There's really not much difference among the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Division II football teams.

Last season, finishing at 2-4-1 each, 'Iolani and Damien were forced to play off the tie, won by the Raiders. At 1-6, Pac-Five wasn't far behind.

"It will be competitive," Pac-Five coach Kip Botelho said. "It will be interesting to see who comes out on top."

The three did similarly in non-league play. The Monarchs, under first-year coach Brian Derby, went 1-1-1, while the Wolf Pack and Raiders each went 1-2 against good competition. But now, they play for keeps, as the ILH opens the season, although with hardly a fanfare with just one game tomorrow night at Aloha Stadium. Damien will take on Pac-Five in a Division II battle. Kickoff is about 7:45 p.m.

The Monarchs are looking to be more balanced offensively, but expect senior running back Kama Bailey to get a good share of touches. Bailey was second in the state with 1,570 yards rushing last season. He already has 563 yards after three non-league games.

"Our running game has been good," Derby said. "We still have to get our passing game up to par, give our quarterback some confidence and hopefully the receivers can catch some passes."

Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack will be without their best running back in Jaime Rivera, who is recovering from effects of a concussion in last week's game. Making matters worse is they will be without two returning offensive linemen in Aaron Kazimirski and Micah Woody, both of whom have knee injuries. While Kazimirski is expected back, Woody is out for the season, Botelho said.

Both teams have some Division I prospects on defense. Lineman Aaron Tipoti (6-2, 250) anchors Pac-Five's defensive front. He has several college offers, including from Hawai'i. Damien has a similar lineman in Haku Correa (6-1, 260), who also has an offer from UH. Monarchs' defensive back Christian Vasconcellos has already accepted an offer from UH.

Botelho and Derby like their personnel's potential, but both said they have been hampered by mistakes in their non-league games.

"We've been playing tough," Botelho said. "Basically, about four plays (in the three games) have determined the outcomes."

Meanwhile, defending Division II champion 'Iolani has the week off, which coach Wendell Look welcomes after a physical game in a 22-19 loss at Wai'anae last week.

"We've got a lot of experience, but it takes more than experience and talent," Look said. "Especially for us, it's playing together. We're slowly learning it."

After an impressive 44-0 win against Kaiser, the Raiders lost to Kalaheo, 28-25, the next week. Kalaheo, which was promoted to the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red in 2006 and was 1-7 overall, looks like it will contend in its league.

"Kalaheo is a tough, scrappy team," Look said. "But that was a good wake-up call (for us)."

The Raiders return quarterback Kela Marciel, running back Justin Yamamoto and receiver Lionel Fujioka. Fujioka has been the favorite target in non-league action. He sliced Wai'anae's secondary with nine catches and 121 yards.

'Iolani showed an ability to run against a physically bigger team in the Wai'anae game, with Yamamoto rushing for 97 yards.

"We played well against Wai'anae," Look said. "Hopefully, we can build on that and take that into the regular season."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.