Farrington's Roger "Tre" Boyd is tackled by Kahuku's Hawaka Jeremiah in a game on October 3, 2013. The Governors won the contest, 21-7. Evan Asato | SL

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When Farrington and Kahuku meet on the football field, it's usually with a lot on the line and this time around will be no different.

A spot in the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion final and a coveted berth in the six-team Division I state tournament is up for grabs Thursday night when the league's final four converge on Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

The Governors (7-1) and Red Raiders (7-1) will meet in the nightcap of the double header, which will kickoff 25 minutes after the conclusion of the early semifinal between Campbell (7-2) and Mililani (9-0) at 5:30 p.m.

Farrington reached the OIA title game in 2013 and the state semifinal round, while Kahuku missed out on a state-tourney berth with a loss to Campbell in the third-place game last year.

The teams are quite familiar with each other after years of facing off as Red East Division members. However, when the league went to a new Division I format prior to the 2014 season, the Govs and Red Raiders found themselves in opposite divisions.

We caught up with the head coaches of both teams a few days before their semifinal showdown Thursday.

ScoringLive: Congratulations on your quarterfinal win. How would you describe your team's performance last Friday and aside from advancing in the tournament, what did it do for your team?
Randall Okimoto, Farrington coach: "First and foremost, the win will get us ready for Kahuku because Waianae is a physical team, so that's what I took away from playing that team in the quarterfinals. It really helps our team prepare for this week's game. Waianae ran the ball a lot so that's good because you try to work things in practice, but in reality it's tough because you don't want to get anybody hurt and there's no way you can get the real thing until you're in the game, until you play somebody who's actually running it. That 95-yard drive (by Waianae) really woke us up. It really helped us to learn things that you cannot emulate in practice."
Lee Leslie, Kahuku coach: "The defense was lights out, while the offense continues to improve. We chose to put our hottest players on the defensive side of the ball, so it's kind of a work in progress offensively, but we feel good about things. We've had a couple of good weeks of practice."

SL: How is the health of your team at this point in the season?
Okimoto: "I think we're pretty much OK as far as the starters are concerned; no major injuries. Dylan Helsham had a neck injury against Mililani — he's a starting safety — and he didn't play in the Campbell game. The Waianae game he got in some, so he's back."
Leslie: "We've got a couple of kids banged up, but for the most part we're OK. Soli Afalava has only been able to play one way because of a high-ankle sprain, but he's finally able to come around after six weeks, so we might be able to run him on offense. It's been a lot of pressure on Kesy (Ah Hoy) to be the lead back as a sophomore — and it's been kind of tough for him — so to get Soli back in the mix will definitely help."

SL: How has your team evolved over the course of the year?
Okimoto: "I think we've evolved, but it's hard to say. My expectations were a little different — I thought we would have been more competitive against Mililani — but if our quarterback didn't get ejected I think that game would have been different. Other than that, I knew defensively we had to replace some guys that were key from last year and so they've been stepping up. We've been progressing, especially in the special teams area — which I'm glad we were able to produce in — with some big kickoff and punt returns and it's always nice to have our kickoffs go into the end zone because of Kekoa (Sasaoka) and his hard work in the offseason."
Leslie: "They bought in right away and I'm grateful for that. The kids and the coaches have all been great. It's just really tough to teach a kid like Tuli (Wily-Matagi) a lot of new things going into his senior year, so that's been really hard. He's been working real hard and he's shown some greatness and some struggles, so I just continue to support I'm and hopefully we can peak at the right time. If we peak offensively at the right time, we've got a good shot at beating anybody."

SL: What's your take on your opponent this week and how do you feel you matchup?
Okimoto: "Kahuku has some good athletes and we not only need to pay attention their running game, but their quarterback as well. Ah Hoy is a good player and then they have guys that they can bring in like (Keala) Santiago and (Alohi) Gilman and they're athletes who not only produce on defense, but on special teams and then they come in on offense, too, so we've got to make sure we respect them and be aware of where they're at at all times."
Leslie: "Great program. I would say there's a lot of emotion between the two teams and their fans. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. There's a lot of fans on both sides of the ball. They have a great running back, obviously, they're lights out on the defensive line with some very talented kids who will be playing Division-I (college) football, so we will have our work cut out, but I think we're pretty evenly matched. It'll be a real good game. It should come down to the fourth quarter and I think the weather will play into it and obviously, turnovers."

SL: How will the short week affect your team's preparations for this game?
Okimoto: "Well, we're practicing (Sunday), so first all we've got to practice on a Sunday, which is fine, but something that we haven't done this season, so it's a tweak in preparation and then, of course, the weather. We won't have much of a field to practice on, so it's going to be a lot of mental reps, a lot of video, things of that nature, (but) we will do whatever we can do to prepare, but we also know that Kahuku is dealing with the same thing, so it should be interesting. As a coach, I wish I had more time. I love those Saturday games because it gives us extra prep time, but the kids love to play on Friday nights."
Leslie: "We used the bye week to have a real tough week of just working really hard, so I think we're going to be OK. I like the short week. The kids are tired of hitting each other and we're kind of already there mentally where we need to be. I like that we're the night game and playing in the stadium. The kids get excited from that stuff."

SL: What do you think we can expect from Thursday's game?
Okimoto: "We can expect a physical game, that's for sure. You've got two sides who like to bang it out and our kids are excited to be here. We've got a goal that (the players) set, so definitely they will be ready to play, but other than that, it's Farrington football. We definitely want to get back to that championship game again, get back to where we were last year."
Leslie: "A lot of hitting and a lot of emotion. We're going to play to the best of our abilities. A lot of people want us to be a smash-mouth team, but we're not that kind of a team. We're more of a balanced team, but also it's going to depend on where we find weaknesses and we're going to play to that. We'll have to keep their running back contained. We're looking forward to playing a pretty good football team."

Kickoff between the Govs and Red Raiders will follow 25 minutes after the conclusion of the 5:30 p.m. semifinal between Campbell and Mililani.