Damien QB Jake Holtz dives into the end zone in the Monarchs' regular season matchup against Iolani. CJ Caraang | SL

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The last time the Damien football field took the field against Iolani, it didn't quite go the way that Monarchs coach Eddie Klaneski had planned.

"That was probably our worst game of the season," the ninth-year Damien coach said.

Klaneski's Monarchs fell behind 24-0 seven minutes into the second quarter and despite 490 yards of total offense — including a season-high 234 rushing yards by running back Amo Sulu — came up short, 38-21, in their lone meeting against the Raiders this season.

That is, until Friday.

Damien (8-2), the No. 9 team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings, and 11th-ranked Iolani (8-2) will face off in the nightcap of an Interscholastic League of Honolulu doubleheader at Aloha Stadium in a winner-take-all rematch.

The victor will claim to the league's lone berth in next month's First Hawaiian Bank Division I State Championships, while the loser's season is over.

In order for the Raiders to qualify for their second straight state tournament, longtime coach Wendell Look said the defensive game plan remains the same: stop the run.

"That's where it starts. For us, no matter who we play I think that's kind of the focal point for our defense. I think for any defense, you've got to be able to stop the run, but more so for us (because) just physically I think people will test us up front, so stopping (Sulu) — or controlling him — is going to be one of the keys," said Look, who picked up his 200th career win earlier this season, his 28th as coach at Iolani.

Slowing down the steady Sulu is certainly easier said than done. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior ranks second in all of Division I — behind only the state's all-time leading rusher in Waipahu's Alfred Failauga — with 1,206 yards on 157 carries (7.7 yards per rush). Sulu has run for at least 100 yards in his last six games. On the season, he has scored 17 total touchdowns, including 14 rushing scores.

Sulu's prolific effort in the loss against the Raiders was also somewhat out of necessity after quarterback Jake Holtz was ejected for what officials deemed was a punch to the helmet of an Iolani player. Consequently, the senior quarterback served a two-game league-mandated suspension, but the Monarchs, behind sophomore understudy Logan Lacio, came away with wins over Kailua and Aiea in Holtz's absence.

"I thought that two-game stretch where they lost their quarterback, I thought they gained a lot of confidence and I thought they grew a lot in those next two games," Look said. "I think they found what they do well and they know who they are and they play to their strengths. It takes a lot to win must-win games and not have your starting quarterback."

The Monarchs got Holtz back for its regular-season finale against then-No. 8 Moanalua on Oct. 11. Damien built a 22-0 lead by early in the third quarter before withstanding a frantic fourth-quarter by previously-undefeated Na Menehune, to come away with the 22-17 win.

The Damien win, coupled with Iolani's 33-28 win over Castle later that evening, forced a tie after the 10-game regular season, thus this Friday's one-game playoff for all the marbles.

"It was definitely a good win, a must-win for us and just beating a team like Moanalua that's well-coached, undefeated and all that, for us — it was just that we just needed to make things correct," Klaneski said. "We played a great game for about three-and-a-half quarters and then we just kind of broke down a little bit. That last five minutes of the game made it close and we have to make sure we don't fall into a situation like that again and make sure we play 48 minutes to beat a team like Iolani this week."

Klaneski knows all too well how the Raiders tend to make their opponents pay for their mistakes. That was the case five weeks ago, when Iolani netted 21 points off of three Damien turnovers.

Each team committed eight penalties, but it was the timing of the Monarchs' infractions that stung.

"(Iolani) had a fourth-and-42 and I thought our guy got blocked into the kicker, but regardless, it wasn't a good thing by us and they got the first down and they went down and scored," Klaneski vividly recalled. "We can't make mistakes like that. We learned a lot about ourselves in that game because a lot of things didn't go our way, but with a team like Iolani, they will capitalize on every mistake, every turnover, every penalty, which they did in that game and we can't allow that to happen again."

Like their opponents Friday, the Raiders were also able to overcome the loss of a standout offensive player for a portion of the season when senior wide receiver Carter Kamana missed five games due to a hand injury. Despite being without the services of the 6-foot-3 All-Hawaii first teamer, Iolani went 5-0 with wins over Kaimuki, Kailua, Waipahu, Damien and Radford.

"I thought that stretch of games, including the Damien one, kind of proved to our kids that they could compete physically because it was kind of the meat of the season and a time where we were going to be tested," Look said.

The Raiders' only two losses this year were against Moanalua and Leilehua, by a combined four points. The rigors of the regular season have left Look's bunch battle-tested.

"I think going through the whole season they've kind of found a little bit of their identity and they know what their strengths are and what their weaknesses and I think they've come very close as a team and they understand what winning and losing as a team means and what they have to do in order to be successful. I think they've matured and they've gained a whole lot of experience within this season," Look said.

Both teams are coming off of a bye last week.

Kickoff is scheduled for approximately 7:45 p.m. and will be preceded by an Open Division game at 5 p.m. between No. 15 Kamehameha (3-6) and No. 2 Punahou (9-1), for the right to take on top-ranked Saint Louis (9-0) next Friday.