It isn't quite sudden death, but the ability to score first will be crucial in today's Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship between Saint Louis and Punahou.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.

The winner advances to the Division I state tournament and will play O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up 'Aiea at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Aloha Stadium in a first-round game.

In NFL overtime, it is important to win the coin toss because the team that scores first wins. With eight-minute quarters being used in tonight's playoff, as it was in Saint Louis' 14-7 playoff win against Kamehameha on Wednesday, winning the opening coin toss is nearly as urgent because 32 minutes fly.

"We'll probably take the ball," Punahou coach Kale Ane said if his team wins the coin toss. "You want every opportunity to get on offense."

Saint Louis, which usually defers its option to the second half if it wins the coin toss, didn't hesitate Wednesday in requesting to receive after winning the toss. That won't change tonight.

"Definitely, if we win the coin toss, we'll receive," Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "There will be no deferral."

The unprecedented three-way tie for the ILH Division I among the Crusaders, Buffanblu and Kamehameha forced the two-tier playoff. Punahou won a draw to get the first-round bye. Kamehameha and Saint Louis played Wednesday, four days after the Crusaders beat the Warriors, 17-7, in the regular-season finale. Because the playoff had to be completed before this weekend's opening of the state tournament, ILH administrators shortened the game from 12-minute quarters for safety concerns.

Ane said having the bye helped his team recover.

"We had a tough season," he said. "There were a lot of great games and a lot of physical contact, so for us it was an advantage to rest and to prepare mentally what we have to do to get the kids back on their feet again."

Tengan put a positive spin on his team playing its third game in 10 days.

"We have some momentum carrying over from that Kamehameha game," he said. "I don't think it's a disadvantage (not having the rest). We have nice rhythm going. The other key is we're healthy. We really don't need the rest."

In Wednesday's game, Saint Louis took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter and controlled the ball most of the game with its option package — pretty much shelving the run-and-shoot for the night. It was the Crusaders' third win against the Warriors this season.

However, Saint Louis, which had beaten Punahou 20 consecutive meetings the past 10 years, was swept in both regular-season games this season by scores of 31-20 and 16-13.

"We have to minimize our mistakes and execute better on offense," Tengan said. "Defensively, the second time (the 16-13 loss), we didn't slow down their run game. That gave us problems."

The Buffanblu had 151 yards rushing in that game, mostly from Kainoa Carlson and Colin Viloria. River Kim's three field goals also helped.

Punahou has a strong passing attack with Brett Kan (1,951 yards, 18 TDs). Miah Ostrowski leads with 71 catches for 920 yards, but Kim has 17 receptions for 227 yards in his last three games.

Saint Louis varies its offense with an option to complement the run-and-shoot behind quarterback Cameron Higgins. He has rushed for 225 yards and eight TDs, and passed for 1,451 yards and 12 TDs.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.