The Lunas run a package of less than 10 base plays out of their spread option

attack, and each one is reliant on precise blocking schemes. On defense, the Lunas battle out of a 4-4 base and the linemen clear the way for the linebackers and defensive backs to make the tackles.

It all added up to the Lunas

(8-1) having the best offense — averaging 361.4 yards and 35 points per game — and defense (155.7 yards, 8.2 points per game) in the Maui Interscholastic League.

All of that could be bad news for Kaimuki (11-1), the Lunas' opponent in the First Hawaiian Bank Division II state semifinals today at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.

On the defensive line, the leader is Joseph Lai, a 5-foot-9, 230-pounder. On the offensive line, center Chauncey Kaukau (6-0, 290) and Kelvin Branco (6-0, 220) are the leaders.

All are seniors and all have been huge parts of making the Lunas the first MIL football team ever to garner a No. 1 seed in a state tournament.

"It always starts for us on the line of scrimmage and those guys get it done for us,'' said Lahainaluna coach Bobby Watson to The Maui News.

Watson has been especially impressed by the return of Branco, who underwent hernia surgery at the end of last season, and then suffered a concussion in a hard-hitting, 23-20 overtime loss to Baldwin five weeks ago. Tonight, Branco is expected to see his first action since that game against the Bears.

"He has been out for quite a while,'' Watson said of Branco. "He just started working out, maybe the middle of the summer, so we didn't know if he was going to play or not. You know, he really wanted to play, so he really put in the time. And then he got the concussion in the Baldwin game, but he is back and ready to go, so we are looking forward to having him back.''

Branco said he has worked hard since the surgery for the hernia, a condition that had been getting progressively worse since his freshman season.

"I couldn't do much, just rest it,'' he said while sitting in a whirlpool tub in the Lunas' locker room. "It was pretty hard not being able to play football.''

Then came the concussion against the Bears.

"It feels great to be pain-free,'' Branco said. "I am a better player now, pain-free, just a little.''

A state championship is all that is on the Lunas' minds.

"We are pretty stoked,'' Branco said. "State title is the goal now.''

Kaukau said facing Lai every day in practice makes both players better.

"It is pretty hard, he definitely makes me better every day,'' Kaukau said. "He has good speed and good hands.''

Lai, who goes by "Juicy'' — a nickname he got when he constantly asked his mother for Juicy Fruit gum as a youngster — pays back Kaukau's compliments.

"Chauncey makes me better and I hope I make him better,'' Lai said. "We have known each other since intermediate school, and we battle in practice. We just bang at each other. Chauncey is tough. We just try to go 100 percent against each other. We just back each other up.''

The Lunas generate 78 percent of their offense on the ground, and Kaukau, who has been a starter on the offensive line for three seasons — the last 1 1/2 at center — said he likes run-blocking best.

"When you run-block, you can go downfield and hit some guys,'' he said. "Try to get pancakes. We don't count them, but I would say I get five or six a game. I try to lead the O-line by working hard and telling the other guys 'good job.' I try to help the other guys as much as I can.''

While Kaukau uses his immense size to his advantage, Lai has counted on determination and speed to clog the running lanes and lead the Lunas in sacks.

"Here is a kid that is really just a good, hard worker,'' Watson said. "He has just worked his way into the starting lineup and we really can't do without him. He just outworks everybody. He is one of those kids that you really want around.''