No. 3 Mililani and No. 6 Farrington will meet for the first time since the semifinal round of last year's state tournament and with first place in the OIA Division I Blue conference at stake. ScoringLive photo illustration

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The last time the Mililani and Farrington football teams met on the field, there was a spot in the Division I state final on the line.

The Trojans escaped with a 17-14 win over the Governors and went on to claim their first state championship in school history a week later. Thursday night the teams will square off once again, this time with first place in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Blue conference at stake.

Kickoff between Mililani (4-1 overall, 4-0 league), the third-ranked team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings, and sixth-ranked Farrington (5-0, 4-0) is set for 8 p.m. at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

The game also doubles as homecoming night for the Governors, one of just four remaining undefeated teams in all of Division I statewide.

"We really wanted to play them at Roosevelt, especially because it's our homecoming and last year when we played (in the regular season) it was at Mililani and that was their homecoming game, so it would have been only fair to play them at Roosevelt, but it didn't work out," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "That's what our players really wanted, but it's OK, they're just excited to play the game, but if you look at our record at Roosevelt I'm not sure the last time we lost there, you've got to go way back. It's something we always lose out on, but they wanted to accommodate the fans."

Truth be told, Okimoto isn't as concerned about the venue of the game so much as the opponent.

"They didn't win the state championship for no reason," Okimoto said of the Trojans. "I think they're not only very talented, but disciplined and well coached. Although they don't have all the same players from last year, they do have three guys on offense that much pretty much have been together for the last three years and have proven to be the difference in their offense."

Okimoto, of course, is referring to the trio of quarterback McKenzie Milton, running back Vavae Malepeai and wide receiver Kalakaua Timoteo.

Milton, the reigning All-Hawaii D1 Offensive Player of the Year, has thrown for 1,650 yards with 22 touchdowns against three interceptions this season. Malepeai, who has verbally committed to the University of Oregon, has rushed for 503 yards and 11 TDs, and Timoteo, who along with Milton has committed to the University of Hawaii, has 581 receiving yards and 10 TDs on the year.

"Our concern, of course, is the trigger man in McKenzie," Okimoto said. "He has got to be one of the best quarterbacks that I've seen besides Marcus Mariota to play the position in Hawaii high school football. He's a runner, he's a passer, he's smart, he leads his team and he's a guy that will give us coaches sleepless nights. Plus, he's good kid. Every time I see him, he's always so humble."

The Trojans high-speed, no-huddle offense is averaging just under 60 points and 520 yards per game this year.

"The overall preparation is pretty much the same as far as how we run practice," Okimoto said. "Of course, we added a few things, prescribe it toward our opponent, but playing Mililani is a little different. Things have to be a little more high, uptempo because of their offense, but other than that we just tailor it around what Mililani does and give our kids the look we expect and hopefully they understand what Mililani is trying to do in all facets of the game and we just go from there."

Okimoto said he expects a healthy Freedom Alualu back for this one. The 5-foot-9, 264-pound junior ranks second on the team with 169 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

"He's probably the best fullback in the state," Trojans' coach Rod York said. "It will be interesting to see our defense versus their offense and whether we can stop the run, whether we can defend their play-action passes because they pass the ball well, probably better than they have in the past three years. They've got two big weapons on the edge in receivers, a good tight end and definitely one of the most deadly weapons at running back."

York is alluding to junior Challen Faamatau, who has rushed for a state-best 641 yards with six touchdowns to go along with a team-leading 402 receiving yards and five more TDs. He is coming off a 32-carry, 237-yard performance against then-unbeaten Kailua last weekend.

"We're happy that on offense we kind of broke out in the running game last week, because we felt that part of our offense wasn't up to par like we usually are," Okimoto said. "Last week was good win against a quality opponent."

Mililani's run defense — which allowed 460 yards to Nevada-power Liberty just two weeks ago — will be tested against the Govs as they'll be without defensive linemen Savion Fonoti and Tyrell Niuatoa, both of whom suffered season-ending injuries.

"We had to move Kahewai (Kaaiawaawa) full-time back over to the defensive line, we're using Isaac Liva, who has never played football before but is a big athlete and is coming around," York said. "Kingston Maae and Elias Pritchard have been holding down the middle, but we'll see come this game because this will probably be our toughest game in the OIA."

Both squads played Saturday night, giving them just four full days of rest going into Thursday night's clash.

"We had to move everything up one day, so we did our coaches' meeting on Sunday whereas we usually do it Monday, but with the player it'll just be one day less to prepare," York said. "The good thing about it is we know Farrington already, so in actuality the one day doesn't hurt us."

Okimoto had much the same to offer regarding the quick turnaround between games.

"It's not too bad," Okimoto said. "I think we've played one Friday game this season and the rest have been Saturday games, so we're kind of used to the long week, so cutting it down a day is tough, but the same holds true for Mililani as well and of course, they came off traveling the previous week and we're playing relatively late in the season. The toughest part about it is going to school the next day. We start at 8 o'clock and Mililani throws the ball a lot so it'll probably be a late finish, so that's the only thing about playing on a Thursday night."

The short week of preparation aside, both coaches said their teams are ready to go.

"It's business as usual and it's the championship game for us," York said. "I know a lot of people say that, but that's really how we treat it every week. The thing about it is we kind of know each other, so it's not like we're going up to play a team we don't know about. We know what they do and they know what we do; it's just a matter of executing."

With just three regular-season contests remaining, Okimoto said the importance of this game isn't lost on his team.

"Judging from what I've seen at practice, the players seem alert and there is a sense of urgency, so we're just excited to be in this position and playing for the number one position in our conference," Okimoto said.