The Wildcats are making their first-ever title game appearance while the Lunas look to defend their crown in a rematch of a 2016 semifinal contest. ScoringLive photo illustration

Purchase image 1 of 1

For one team, Saturday's Division II title game will be the biggest contest in all of school history.

For the other, it's just another game.

The First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II State Football Championship matchup between Konawaena and reigning champion Lahainaluna will feature two teams that are approaching their final game of the season with different perspectives.

The Wildcats, who lost in the semifinals to the eventual state champion the past two years, are making their first-ever appearance in a state title game after defeating Waipahu in a 53-50 shootout at home two weeks ago.

"You can't explain this feeling," Konawaena senior quarterback Austin Ewing said after the Wildcats' win over the Marauders. "I've been in here since my sophomore year trying to get this team, this community to that state championship game to play at Aloha Stadium. Now that my dream came true since I was 8 years old, with these boys that's been dreaming about this, it's just amazing to know that we're actually getting to do it."

Should Konawaena come out on top after the weekend, it will also become the first team from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation to win a state title in football.

"It would mean everything," said senior defensive lineman Paka Cacoulidis. "Nobody has ever done it from Big Island, and we're going to be the first. That's how I feel."

The euphoria that the Wildcats are hoping to feel, was one that the Lunas experienced a year ago when they defeated Kapaa, 21-14, to win the program's first crown. Even though Lahainaluna is the defending champ, the Lunas have put 2016 in the rearview mirror.

"We haven't talked about ‘title' at all," said Lahainaluna co-head coach Garret Tihada. "This is high school football. You have so much turnover with kids and all of that, every year is different. You cannot be looking back. If you look back, you're going to get caught. It's just business as usual. We're not changing anything, just work hard."

To make sure that doesn't happen, the Lunas are making sure they don't overlook the Wildcats, who they beat 28-14 in last year's semifinals.

"(We can't) play comfortable," said senior defensive back Siale Hafoka. "Some of our guys (might) come in with the mentality thinking that it's the same team, but everyone gets better throughout the year. It's like how our story was last year, we started off slow and then we finished (strong)."

Just like how the two teams have different mindsets heading into the contest, the two teams also have contrasting offense. Konawaena is led by Ewing, the 2016 All-Hawaii D2 Offensive Player of the Year, in a high-powered aerial attack, while the Lunas use a multifaceted running attack that had just one passing attempt in their 35-27 semifinal win over Iolani.

"That's just who we are," said Tihada. "We run the ball, that's our personality. It's been that way for years. That's what we know so we stick with it."

Tihada added that it's going to take a team-effort on defense to limit Ewing, who accounted for six scores and had no turnovers in the Wildcats' semifinal win over Waipahu.

"Maybe (we need) two to three more guys on the field besides our 11. He's really really good," Tihada said of Ewing. "It's going to take a lot of pursuing to the ball, a lot of teamwork, staying in our lanes, and a lot of discipline."

When they met head-to-head a year ago, it was the Lahainaluna offense that won out. Konawaena committed four turnovers and turned the ball over on downs twice, while the Lunas broke a 7-all game in the second half and controlled the clock to hold on for the victory.

Konawaena coach Brad Uemoto said it's going to be a challenge attacking the Lahainaluna defense while keeping the Lunas' offense contained.

"We're going to have to find ways to score, be efficient, not turn the ball over and manage the game," he said. "As much as they want to keep our offense off the field, we don't want to face that offense throughout the game as well. It's definitely going to be something that we're going to have to balance throughout the game and see where we're at."

Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.