Former Pittsburgh Steeler Kordell Stewart would be proud of Leilehua's Rico Newman and Punahou's Manti Te'o, Robert Toma and Dalton Hilliard.

Stewart was known as "slash" because of the multiple positions he played in his NFL career during the 1990s. An option quarterback at Colorado, he not only played QB for the Steelers, but also running back, receiver and punter. When his positions were strung together, they were separated by slashes.

The four seniors will put their versatility to work in tomorrow's First Hawaiian Bank State Football Division I championship game at Aloha Stadium. This quartet of slashers, if you will, played integral roles in helping their teams get this far. There is a very good chance at least one will have a hand in determining the outcome of the game.

"They're extraordinary athletes, both physically and mentally," Punahou coach Kale Ane said of his of troika. "Playing both ways takes its toll. When you put them in, they're going to be in clutch situations. There's a lot of pressure and expectations on them. They step up and welcome the pressure and perform great under that duress."

"He's our X-factor," Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda said of Newman.

Here are the multi-taskers:

RB/SB/P/KR NEWMAN

The only thing that Newman doesn't do that the Punahou trio do is play defense.

"If they asked me, I would," Newman said of playing defense. "Anything to help the team."

Newman helps his team enough just on offense. He starts as a running back, but will line up as a receiver. He plays both positions equally well.

He leads the team in rushing with 412 yards with nine TDs. He also has made seven pass attempts, completing three, for 132 yards and one TD. He is second in receptions with 68 and third with 769 yards with seven TDs.

He also has a 90-yard kickoff return for a score.

Newman also is one of the state's top punters. He averaged 40.8 yards from five punts last week with a long of 47. He'll boom some 50-yarders, too.

Because Newman lines up at receiver quite often, when he does park behind the QB, opponents assume he's getting the ball.

"The other team's defense says, 'Watch the run, watch the run,' " Newman said. "That's what cracks me up because sometimes when I'm in the backfield, we pass."

RB/SB/PR/DB HILLIARD

Hilliard is Punahou's answer to Newman. He's listed as a running back, but seems to find equal time as a slotback. Either way, defenses fret.

"My coach says I really don't have a position," Hilliard said. "A lot of people call me a slasher or just like a multi-purpose back."

The 6-0, 190-pound senior leads Punahou's rushers with 498 yards and nine TDs.

Then he's the next busiest receiver after Toma with 58 receptions for 666 yards and eight more TDs.

He's also been called to play cornerback.

"I just ask our safeties what do I have to do," Hilliard said. "Our starting DBs are definitely a big help."

So successful as a pass catcher, either out of the backfield or from the slot, Hilliard thinks his future might be as a slot. Unless colleges have other ideas.

"A lot of colleges asked me if I would rather play defensive back," he said. "I tell them I don't have a preference."LB/RB/sb te'o

It's scary that the nation's top linebacker recruit also is one of the Buffanblu's scoring threats.

When not chasing ball carriers, Te'o is breaking tackles as a power running back. His 30 carries is third highest on the team. His 5.8 yards per carry and four rushing TDs is second-best among Punahou's rushers.

He also catches passes out of the back field or from the line of scrimmage. He has only three receptions, but two went for TDs.

"I just like being on the field, whether it's hitting the person with the ball or carrying the ball myself," Te'o said.

Being that the 6-foot-2, 233-pound senior is usually the team-leader in tackles each game, making him the valuable commodity that he is on defense. So any touches he has on offense — he took some hard hits in last week's Farrington game from his good friends VJ Fehoko and Isaiah Iuta, he said — can take its toll in the course of a games.

"Playing so many positions, you have to have the conditioning," Te'o said.

During the offseason, Te'o and Toma followed a conditioning regimen set up by Te'o's father, Brian Te'o, running backs coach for the Buffanblu.

Three times a week, they went through three hours of conditioning drills that ended with a 3.5-mile run.

The other three days they lifted weights.

On Sundays, they rested.

"The hard work, you have to do it if you want to be the best," Te'o said.

SB/KR/DB TOMA

Toma is QB Cayman Shutter's go-to receiver. The 5-10, 170-pound senior leads the state with 80 receptions for 1,246 yards and 17 TDs.

He also gets the offense favorable field position when returning kickoffs.

"Everyone makes each other better," Toma said. "It's great having guys like Dalton, Manti, Kimo (Makaula) and Cayman on the field. Defenses really don't know who to cover. It always leaves one guy open and that guy ends up making the play."

But when the defense needs a helping hand, he's one of two slashers to jump in the secondary. The other, of course, is Hilliard.

"I kind of get the feel for it (playing defensive back) because me and Dalton have been going one-on-one against each other in practice," Toma said. "Dalton's a great receiver. We go at it with each other."