QB Bubba Akana and the Saints take on LB Shawn Borges and the Monarchs Friday night in a rematch of their ILH Division II opener. Jim LeBeau | SL

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Two of the top teams in Division II do battle for the second time this season when Damien takes on Saint Francis at Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union Field at Aloha Stadium Friday night.

The Monarchs, ranked third in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Power Rankings, has won four straight since dropping their first game of the season to Moanalua, and sits at 2-0 atop the Interscholastic League of Honolulu D2 standings.

Sixth-ranked Saint Francis got its first league win against Pac-Five last week and has a 2-2 and 1-1 record.

Damien (4-1) defeated Saint Francis, 21-16, to begin the regular season in a defensive slugfest. The Monarchs managed just 151 yards of offense while the Saints were held to 89 yards. Saint Francis quarterbacks Bubba Akana and Jake Smotherman also threw two interceptions apiece in the loss.

The Monarchs jumped out to an early 21-0 lead in the second quarter, but struggled to get anything going the rest of the way. Saint Francis got on the board with a 70-yard interception return by Destin Pakele with 8:37 to go in the fourth quarter. Wembley Mailei ran in the 2-point conversion and scored on a 1-yard run late in the game, but the Saints could not complete the comeback.

We caught up with the coaches of both teams a few days before their rematch.

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word.
Eddie Klaneski, Damien coach: "Competing. This is our theme for the year: ‘compete.' So far we have been doing this everyday, every play and in every game. That is all I can ask of my players is to give 100 percent effort and compete at every opportunity that you have. This is in the weight room, classroom and especially out on the field."
Kip Akana, Saint Francis coach: "Pumped. When the team gets on the field, they're excited to play and represent Saint Francis. Win, lose or draw, our coaching staff are confident that the team will give it their all. That's all you can ask of of these student athletes, that they try their best."

ScoringLive: What have you learned about your team so far?
Klaneski: "I've learned that they are very resilient have have a want to win attitude, but at the same time they are still working hard every day to reach their goals."
Akana: "They never quit. Even when we've fallen behind early on, they won't give up. In our last game we were down 20 points to Pac-Five after the first quarter. The team found a way to dig down deep and finish strong."

ScoringLive: What are some difficulties your team has faced this season?
Klaneski: "We have faced similar things we have seen in the past like injuries; we've had at least six players out with various injuries. But the biggest difficulty that we are dealing with is learning how to finish games and play up to our potential. This is a never-ending process for us."
Akana: "Penalties and turnovers have been a problem. Against Damien we had four interceptions, two lost fumbles and two blocked punts. This past week against Pac-Five we had way too many penalties, although no turnovers. Our team is still a work in progress."

ScoringLive: Which individual or position group has stood out as a pleasant surprise so far?
Klaneski: "I would say that our offensive backfield has played pretty well. I mean they wouldn't be anywhere without their line up front, but I think that they are really playing well as a unit. We have several guys back there that can handle the ball and run, but just never know who is going to have that great game each week. They all have done something each and every week so I'll give it to them."
Akana: "It has to be our defense as a whole. They rally together, set the tone and have overcome adversity. Our defensive secondary may be the biggest surprise as we knew the front seven would be dominant. Our secondary has quite a few interceptions so far this year and has scored on a couple of pick-6s."

ScoringLive: What were some things that your team needed to improve on from the first time you faced your next opponent?
Klaneski: "There are so many things to work from the last time we played Saint Francis. We need to clean up our offensive line blocking and knowing our assignments. On the defensive side, we have to do all the little things correctly like staying in our gaps, playing the correct technique on pass coverages, and of course tackling. We have no room for errors.
Akana: "Damien has good athletes at every position and they're well-coached so we need to work hard for 48 minutes. We need to stop quarterback Marcus Faufata-Pedrina. He's a great athlete and if you don't contain him he'll make things happen."

ScoringLive: How does your team win on Friday night?
Klaneski: "If we can play mistake free and stick to our game plan we will be able to come out victorious. Like I stated earlier, we have no room for errors. The last time we played Saint Francis, the first mistake turned into a pick-6 and another big one ended up with another score. If we had made one more, we would of lost that game. We do give a lot of credit to Saint Francis, they fought till the very end. It is going to be another physical battle, but if we play mistake free and finish, the score will take care of itself."
Akana: "First and foremost all three units, defense, offense and special teams, have to play assignment football. We have to be up to the challenge because I'm sure coach Klaneski will have his team ready to play."

Kickoff between the Monarchs and Saints is slated for 5 p.m.