Kahuku's Laakea Graycochea returns an intercepted pass against Waianae. The Red Raiders will face West top-seed Mililani Thursday. Johnny Wilson | Special to SL

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On paper, Rod York won a league championship in his first season as a head coach, but in his own mind, that never happened.

In 2010, Mililani won its first Oahu Interscholastic Association Red championship, but only after Kahuku forfeited due to the previous use of an ineligible player. The teams finally got a chance to play in last year's OIA Red title game, but the much-anticipated meeting ended up being no contest at all as the Red Raiders wiped out the Trojans, 50-13.

This week, the same two teams will cross paths once again — this time in a semifinal — with a trip to the championship game and a coveted state-tournament berth at stake.

Kahuku (6-3), under coach Reggie Torres, is the Red East runner-up and beat Waianae, 45-20, in last week's quarterfinal round. Mililani (8-1), under coach Rod York, won the Red West and defeated Leilehua, 21-9, to reach the final four.

Both coaches spent part of their Tuesday answering our questions about their teams and what is sure to be an entertaining game Thursday afternoon.

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word.
Reggie Torres: "Excited. We're excited about the fact that we're still in the playoffs. We've had a tough year with a few losses. It's been an up-and-down year, but the fact of the matter is that we're still playing. We have at least two more weeks."
Rod York: "Fortunate. We're just happy to win and move on. We are happy to play in the playoffs and just happy about the matchup."

SL: What is it like to be prepare for and to coach in a do-or-die game, like last weekend's quarterfinals?
RT: "You should be doing that every week, honestly. We should be taking the same approach every week — play like it's your last game. Last week was tough because it was Waianae and they have such a history and they were a lot tougher than they were last year. We were fortunate to have won. The do-or-die mentality is what we're supposed to have every week — coaching-wise and player-wise — but when we start doing good, we start getting complacent. The loss to Farrington was a good wake-up call."
RY: "We've been doing it all year long. We've got to make sure we take care of the little things and we've got to make sure we're mentally prepared more than physically prepared. It's about making sure the kids understand the game plan and stick to it and for us coaches to pound it in their heads about executing game plan and winning the turnover battle. We don't really focus on what's at stake — I'm sure it's in the back of their heads — but we focus on taking care of those things and the rest of it takes care of itself."

SL: How much did the first-round bye last week benefit your team?
RT: "It helped us get (running back) Soli (Afalava) a little more in shape. He played mostly on defense a little bit against Farrington, but against Waianae we used him at running back, but 18 carries was a load for him. We want our main back to have 30 carries, so Soli still has to get his legs under him."
RY: "Honestly, we didn't benefit at all, except that we got to watch Leilehua, but that didn't work either, because I think Leilehua scored almost 60 points (against Moanalua). It just made the wait longer."

SL: What's your take on your opponent this week?
RT: "Pick your poison. They have a quarterback that can throw, receivers that can catch and run. The quarterback loves to run the ball and he can run the ball and then you got their running back, Malepeai, he's so good on those inside zone runs. He's tough. Their defense … their linebackers are great fillers — they killed Leilehua's screens and they can run. Their (defensive backs) are great tacklers. You don't see people breaking their tackles. That defensive end (Kelii Padello) is quick and he's got great technique. It'll be tough to score on that defense; they're tough as nails front-to-back. Then we have to try and stop their offense, stop their run, we've got to put a spy on the quarterback and hopefully we got enough guys in the back to cover their receivers."
RY: "We feel honored to play Kahuku. It's matchup that is always great for us, because it's a tough one. We know it will be physical game, we know what they're going to do: pound the ball, play action and defensively, they're going to come from all angles with four, five, six guys. They'll keep guys underneath them (in the defensive secondary). It's just a matter of executing game plan and winning the turnover battle. The last time we played them, I think we had six turnovers in the first quarter and they got points off five of them so we never had a chance."

SL: These teams met in a preseason scrimmage. How different are both teams from then?
RT: "We're better. We both are better. We see it. They look even faster than we saw them in the scrimmage. Those Leilehua receivers are fast and they were right up on the line and covering them and they close distance well.
RY: "We're definitely a lot different on both sides. I know for Kahuku, they've got a hundred guys and they rotate them in the scrimmage, so you can never tell what Kahuku really is from the scrimmages. But from scouting them in the films that we've been watching — from the game against Farrington to the game against Waianae — we feel like they rose their level of play about five times. They got a whole lot better and they're a very different team from that team we saw. They got a few guys backs, too. They execute well, they seem physically sound. I know for us, we're a lot sharper. We didn't change from what we did in our scrimmage, but we locked down our personnel and our quarterback is a lot more seasoned even though he's only a sophomore."

SL: What do you think will be a key matchup in this game?
RT: "Key matchup, honestly, there's so many, but for us Soli getting by their linebackers. If we can get past their linebackers, we've got a shot. It's more of our running and honestly, our (defensive) front; If (outside linebacker Clifford) Ramseyer and (defensive end Taliauli) Vaifoou, if they can contain the quarterback."
RY: "Key matchup will probably be up front: our O-line versus their D-line and likewise on the otherside, their O-line vs. our front seven. That's where we feel we win the games at — we've done it all year long — and that's where Kahuku wins their championships. Whoever wins it in the trenches and wins the turnover battle, will probably win the game."

Kickoff between the Red Raiders and the Trojans is set for 4:30 p.m. at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium and will precede a 7 p.m. semifinal between Red East champion Farrington (7-2) and Red West runner-up Campbell (7-2). Both games will be televised live statewide on OC16.