Jennie Fuamatu and the Pearl City Chargers, who qualified a tournament-best 26 total judoka covering 18 of the 20 weight classes, are eyeing a return to glory at Saturday's Atlas Insurance Agency/HHSAA State Championships. Crizalmer Caraang Jr. | SL

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In the 14-year history of the state judo tournament, no team has enjoyed the track record of success that Pearl City has.

The Chargers, who have captured six boys team titles and five girls, are eyeing a return to glory at Saturday's Atlas Insurance Agency/HHSAA State championships.

Pearl City, which swept the Oahu Interscholastic Association team titles three weeks ago, qualified a total of 26 judoka — 13 boys and 13 girls — that cover 18 of the 20 weight classes.

The Chargers captured their last boys state crown in 2008, when it split the championship with Punahou. It was their last of five championships in six years. They are considered to be among a handful of teams expected to contend for the team title Saturday.

"Between us, Moanalua, Kapolei, Iolani and even Mililani and Waiakea, I think it's going to be close," Pearl City coach Robin Puahala said. "I think it'll just come down to who has the better day and who shows up to fight.

Only Iolani has an entrant in as many boys' divisions as the Chargers. The Raiders qualified 12 judoka, including three No. 1 seeds in Colby Watase (121 pounds), Chad Sanehira (145) and Dane Yamashiro (285).

"For us to place, or even win the tournament, it's going to take contributions from everybody," said Nishita, whose team claimed its fourth consecutive Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship this season. "We have some returning guys and some younger guys coming up, so it's a mix of veterans coming back and new blood, but we're approaching it as though we need everybody to contribute, not just the top players."

Yamashiro, a senior, will be trying for his third consecutive individual title at the same weight. Iolani's other heavyweight qualifier, Charles Kam, finished second to Yamashiro in the ILH championships.

Teams can enter two judoka per weight class, but only the higher-placing finisher will earn points for his or her team. However, as Nishita pointed out, a second place-finisher amongst the top six in a bracket could steal some points from another contender in the mix for a team title.

"Definitely. That is our hope," Nishita said. "Charlie fought at 220 last year and was a couple rounds away from placing, but he's put on a lot of size and good strength, so hopefully he can place in there and take away from points from other teams and contribute in that way as well."

Other teams expected to be in the mix are Moanalua, Mililani, McKinley, Waiakea and three-time defending champion Kapolei.

The Hurricanes have just five entrants, including senior Andre Pagurayan, who won an individual state crown in 2015. He is the top seed at 114 pounds this week.

"There's a lot of teams with double-digit entrants so it's going to be a big hill to climb, especially with all the talent here in Hawaii," Kapolei first-year coach Jason Yanase said. "There's a lot of kids that are really good in judo, but we're going to try our hardest. It's a really big task and a lot of pressure, but it's a really hard act to follow."

Na Menehune won three straight team championships from 2010 to 2012 and was the last team aside from Kapolei to win it all. They have three individual league champions, including sophomore Noah Wusstig, who won at 121 pounds last year and is the top seed at 132 this year. His older brother, Chase, is seeded second at 145, while Logan Garcia is seeded fourth at 121.

"They're going to be very important, but to be honest we're not looking at the team title per se. We're just looking to execute as individuals, so if they execute as individuals we'll see where the chips fall," Moanalua coach Brandon Maki said. "It's kind of a wide open race though, I think. It's not like there's only two or three favorite teams; I think there's a balance."

Meanwhile, the girls' team title figures to be another tight affair between frontrunners Pearl City and Roosevelt, which have combined to win the last five championships.

"I definitely think Moanalua has a shot, too," Puahala said. "We might have a slight edge because of the amount of girls we qualified, but we're just going to see what happens because those middleweights are crucial for all three of our teams."

The Chargers have four individual OIA champions that are amongst the top four seeds in their weight classes this week in Kayla Odo (109 pounds), Jackie Fuamatu (154), Michelle Tanuvasa (172) and Jennie Fuamatu (220). Jackie Fuamatu won at 172 pounds last year before moving down a weight class. Furthermore, senior Mikayla Abe won at 109 in 2016, but is unseeded at 122 this year after finishing second in the OIA.

"Pearl City has a lot of qualifiers so I think they're going to be tough to beat," said Roosevelt coach Ryan Shimokawa, whose team has won the last two state tournaments. "Pearl City has that decided advantage of having a lot of heavyweights that were playing for the OIA final and they're all tough. Even some of their second-string players placed on the podium, so they're deep."

The Rough Riders qualified nine judoka in seven weight classes, including a pair of seeded players in Xiaolin Mai (109 pounds) and Macy Higa (129).

"I think it'll be a close one like the last couple of years," Shimokawa said. "It'll come down to a few matches here and there, but Pearl City right now looks like it has an advantage, but we just gotta get lucky."

Higa won at 109 pounds as a freshman two years ago, but lost to Mililani's Mayu Wise in the 115-pound final last year. This week she is in what is considered by most coaches to be the deepest weight class in the tournament.

"That 129 division is absolutely stacked," Shimokawa said.

Higa, the OIA champion, is seeded second behind King Kekaulike's Alyssa Fusato. Mid-Pacific freshman and ILH champion CJ Pascual-Tabuyo, a well-seasoned club player, is seeded third, while Keaau's Cappi Winters is the fourth seed. Kalani's Zoe Tateyama, who won an individual state crown at 129 pounds in 2015, along with Moanalua's Faith-Joy Okubo are also in the top half of the bracket, opposite of Pascual-Tabuyo and Higa.

Other teams expected to be in the mix for the team title are ILH champion Punahou, Moanalua and Waiakea.

"I'm not really focused on winning. I'm focused more on execution, so we've been really drilling hard over the last few days," said Buffanblu first-year coach Ray Bella, whose team won its second straight league crown last weekend.

Matches begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. The finals round is expected to start at approximately 4 p.m.