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The first time Baldwin played Lahainaluna, what resulted was arguably the most exciting game of the Maui Interscholastic League football season.

The Bears (6-2) escaped from Sue D. Cooley Stadium with a 29-27 win, thanks to a 23-yard Bishop Wickes field goal with four seconds left, and went on to the MIL first-round crown with a perfect 4-0 mark.

But that was more than a month ago and the Lunas (5-3) have reeled off three straight wins of their own since then en route to their 10th consecutive league D2 title. They are ranked fourth in this week's ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings.

Baldwin can punch its ticket to the D1 state tournament with a win against Lahainaluna Saturday or Maui next weekend.

We caught up with the coaches of the Bears and Lunas a few days before their second-round showdown in Wailuku.

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word.

Garret Tihada, Lahainaluna co-coach: "Improving. I think from where we started off in the first game of the season — losing to Maui High — I think every week the kids have bought into the fact that they have to really, really work hard to get where we want to be this year (because) we're not very talented, but I think they're understanding that hard work does pay off."

Pohai Lee, Baldwin coach: "I would say progressing. Every year we have a different team and this year's team we felt strongly that our strengths were going to be on both sides of line of scrimmage with the offensive line and the defensive line. It takes a while for things to jell — and we have a new defensive coordinator, and that kind of took some time — so I think we've been getting better every week. I'm hoping we're playing our best ball these next couple of weeks, but the guys have been working."

ScoringLive: How close is your team to playing to its potential?

Tihada: "It sounds pretty funny, but I think we're pretty close. Only because we're not filled with stars and we don't really have a lot of speed or a lot of size, so I think we're pretty close to it."

Lee: "I think we're close. Again, with Lahainaluna and Maui High, they offer different challenges, but it's going to come down obviously to the players and how they come out on those two nights, but I think we're real close. We're getting more familiar with what we're doing, it's just a matter of them coming out and playing ball that one night a week."

ScoringLive: Which game, win or loss, proved to be most beneficial for your team this season?

Tihada: "I think the first Baldwin game, when we actually got to come back and take the lead toward the end of the game. I think that was the most beneficial game for us because the kids understood at that point, what it takes to win — even though we didn't win — but that fight and the determination. The kids showed us a lot in that game."

Lee: "I would say the first round Lahainaluna game. Basically because it was out (at Lahainaluna), it was our first travel game, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. Both teams battled. At same time they had some unfortunate bounces. It took a two-minute drive at end of the game to win it, but it's always good to know coming back, when you're down in a tough situation that you can handle some adversity and be fortunate enough to win."

ScoringLive: Typically, how similar is a second game against a team to the first meeting?

Tihada: "It's hard to say. It looks like Baldwin has changed some things up defensively. Offensively, it looks like they're starting to really, really play to their strength. I think they're doing a better job on both sides of the ball."

Lee: "We take each game individually and having the benefit of the first round, everyone gets to be more familiar with each team. With more film to go off of, you get to be more familiar with both teams. Of course, you have to prepare for some surprises, but overall it's basically the same in the terms of what you want to establish. It's been a whole month since you've last seen that team, so you will see some different things, but overall, schematically, I don't know that a lot of things are different."

ScoringLive: What's your take on this week's opponent?

Tihada: "It's really hard to say. They have so much size, and decent speed, but just a lot of size and we just don't see anything like that with anybody else we play. Maui high has decent size, but Baldwin is incredible."

Lee: "Obviously we're happy that it's fall break especially when you're going against a tough opponent like Lahainaluna, so it gives us more time to prepare. We have great respect for Lahainaluna. We go back with Bobby (Watson) and Garret a while. They are disciplined and the number one thing is they get the most out of their guys they can, no matter how many they have. Whether it's thirty-five or forty guys, they get their guys to their maximum potential. In a way, I compare them to Iolani. You can throw out that D1, D2 label with (Lahainaluna) too, because they are able to play D1."

ScoringLive: How does your team win the game Saturday night?

Tihada: "It would be like the typical coach answer: no turnovers, play a pretty perfect game, stay on our blocks, get off of blocks on defense and the bottom line is, if we block and make tackles, we can stay in game with these guys like we did in the first game, but if we don't it could be bad."

Lee: "We've got to be tackling better, we've got to be taking care of the ball. Those are pretty much main points. It all comes down to fundamentals. i'm thankful that the game is (at War Memorial Stadium) and it should be a big game, but those are basic principals that we believe in: taking care of the ball and obviously, tackling. We've got to keep them out of end zone as best we can, or contain them as much as can, so we're looking forward to the challenge and we'll see Saturday night."

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.