The Lahainaluna High School football team, seeded No. 1 in the First Hawaiian Bank Division II state tournament, routinely has 10 or more players get carries every game.

Smith and McGhee will be key factors for the Lunas when they host a semifinal game against Kaimuki tomorrow at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.

Call McGhee and Smith — the Nos. 3 and 5 rushers in the Maui Interscholastic League — Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. Or perhaps, Gash and Slash fits better. Bruiser and Zoomer?

Whatever you call them, McGhee, a 6-foot, 220-pounder, and Smith, a do-everything 5-11, 160-pounder, get it done for the Lunas.

When two-way first-team MIL All-Star Lake Casco suffered an ankle sprain that kept him from playing offense in the final three games, the senior running combo picked up the pace.

McGhee finished with 430 yards and a league-best nine rushing touchdowns on 51 carries, a 8.4-yard average. Smith carried the ball 36 times for 312 yards (8.7 ypc) and four touchdowns.

Smith caught four passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, while McGhee caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. McGhee is second in the league with 60 points, while Smith is fourth with 37.

Smith, like Casco, rarely comes off the field. He plays free safety where he had three interceptions this season, punts for around a 40-yard average, and returns kicks.

"Blaise has come into his own this year,'' Lahainaluna coach Bobby Watson said to The Maui News. "When Lakey went down, he picked the slack up and has been a big surprise for us.''

Perhaps it was against Baldwin, a 23-20 overtime loss and the only game in which the 8-1 Lunas were seriously threatened this season, that Smith showed just how valuable he is. Smith was a one-man wrecking crew against Baldwin with two interceptions, 12 rushes for 87 yards and a TD, three returns for 36 yards, and six punts for an average of 38.3 yards, including a 55-yarder.

"It is good that we have a lot of people, but we get less carries,'' Smith said of the rushing corps for the Lunas. "It is good for the team because we stay more in condition. Our guys are always ready to go in.''

Then there is McGhee, who rocketed up the MIL rushing chart in the final three games of the season after Casco, who is expected to play offense against Kaimuki, played only defense down the stretch of the regular season. McGhee also delivers hits on the defensive line for the Lunas.

"Kailas is a bruising runner, he runs high, but he is hard to bring down,'' Watson said. "He is playing some defense for us now – he is just one of those kids who works hard in practice who deserves the chance to play two sides of the ball.''

Smith, who wants to continue his career somewhere in Oregon next fall, said that a load like McGhee softens up defenses for elusive runners like himself.

"It does,'' Smith said. "We pound it up the middle and then we can get the outside open, so it really helps a lot. Kai, he just kind of runs through guys. I am not as big, so I have to avoid guys more than running into guys.''

McGhee agreed.

"I pretty much run guys over if they are in the way,'' he said. "When the defense has to worry about me, it opens up holes for Lake and Blaise. Those guys are good. I'm glad they are on our team.''

McGhee said the Lunas are focusing in on the task at hand. The Kaimuki game will be their first game action since wrapping up the regular season with a 44-7 win over the Trojans on Nov. 3.

"It feels like we are improving and the time we had off helped heal some of the key players we had hurt,'' McGhee said. "We were kind of down for a while after the Baldwin game, but the coaches got us going again. We are improving to get better to get ready for state.''

McGhee echoed Smith that the stable of running backs and slotbacks that the Lunas boast is key to their success.

"It doesn't matter if one guy is in or not,'' McGhee said. "We have a lot of guys who can get the job done.''

Smith said the Lunas have put the Baldwin loss behind them, as tough as that was to do.

"That game was tough,'' Smith said. "We both came out hard, but they came out on the stronger end. We made a lot of mistakes. It was a tough game. I feel like we have come out of it together. I feel like we got a little too bigheaded, but our coach talked to us and he made sure we are better as a team now.''

Now, the Lunas are two wins from a state title.

"A state tittle would mean everything for us,'' Smith said. "It is all we have been working for all year long.''