Kauai's Kelson Andrade hands the ball off to Reggie McFadden against Iolani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Spencer Honda | SL

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The old adage, "The best defense is a good offense," rang as clear as day after Kauai's win semifinal win over Iolani in the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II State Football Championships. Kauai's ground-and-pound offense helped the Red Raiders control the clock, more than double what was Iolani's time of possession (32:42 to 15:18).

With a well-rested defense and limited scoring opportunities, the six-time defending Division II champions were held to just seven points. That number is impressive because the Raiders run a no-huddle, four and five receiver sets that can strike at any moment. Another thing impressive about that number is that Interscholastic of Honolulu Division I teams Kamehameha and Saint Louis gave up 22 and 13 points respectively.

Modern evolutions of football offenses' are exciting to watch, but physicality still gets the job done. It might not be pretty, but if it works it works.

Fans at Kozuki Stadium were shocked at what was transpiring in the first half. Kauai was looking like a team on the rise while Iolani looked nothing like the six-time defending champions. But halftime came and we could almost expect that the Raiders would make some adjustments on defense and force the Red Raider offense to have to play outside of their comfort zone. We look to the tape and examine the Red Raiders' first possession of the third quarter.

Kauai got the ball at their own 35-yard line after Iolani gambled on fourth down and turned it over on downs. Right of the bat, play number one shows that the Raiders are stacking eight guys in the box, with five guys on the line of scrimmage. Iolani also has safety Quinton Slade-Matautia creeping towards the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. The play resulted in a middle-of-the-road three-yard gain with Slade-Matautia making the stop. Sure Slade-Matautia had a game-high 14 tackles, but anytime your safety has to make the stop means that your linebackers and defensive lineman are unable to get off their blocks.

Iolani is able to dissect the next play nicely, swarming the play side once they see the pulling guard. However, Kauai running back Reggie McFadden is able to cut it back and keep his pad level low to gain a decent five yards.

Play number three is a chance for Iolani to get a third-down stop so that they can get the ball back. Kauai is in a pistol formation with Kyron Rapacon the running back. Big 6-foot-3, 290-lb left guard is able to clear out some space and Rapacon is able to hit the A-gap for a first down.

Seeing the Raiders stacking the box, Kauai called a passing play to keep the defense honest. Regardless, Iolani brings pressure and Red Raider quarterback Kelson Andrade has to take off. The reason why this scramble goes for a first down is because of the routes the receivers are running. All the Kauai receivers are running down the field routes forcing the Iolani defenders to retreat into coverage. Andrade is able to go untouched for 11 yards before Iolani defensive lineman Marc Ma is able to bring him down.

Iolani finally is able to win the line of scrimmage in play number five. McFadden tries to run it up the middle, but Ma is able to get through the offensive line and stop it for no gain.

Going back to what was working earlier in the drive, the Red Raiders called for a run that uses a pulling guard. McFadden is able to burst through for a six-yard gain after the right guard makes his block.

Play number seven is another important play to the drive. On third-and-four, Kauai comes out with a bunch formation to the right of the offensive line. The Red Raiders throw a curve ball at Iolani on this play and they are able to convert. McFadden takes the handoff going left, like a standard sweep play, but cuts it back immediately for a five-yard gain.

The Red Raiders finally get a break through in play number eight. No fanciness involved, just a good block by Herbig resulting in an 11-yard gain by Rapacon. Iolani was stopping this play for minimal gain early on, but you can tell that the long drive and beating of defending the run is taking its toll on them.

Kauai continues to drive the ball in plays nine and ten. McFadden and Rapacon team up to give the Red Raiders a third-and-one situation at the Raider 13-yard line. On the ensuing play, Andrade is able to keep the rock for a 12-yard gain to give Kauai a first-and-goal situation. Herbig and McFadden make key blocks on the run and Andrade is able to do the rest.

McFadden is able to power it in behind Clint Matais a play later to give Kauai their third score of the game. There was nothing special that the Red Raiders did on this drive; they just executing their plays well and utilizing their offensive lineman.  No matter how many guys Iolani stacked in the box, daring Kauai to pass the ball, the Red Raiders were able to do it all on the ground.

It will be interesting to see if Kauai is able to impose their will on a bigger Kaiser defense this week. The Cougars were able to hold a run-first Lahainaluna team to just 201 yards on the ground, way down from the Lunas' season average of 309.9 yards rushing.

Saturday can't come soon enough.