Junior RBs Derek Perez (left) and Naia Nakamoto (right) each lead their respective teams in rushing as they head into an early season matchup this Saturday night. CJ Caraang | SL

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Hurricane Lane led to week four of the prep football season being all but a wash.

Aside from Kamehameha — which came away with a road win at Carson (Calif.) — the rest of the 50th state's teams essentially had a bye. But while most of the state braced for the expected strong winds and heavy rains from Lane, communities in west Maui were also fighting multiple wildfires.

That includes a raging brush fire that covered much of the Lahaina hillsides and burned thousands of acres of lands and dozens of home, structures and vehicles. The fire threatened parts of the Lahainaluna campus and caused a small amount of damage to the track surface at Sue D. Cooley Stadium.

While the cause of the fires continued to be investigated by authorities, the hometown football team, Lahainaluna, will return to the gridiron for the first time since a 49-6 drubbing of Baldwin to open Maui Interscholastic League play on Aug. 17.

The Lunas (2-0 overall, 1-0 league), ranked eighth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings, will meet fellow-MIL unbeaten Maui (1-1, 1-0) at War Memorial Stadium Saturday night in Wailuku.

The Sabers, who last played a game on Aug. 18 in a 41-20 win at King Kekaulike, were slated for back-to-back weekends upcountry with another road tilt at Kamehameha-Maui last week. However, that game — along with Lahainaluna's home game against King Kekaulike that was also postponed due to Lane — were rescheduled for Oct. 26 and 27, respectively.

Saturday's matchup — the first of two scheduled meetings between the teams this season — will feature the reigning league champions.

The Lunas won claimed the last two state crowns at the Division II level, while the Sabers made their second D1 state tournament appearance in four years in 2017.

We caught up with the coaches of both teams a few days before they face off.

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

Garret Tihada, Lahainaluna co-head coach: "Potential. This team has a lot of potential to do a lot of good things. We've got decent athletes across the board and for us, decent size. I mean, compared to the rest of the state we're not big at all, but for us we're happy with the size that we've got this year and it's just a matter of them coming out and working every single day and continuing what they did in the offseason. If we can manage to maintain that type of work ethic, the potential for this team to do great things — it's there — it's definitely there this year."

James Kammerer, Maui interim coach: "Potential. We are seeking and demanding improvement and responsibility in the little things that will make us contenders. Right now we are looking to get better each and every day and each and every week."

SL: What have you learned about your team through the first few weeks of the season?

Tihada: "I think that we have pretty good leadership this year. A lot of the hard work that they did in the offseason is showing so far. It's paying off, the kids came back in good shape."

Kammerer: "That winning in life is a process. We are expecting so much more out of student-athletes to excel off the field — go to classes on time, be respectful, learn to trust and work together. Humility and ‘coachability' are two stress points after our first two games."

SL: Between what was Hurricane Lane and the large brush fire in West Maui, how did last week's events affect your team and players, if at all?

Tihada: "The first day we got to practice was yesterday (Tuesday). We've been off since Thursday, so we were off from Thursday to Tuesday and we just look real sluggish, real rusty. We just gotta get back into the swing of things. It was a long, long break."

Kammerer: "I haven't heard of any major issues with our team, but our hearts and thoughts go out to Lahainaluna and their families who lost homes, power, practice time and so on. Social media gave us a major scare because the fire was so close to Lahainaluna; as an island of Maui, and Hawaii in general, that would have been devastating to such a rich and historical Kula Hawaii. Also, all of our opponents such as Baldwin, King Kekaulike, Kamehameha-Maui and even Hana, Seabury, Molokai and Lanai, we hope that all are safe and that roads, homes and lives can be restored."

SL: Did those things kind of put football into perspective for them somewhat?

Tihada: "We really didn't talk to the kids about that. We just talked to them a little bit. I know for a fact that when we were working and battling these fires and stuff that I had calls coming from parents and Lahaina residents, and even just people I talked to, and their main concern was football and it blew my mind. So I was just trying to explain to the kids how much football means to some people in this community and we gotta understand that and do our best on the field to represent Lahainaluna the best way we can."

Kammerer: "Very much. I've explained to my team before that I was a senior in high school when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred. That experience really made football just a game, but at the same time it is a game that teaches us life strategies like overcoming obstacles, which is why we love it so much. This is very similar and I just wanted to thank all of the first responders and community workers who we have on staff and who coach at the various schools. Major mahalo and recognition to all of our police force, firefighters and emergency workers who are coaches and even referees here on Maui."

SL: Who or what is the heart of your team?

Tihada: "It's always the seniors. We have some seniors that have been with us since they were in seventh grade and it's them that's the heart and soul of our team, not the specific position, just the senior leadership."

Kammerer: "We have several players and I respect my whole team so I cannot name one or a few. I just want to thank the players who are living and playing the ‘Saber Way,' which is hard-working, humble, doing things the right way in school and practice and seeing the bigger picture, that by unifying our goals and actions we will be bigger than football and successful in anything we do."

SL: What are your thoughts on this week's opponent and how do you feel your team matches up?

Tihada: "It's hard to tell. Until you get on the field, you cannot really tell how you're going to match up. They've got nice size this year, they've got a really, really good inside linebacker — he's the returning MIL defensive player of the year, Falekaono — but it's really hard to tell how we're going to match up."

Kammerer: "The reigning Division II two-time champions need little introduction. Lahainaluna has set up a successful program that we would like to emulate. Coaches (Robert) Watson and Tihada said it best after their first championship victory: It does us no good to win if we have a team of undisciplined athletes. They are tough, they do things the right way, they are well-coached and we will have our hands full. I am very confident in our team and expect a battle on Saturday night. Our players and coaches will need to come together and stay together like never before."

SL: What will be a key matchup within the game Saturday night?

Tihada: "I think whether we can take care — they have a good defensive lineman also, number forty-four (Viliami Makoni) — whether we can contain him and that middle linebacker (Falekaono), that's going to be the biggest matchups and the biggest, I think, problem that we'll face all night because they can play ball."

Kammerer: "Football is simple: turnovers, penalties, bend but don't break defense and capitalize and score points on offense. Whoever executes more efficiently and can overcome mistakes will win on Saturday night."

Kickoff between the Lunas and Sabers is scheduled for approximately 7 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium. The teams will meet at Cooley Stadium on Oct. 6 in the MIL's second round of play.