The state's two top-ranked teams - two of the three remaining unbeatens in Division I statewide - will do battle Friday night at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium. ScoringLive photo illustration

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As much as Punahou football coach Kale Ane would like his team to approach this game as it would any other, he knows this one has a different feel.

The state's two top-ranked teams in No. 1 Punahou and No. 2 Saint Louis — two of the three remaining unbeatens in Division I statewide — will do battle Friday night for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's first-round title.

Kickoff between the Buffanblu (5-0 overall, 2-0 league) and Crusaders (4-0, 2-0) is slated for 8 p.m. at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

"I think we try to approach it like any other game, but we know it's not," said Ane, who is in his 17th season as coach at his alma mater. "There's a lot of history, there's a lot of tradition and it's the biggest game we've got this week and it's one of many we're going to have this season, but it's the same thing as far preparation and execution; those are the keys from any games."

While Saint Louis was the preeminent prep powerhouse in the state in the 80's and 90's, it's Punahou that has been the class of the ILH for the better part of the last decade.

"It's a big game. I know everybody is excited for it," said Crusaders' coach Cal Lee, the winningest prep football coach in state history. "It's Punahou and you help but get excited about playing Punahou, especially for the first-round championship. They're undefeated and their record speaks for itself. They're a good football team and we're just privileged to play them."

The Buffanblu are the reigning four-time league champions and have won the last seven meetings against the Crusaders.

Last year, Punahou cruised to a 55-7 regular-season win, but Saint Louis closed the gap when the teams faced off for the ILH postseason title about 11 months ago.

The 35-28 loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Crusaders and consequently brought their 2014 season to a close.

"Well, you don't dwell on it," Lee said of the loss. "It was last year; some of those players are here, some are gone. It's just a matter of what we're doing this year that really matters. The things you did last year, if we made mistakes you hope we're correcting it, but what's important is the guys we have this year. We just have to play our game, not make mistakes, try to move the ball on offense and on defense try to stop them, but they've got some weapons, so it will take a total team effort on offense, defense and special teams and if you win two of three, maybe you've got a chance."

The Buffanblu offense is averaging better than 43 points and 432 yards per game. Running back Wayne Taulapapa, who gave a verbal commitment to BYU on Tuesday, is the league's leading rusher. He is averaging 6.7 yards per carry and has run for 517 yards and eight touchdowns on the year.

The big question surrounding the unit is who will be handing the ball off to Taulapapa?

Senior Ephraim Tuliloa, a second-year starting quarterback, did not play in last week's 28-17 win over Kamehameha due to a shoulder injury he sustained against Iolani two weeks ago. In his absence, junior Nick Kapule threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-39 passing without an interception against the Warriors.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Ane said Tuliloa's status for Friday is still day-to-day.

"He's going to continue getting treatment and working out and doing the things he needs to get healthy, but we're just going to wait and see and hopefully as the week goes by we'll have more info," Ane said. "Other than that we're relatively healthy and looking forward to this big game. It seems like they just keep getting bigger and bigger."

Saint Louis is coming off a 28-17 win over Iolani behind a pair of back-ups in Chevan Cordeiro and Jimmy Gonsalves. Cordeiro, a sophomore quarterback, threw for 260 yards and a touchdown on 25-of-32 passing without a pick in place of starter Tua Tagovailoa, while Gonsalves, who began the season as the third-string running back behind Jahred Silofau and Jonathon Manalo, ran for 116 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.

Tagovailoa (calf) and Silofau (ankle) are both expected back this week, Lee said.

"They've been practicing and we hope they're at least 100 percent by Friday, but they're running around," Lee said. "You know how injuries are. They've got to work through those nicks and bruises that they get, but I think they'll be ready to go."

Ane said Gonsalves was "banged up with a little ankle problem" last week, but also expects him to be available Friday night.

The Crusaders are averaging just over 39 points and 445 yards per game offensively, but Lee said you can throw all the numbers come game time.

"We don't know or don't care about rankings," Lee said. "We know that Punahou is a good football team, they're well-coached and we've got to play our best and make sure that we don't make mistakes with turnovers and things like that, just play our football and try to see what happens."

Ane had much the same to say about Saint Louis.

"Cal and (offensive coordinator) Ron (Lee) do a great job with that group," Ane said. "They're well-coached, very athletic and they make no bones about what they're going to do, they just do it very well and get after it. I'm sure it's going to be very competitive and it's a fun game to be a part of. You're talking about probably the best coach ever in Hawaii high school football and to be able to attempt to measure yourself against someone of that caliber is something special."