Lahainaluna RB Jared Rocha-Islas carries the ball against Kamehameha-Hawaii in the Division II semifinals. Glen Pascual | Special to SL

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Through the first 10 games of its schedule in 2014, the stars have aligned for the Lahainaluna football team.

The Lunas have turned back every challenger, all the while holding the target of No. 1 on their backs. However, the past and its successes will matter little if they come up short once again Friday night.

For Lahainaluna, there's only one way to end this storybook season and that's by hoisting their first-ever state championship trophy when it takes on Iolani in the title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Football State Championships Friday afternoon.

"Right after last year's loss to Kaiser, these guys got right back into the weight room and worked hard and continued to work hard throughout the year," Lunas' co-head coach Garret Tihada said. "That's all they did, was work."

The Lunas (10-0) are the top seed in the six-team tournament and have been ranked atop the ScoringLive/OC16 Division II Power Rankings all season, but are still haunted by the memory of a crushing semifinal loss to eventual-champion Kaiser last year. They let a two-point lead at halftime slip away with 13 unanswered second-half points by the Cougars.

"It feels good, (but) they're totally, totally different teams though," Tihada said after Saturday's 52-7 win over Kamehameha-Hawaii to put Lahainaluna back into its second D2 state final in three years and third overall. "That Kaiser team, I think we still got nightmares about those guys, but it's a good feeling to know that we get to go back to Aloha Stadium."

The last time the Lunas played in Halawa was the 2012 championship game against Iolani. They held a four-point lead on the Raiders with just minutes remaining, but an untimely turnover led to a late go-ahead touchdown for the eventual seven-time champions.

"A bunch of these guys were here a couple of years ago, so this was their goal: to be back and to win, of course. That's been their goal from the beginning," Tihada said.

Four members of the senior class have been on the varsity since their freshman year: running back/linebacker Jared Rocha-Islas, wide receiver/defensive back Scott-Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa and linemen Connor Mowat and Justin Hong.

"They mean the world to this program," Tihada said of his 23 seniors. "They came to the varsity — a bunch of them as freshmen — and they've done nothing but work hard, live in that weight room and dedicate to get better. Almost all of them play other sports, but they still continue to dedicate themselves to the offseason program, which is the biggest key to us being successful."

Rocha-Islas ranks second on the team in rushing yards (676) and rushing touchdowns (11) and averages 7.6 yards per carry. Against Kamehameha-Hawaii Saturday, he rushed for three touchdowns and led the Lunas in both rushing (79 yards on 12 carries) and receiving (2 catches for 46 yards).

"We wanted him to be more of a workhorse, but he's been plagued by some injuries this year, so his numbers are down this year, but every chance we can to get the ball into his hands we want to do that," Tihada said of Rocha-Islas.

The Lunas have historically been prolific on the ground with their wing-T offense, but an added dimension in 2014 has been the use of more spread formations with the development of senior quarterback Makoa Filikitonga-Lukela.

Filikitonga-Lukela will be making his second start in a state final. He played nearly all of the 2012 on the junior varsity before a postseason-ascent that eventually led to him starting against Iolani as just a sophomore. He threw a touchdown pass in that game, but was also intercepted three times. As a junior he had just 4 touchdowns against 4 interceptions for the season. Filikitonga-Lukela has flourished this year, throwing for 739 yards with 14 touchdowns. Best of all, he has thrown just two interceptions all year.

"I think it helped us a lot, (because) we got to see a lot of defenses that played honest," Tihada said. "I mean, we saw like nine-man fronts last year and his decision-making wasn't the best last year. It's all on him, as far as making the right decisions this year. We still don't throw the ball all that much, but to be a running-team and to lead the league in touchdown passes, I thought he did an excellent job in that department."

Filikitonga-Lukela, along with Medeiros-Tangatailoa — who had one of Lahainaluna's five interceptions against Kamehameha-Hawaii Saturday — and Mowat, last year's Maui Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year, are a few of the "probably seven" players thrust into two-way duty.

Offensively, Lahainaluna is averaging over 36 points and 322 yards per game, while it's defense has been just as dominant, allowing less than 7 points and just 118 yards per game. The combination has led to many lopsided wins (seven wins by 30 or more points) and three shutouts. Only twice has an opponent scored more than 7 points on the Lunas.

Tihada said the reason for the defense's success is a balance of playmakers at all three levels.

"I think everybody complements each other," Tihada said. "Some games it will be the front three — like this (Kamehameha-Hawaii) game we like two sacks at the most, so as far as pressure there wasn't much pressure, but the secondary really picked it up — so I think they just play well together. Some games it's the guys up front, some games our linebackers do well and some other games it's our defensive backs."

The 6-foot, 270-pound Mowat is the nose guard in the Lunas' 3-4 defense and is anchored by 6-foot-3, 245-pound Penimani Taufa and 6-foot-2, 205-pound Nau Filiai on the defensive line.

Brandon Kaina, another senior, anchors the linebacking corps and Filikitonga-Lukela, who had a 66-yard pick-6 Saturday, shores up the secondary from his safety position. Tyran Kuu Palea also had two interceptions Saturday.

It hasn't always gone smoothly despite the unblemished record, Tihada explained.

"In the second round of our regular season we weren't playing good football at all and that's why we were very, very worried about this last game against Kamehameha-(Hawaii), because the game against Maui, the game against Baldwin — even though they were 21-0 and 35-0 (wins) — offensively we weren't playing like ourselves," Tihada said.

Any kinks in the machine were worked out during a three-week period between games, as evidenced by the trouncing of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation-champion Warriors.

"It was, by far, our best offensive and defense games this season," Tihada said.

Lahainaluna's first trip to a state final came in 2007 and was also against Iolani. The Raiders won that game, 28-21, and it was the start of what-would-become seven straight titles.

Despite being seeded ahead of the Raiders, Tihada spoke cautiously about their balanced offensive attack.

"Our defense against their offense is going to be key, because they're so efficient on offense," Tihada said. "Plus, our offense needs to keep their offense off the field by sustaining drives, so I think everything is going to work hand-in-hand. We have to keep them off the field, but they're so good. I mean, Iolani is Iolani: precision. They still do what they do and they do it very well. They've done it so long, they know what they do inside and out."

Kickoff between the Lunas and Raiders is set for 4:30 p.m. at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.