Two of the OIA's more storied programs will meet when No. 8 Farrington visits Central Oahu to take on the 10th-ranked Leilehua. The Mules won the 2017 meeting between the two teams, 33-6. Leighland Tagawa | SL

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The wait is almost over. Prep football is back.

Opening night will feature four teams in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings in action, with two of them facing off in a non-league showdown.

Two of the Oahu Interscholastic Association's more storied programs will meet when No. 8 Farrington visits Central Oahu to take on the 10th-ranked Leilehua Mules.

The game will mark the first for the Governors under new coach Daniel Sanchez after 16 seasons under former coach Randall Okimoto. Sanchez, a Farrington alum, settles in for his first varsity head coaching job. He previously served as both the JV head coach and the varsity offensive coordinator at his alma mater.

Meanwhile, Leilehua's Mark Kurisu will be kicking off his second season as head coach at his alma mater — although he served as interim coach in 2011. Last season the Mules posted a 5-2 mark in what was the OIA's Division I Red Conference and a 6-3 overall record in Kurisu's first year at the helm.

Farrington is coming off a 5-5 campaign (4-3 in OIA D1 Red) in 2017.

The teams met in their regular-season finale last year, with Leilehua coming away with a 33-6 victory over the Govs.

We caught up with both head coaches a few days before their season opener in Wahiawa.

ScoringLive: What's the feeling like at practice this week leading up to Friday's game?

Daniel Sanchez, Farrington coach: "I think the feeling amongst the kids is excitement. They're just glad the two-a-days are over and that summer is over and they're looking forward to this Friday's game."

Mark Kurisu, Leilehua coach: "It's exciting. You know it's an Open division team, the start of the preseason and I guess the start of the season, so it will give us a good sense of where we stand and it'll give us a good test, so we're excited."

SL: Describe your team's current situation in one word and explain.

Sanchez: "I guess it would be optimistic. At times the kids execute well, they go hard and we look like a contender and then at other times we make mistakes as a young team, so just optimistic with what we have and what we can do. I mean, a lot of potential. We have potential."

Kurisu: "Growth. We're just a young team. We had lot of seniors leave or graduate and we have a lot of kids starting for the first time actually at Leilehua, a couple returnees here and there, but not a lot — but we like what we have. It's just a matter of growing together and going through growing pains. Sometimes they look great, sometimes they look confused, but all that comes with the territory when you've got a bunch of new kids playing together, so if we can do what we are capable of doing against Farrington it's going to be very exciting."

SL: What are you looking for from your squad in this first game of the season?

Sanchez: "I'm just looking for them to go out and play hard, giving one-hundred and ten percent. I know there's going to be mistakes and hopefully we minimize our mistakes and just get a good effort going and find a good rhythm offensively and defensively as far as what kind of team we're going to be."

Kurisu: "Just discipline, execution and effort."

SL: In what areas has your team made its greatest strides this summer?

Sanchez: "I think it's in the defensive backfield. I think those guys really stepped up their game and I think all four of those guys are doing an excellent job as far as picking up the coverages and being able to cover guys down the field."

Kurisu: "Right on it would be the linebackers, just because we graduated four or five really good ones and we're coming up with three, actually four or five guys to replace them. One is going to be a first year varsity guy who is only a sophomore, another guy is a senior but first time playing for us at Leilehua, another one is coming from the JV and another two coming from the defensive line position, so those guys have shown the biggest growth so far."

SL: What have been some of the struggles your team has gone through this summer?

Sanchez: "We're just young. Offensively being young and having (quarterback) Chris Afe-Alaivanu (broken fingers in throwing hand) out for a couple weeks, that's really a leadership role that we're missing right now."

Kurisu: "Just inexperience. Sometimes when you have good teams you can look at your teammates and you just kind of know, you kind of have that non-verbal communication. Same thing on the defensive side: being able to recognize things, not just one guy recognizing, but the whole defense recognizing what's coming, so that's one of the biggest things right now."

SL: What are your thoughts on your opponent this week and what they present?

Sanchez: "They're scrappy. I got to watch their film and I got to watch them (scrimmage) against Pearl City. They're a real scrappy team, they've very well coached and we gotta be ready for them. it might be a long night for us if we're not ready."

Kurisu: "Farrington is Farrington. They don't change. They're big, powerful and their defense is athletic."

SL: Do you expect to be at full strength Friday or will you be without some players?

Sanchez: "Everybody knows Chris is out, so we'll be as full strength as we're capable of being."

Kurisu: "Whoever we come out with, we plan to get the job done. We don't necessarily want to be reliant on certain people, so whoever we come out with we'll be good to go."

Kickoff between the Govs and Mules is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. at Hugh Yoshida Stadium.