The Lunas (9-1) and Raiders (5-6) — the top two seeds — will hook up tonight at 5 p.m. at Aloha Stadium with the First Hawaiian Bank Division II state football title on the line.

It will be 'Iolani's experience, quickness and passing game against the Lunas' size, running game and excitement of playing for their first state football crown.

The Raiders finished second in the tournament in 2004 and won it in 2005. Last season, they got beat on the final play of a semifinal game by King Kekaulike, so the Raiders are unlikely to take the Lunas of the Maui Interscholastic League lightly.

"We sent a couple coaches up to film their game against Kaimuki (a 52-20 win for Lahainaluna),'' 'Iolani coach Wendell Look said to The Maui News. "It is kind of what I expected. I have known (Lahainaluna) coach (Bobby) Watson for a long long time. His teams are always very well-coached, they have an unbelievable level of discipline and they execute so well.

"The thing that I am always amazed with them is that they are just tough, they are tough as nails. The coaching staff instills that in them and you can see it in how they play.''

The Raiders are smaller than the Lunas on both sides of the line. The offensive line protecting Raiders' junior quarterback Kela Marciel averages 207 pounds and has only two starters taller than 5-foot-10. The Lunas will start Simione Vehikite (6-0, 243), Juicy Lai (5-9, 230), Jonathan Perez (6-1, 240) and Jayson Manning (6-2, 175) on the defensive line.

The Lunas' offensive line includes Chauncey Kaukau (6-0, 290), Kelvin Branco (6-0, 220), Peter Lino (5-7, 240), Tulia Tei (6-1, 235) and Ryan Aspili (5-11, 195) to block for running backs Lake Casco, Blaise Smith and Kailas McGhee, who combined for 1,052 yards and 18 touchdowns on 118 carries — an average of 8.1 yards per carry — in seven MIL games. Iolani's starting defensive line averages 196 pounds and 5-10.

"I should ask you how to stop their running game,'' Look said. "We face some physical teams throughout the season, but the Lunas do a lot of misdirection and use a lot of ball carriers. That is going to be a tough challenge for us.''

Watson agreed that his team will look to run the ball like it did for 78 percent of its MIL-best 361.4 yards per game, which will be a stark contrast to the Raiders, who look to get most of their yardage through the air in their spread attack.

"They love to pass the ball, I know that,'' Watson said. "I think we are evenly matched. They are quick, well-disciplined. We run the ball, they pass the ball. I think that is the only difference between the two teams.''

Watson said his team must stop the Raiders trap-blocking running game and get some pressure on Marciel, the Raiders' 5-11, 165-pound quarterback.

"We have got to stop their trapping game and get some pressure on their quarterback because he passes it very well,'' Watson said. "We have got to sustain drives and use ball control to keep their offense off the field.''

Watson said all of his players are healthy, including Casco. The 5-9, 160-pound senior will be key as a defensive back against the Raiders' passing attack and he averaged 10 yards per carry on 31 rushes and 41.7 yards on three catches this season. He scored once every five times he touched the ball on offense and added another kick return for a score.

Casco, a first-team MIL All-Star as a defensive back and receiver last season, missed the final three games of the league season on offense because of a sprained ankle.

"We will get everybody out there we need to get on the field,'' Watson said. "'Lake will play offense. We plan to leave it all on the field.''

Look said that the Lunas are not complicated in their attack.

"They don't do a lot of fancy things,'' Look said, "but what they do they do so well.''

Vehikite will be on the defensive line trying to get pressure on Marciel. He said the Lunas thrive on their defensive intensity.

"When you stop them four plays straight, it gets all of us in the mode,'' Vehikite said. "We want to control the line of scrimmage. If we don't do our job, everything is messed up.''

Across from Casco in the defensive secondary, Matthew Lawless will try to slow down Iolani's plethora of receivers.

"We will put Matt on their best guy,'' Watson said of the 6-1, 175-pound Lawless, who will also start at wide receiver.

"I have been spending most of my time on defense since the postseason started,'' Lawless said. "Like everybody says, 'defense wins championships.' ''