Leighton Moniz and the Warriors take on Justice White and the Monarchs at Vidinha Stadium Saturday afternoon. ScoringLive photo illustration

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There's no place the Kapaa football team would rather be than in the familiar confines of Vidinha Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Kapaa, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion and top seed in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II Football State Championships, will try to make it two straight appearances in a state final.

That is, if it can get by Interscholastic League of Honolulu winner Damien.

The Monarchs (7-2) are ranked second in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric D2 Power Rankings and dominated all facets of a 40-0 first-round rout of Waialua last week.

Damien rushed for 224 for its 350 yards of total offense in the win. Running back Justice White ran for 101 yards and had two total touchdowns to lead the offense.

The other side of the ball was just as impressive, as the Monarchs held the Bulldogs to 44 yards of total offense and had four interceptions.

"The defense played well," Damien coach Eddie Klaneski said. "The guys are doing really well. It's not just the defense, but the team as a whole, that I feel we're kind of starting to hit our stride a little bit, but we're not going to be satisfied. There's still room for improvement. We're closer to where we want to be, but we still want to be better, for sure."

The fifth-ranked Warriors (7-1) will be playing their first game in nearly a month. After five consecutive shutouts — including four to open the KIF season — they were stunned, 20-17, by a then-winless Kauai team on Oct. 8, before closing out the regular season with a 15-12 win over Waimea one week later.

The long layoff isn't an issue for Kapaa coach Phillip Rapozo.

"I wouldn't say it's a concern," Rapozo said. "It's kind of tiring getting after each other every day. We've tapered down a lot in the past week, but it's good to heal up and be a little more prepared than usual. I think we're going to be eager to play somebody else; that's the good thing about it."

Klaneski said the Warriors' size and athleticism on offense poses a tough task for his defense, which is allowing just over 19 points and 238 yards per game.

"They're a big, physical, defensive team," Klaneski said. "They have a big front and they're very sound. Their (defensive coordinator), Mike Tressler, is my good friend and I know he's going to have those guys ready for all the things we do."

Meanwhile, the Kapaa offense has shown the ability to pile up the points — see: 50-0 win over Kauai on Aug. 26 — and grind out close ones, like the 3-0 win over Waimea on Sept. 24.

"On the offensive side, they have a bunch of athletic kids across the board, they're big on the o-line, they have an athletic quarterback, they have four skill guys that are interchangeable and the running back is tough, so it's going to be a tough time for us having to go up there and face those guys. We can't focus on one person because they're able to do a lot of things with those guys."

Rapozo was impressed with what he saw from the Monarchs against Waialua last week.

"First of all, they're a really well-coached team, and they've got some athletes, so they're going to be a big challenge for us," Rapozo said. "I think we've got to win on special teams, protect the ball, win the turnover battle and execute. It's got to be a team effort."

The Warriors reached the championship game last year, only to lose to Radford. They were awarded a first-round bye and the top seed this year.

Not that the label matters much to Rapozo.

"I think it's a moot point," Rapozo said. "I think just getting the bye, whether it's as the one or two seed, is always the goal. We're not excited about being the number one seed, we're more excited about getting the bye."

The Monarchs will depart Honolulu in the late morning and arrive in Lihue just a few hours before the scheduled 2:30 p.m. kickoff.

Klaneski said the team is taking precautions to prepare for the afternoon sun.

"We'll do our best to hydrate our kids the evening before and then throughout the day of the game," Klaneski said. "We're going to make sure we have water bottle and things like that. I'm hoping it's not going to be too hot. The weather has been cooling down a little bit. We might even get some rain, but we definitely expected it to be windy."

The Warriors, meanwhile, will enjoy the comforts of staying home for the semifinal showdown — which Rapozo views as a big plus.

"Oh definitely. I'd much rather play at Vidinha than Aloha Stadium; they play there all the time," Rapozo said. "Anytime you can get a bye and play at home on the semifinals, it's a route that everybody wants."

Rapozo is banking on his team's recent state tournament experience an added benefit. Kapaa is making its third consecutive state semifinal appearance.

"Last year we were just happy to get a chance, (but) it's a different outlook this year," Rapozo said. "We've been there already. It's a bad feeling when you get there and you lose. We don't want that to happen again, but we're not going to overlook Damien because they're a very good team. "