The Big Island Interscholastic Federation's latest attempt to finally break through the Division I football state tournament first-round barrier will happen on Roosevelt's new artificial turf.

Five-time BIIF champion Kealakehe (9-2) will face O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up Farrington (8-3) at 7:30 tonight at Roosevelt's recently renovated Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium, which features a state-of-the-art synthetic surface similar to Aloha Stadium's FieldTurf.

The game will be televised live statewide on OC16.

The artificial surface and efficient drainage system should come in handy, as heavy rainshowers are expected.

But the weather and travel are just two of many obstacles for the Waveriders, who were able to host a first-round game on their dry Kailua, Kona, campus three of the previous four years — only to fall short each time. The BIIF is the only one of the state's five leagues to have never won a Division I state tournament game, going 0-9 since the tournament's first year in 1999.

Kealakehe's 21-17 loss to Wai'anae last season was the narrowest defeat yet, but Waveriders coach Gary Clark said they hope to be more than just competitive.

"It's not enough to close the gap," Clark said. "We want to get over the hump."

Tonight will present another huge challenge, as Farrington brings one of its best all-around teams in recent memory. The Governors fell to Kahuku in the OIA championship game, 22-19, in double-overtime two weeks ago.

It was Farrington's first league title game appearance since 1994.

"They're always fairly solid, but this is the best Farrington team I've seen ," said Clark, who was head coach at 'Aiea and Leilehua in the 1980s and 1990s. "They're very deep, and I don't really see any weaknesses — if any, it's their mistakes, but that doesn't happen often. They look like a strong, powerful machine."

Governors starting quarterback Dayton Kealoha suffered a separated shoulder on his right (non-throwing) side against Kahuku, but he has practiced this week and is expected to play tonight. He has thrown for 860 yards and 10 touchdowns, with only one interception.

Running back Apelu So'oalo has rushed for 965 yards and 10 TDs, and he has also kicked seven field goals, including from 45 and 40 yards.

"He runs with authority," Clark said.

Kealoha's top receivers are Drake Miller (24 catches, 371 yards, 3 TDs) and Ani Isumu (18-251, 4 TDs).

On defense, Farrington is big, physical and quick. Defensive lineman VJ Fehoko, linebacker Isaiah Iuta and safety James Smith are big playmakers.

"They bring a lot of defensive pressure and can stop the run and the pass," Clark said. "They're well-coached and their staff did a great job preparing for Leilehua (a 26-24 OIA semifinal victory), and they were able to create turnovers, which not too many people have done."

Kealakehe's offense was hit hard by graduation but has developed as the season progressed. Quarterback Jordan Ursua, the Waveriders' leading receiver last season, has completed 72 of 117 passes (61.5 percent) for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns, and also has 706 yards and 11 TDs rushing.

His leading receivers are John Ursua (14-265, 3 TDs) and Marcus Paishon (13-285, 3 TDs).

Kealakehe's top running backs are Justin DeSilva (425 yards, 3 TDs) and Ulakifonua Taufa (340 yards, 1 TD), who run behind a line led by Josh Toki (6 feet, 276 pounds) and Tautala Alapai-Ahonima (5-10, 240).

"We lost quite a bit offensively (to graduation), so we were hoping our defense would carry us in the meantime," Clark said. "But once the season began, there were some things we learned through the placing of personnel, moving people around. Jordan has done very well as a leader and as a player."

Governors coach Randall Okimoto said his defense must stay on its toes against the Waveriders' Florida/Urban Meyer option style attack.

"They have a talented quarterback, and he's the main focus of their offense," said Okimoto, who reviewed film of Kealakehe. "They have designed runs for him, and we have to be ready."

After a 1-2 start, the Waveriders have won eight straight games and allowed only 11.3 points per game in the process.

The defense is led by tackles Jerry Aipia (5-11, 225) and Aisea Tremaine (5-10, 240), linebacker Andrew West (5-9, 215), and safety Jacob Kini, who Clark calls "one of the stalwarts for us."

For Farrington, the first order of business was to rebound mentally from the heartbreaking loss to Kahuku. So'oalo missed an extra point near the end of regulation and one field goal in each of the overtime periods. But in between kick attempts, he had rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries.

"He had a bad kicking night, but I thought VJ made a good comment after the game," Okimoto said. "He said, 'We don't blame Apelu, because without him we wouldn't have even been in a position to win the game.' I think that is true and is what everybody believes. The bye week was good, because it's helped us focus."

Okimoto said the Governors also are relieved to be staying on O'ahu and playing at Roosevelt, which is where they play their home games. Okimoto coached the Farrington team that traveled to Kea'au for the state tournament in 2003, a journey that began with a 5:30 a.m. flight to Hilo the day before the game.

"It's a big burden off our shoulders," Okimoto said. "There's a lot of stress involved with the planning, and the trip itself."

Clark said the O'ahu teams are hard enough to play against at home, much less on the road. Kealakehe lost a nonleague game to Kahuku, 30-0, on Aug. 29.

"We just don't see a lot of high quality teams on the Big Island," Clark said. "It's only my second year here, and we were fortunate to pick up Kahuku (as a nonleague opponent), but it's hard for the Neighbor Islands because we don't see those kind of teams too often ...

"It's a tall mountain we gotta climb."

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com