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It's tough enough to stop 'Iolani's offense from scoring, but opponents must also be concerned about the Raiders' defense doing the same.

At least as long as cornerback Reid Saito is around.

All the 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior has done is return four interceptions for touchdowns the past two seasons. And one of them is longer than any touchdown pass the offense has thrown. On Sept. 17, Saito returned an interception 100 yards i a 26-7 win against Pac-Five. It was the first of his two returns for TDs this season. He also returned one 89 yards in the second meeting against the Wolf Pack.

"He's a natural," 'Iolani coach Wendell Look said. "He has the speed, the athletic ability."

Saito will be a concern for Kaimuki (12-1), which takes on the No. 7 Raiders (8-3) Friday in the First Hawaiian Bank Division II state football championship at Aloha Stadium. Kickoff is 4 p.m. 'Iolani is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive state crown.

Saito has three interceptions on the the season. Last year, he had five, returning two for TDs, one against Punahou and the second against Lahainaluna in the state title game. Although he's been getting the picks, Saito said it's a collaboration.

"I try to read the play," Saito said. "But a lot of times, I just get lucky. It's the whole defense. When the other DBs shutdown their receivers, the (quarterback) has to think fast and that's when mistakes come."

Even the century TD return was team effort, Saito said.

"I just had some really great blocking," he said. "If you look at the YouTube, you'll see seven, eight guys wearing black jerseys helped me get that touchdown."

The Son of 'Iolani said basketball was his first love. Though his father, Honolulu dentist Sanford Saito ('Iolani '72), was a quarterback, Reid said he didn't play organized football until eighth grade when he joined the intermediate team.

"I just did it because my friends did it," he said.

But he started loving the game and stayed with it. After two years on the intermediate, he went to the varsity as a sophomore because 'Iolani doesn't field a JV team.

"The transition was huge," said Saito, who added he nearly quit the sport. "But the coaches were really good (helping with the transition)."

Saito has become a student of the game, studying tendencies of opposing QBs. He will disguise his coverage to get an advantage.

"Sometimes, I'll set up in cover three, then drop to the flats," he said.

Look said Saito could play collegiately, even at the Division I level with the right program, but easily for a small school. Saito said his priority is academics - he wants to major in business - and if there's a football program at his chosen school, then maybe he'll give it a try.

For Saito, it's been a great career. Besides being a member of a state champion basketball team, he will try to be a member of a third state title football team. But he had to think a bit when asked which felt better: Winning a Division II title or beating a Division I team in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. The Raiders beat Kamehameha the past two seasons and Punahou last year.

"Beating a D1 team feels so good," he said. "Everybody expects us to win the D2 title. It's like a target on our back. But playing a D1 team is an extra-good feeling."