Malosi Te'o was stopped a yard short on fourth down. The Red Raiders finally closed to 17-14 with 3:15 left on Bronson Ponciano-Ahue's 25-yard TD pass to Redmond Tutor and a 2-point conversion pass from Spencer Hafoka to Ponciano-Ahue on a halfback option.

But on the ensuing series, Moniz completed a 5-yard pass to Anthony Palomares on first down, and a 7-yard pass to Senas on third-and-6 with 2:12 remaining. Kahuku burned its final timeout with 1:39 left, so Leilehua was able to run out the clock.

"I wanted to just run the ball, but (Moniz) said, 'Coach, I think we can pass,' " Tokuda said. "We trust our athletes — we're like a family, and you always trust your family."

Moniz said he had confidence the pass plays were worth the risk.

"I remembered earlier in the game the 'X-hitch' to Anthony was open, and I knew Kahuku wanted to bring the house," said Moniz, who had left the game a series earlier after re-injuring badly bruised ribs. "I didn't care if my ribs were broken or whatever; I wanted to finish the game. If we executed those two passes and got the first down, I knew we could just take a knee after that."

Livai said, "All the credit goes to Leilehua — their game plan worked against us on offense and defense. They look like they're on the right track to do it right."

LEILEHUA (11-2) 10 7 0 0 —17

KAHUKU (10-2) 0 6 0 8 — 14

Lei—FG Ryan Bibilone 35

Lei—Chustin Senas 10 pass from Bryant Moniz (Bibilone kick)

Kah—Siaosi Lauhingoa 8 run (run failed)

Lei—Justin Lawelawe 25 run (Bibilone kick)

Kah—Redmond Tutor 25 pass from Bronson Ponciano-Ahue (Ponciano-Ahue pass from Spencer Hafoka).

RUSHING—Leilehua: Justin Lawelawe 21-61, Guy Cantrell 3-7, Bryant Moniz 1-4, Team 2-(minus 2). Kahuku: Malosi Te'o 11-53, Simi Alo 2-34, Kamuela Alisa 2-32, Micah Strickland 7-23, Bronson Ponciano-Ahue 6-21, Siaosi Lauhingoa 7-14, Kaulin Krebs 1-0.

PASSING—Leilehua: Moniz 19-35-1—176, Kahuku: Ponciano-Ahue 3-8-0—47, Krebs 1-1-0—8.

RECEIVING— Leilehua: Chustin Senas 8-100, Anthony Palomares 6-49, J. Lawelawe 3-9, Cantrell 1-15, Mene Coffin 1-3. Kahuku: Spencer Hafoka 3-30, Redmond Tutor 1-25.