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In baseball, its known as the rubber match - the third game between teams that have split their first two meetings. In the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Division I football race, this one is for all the marbles.

Fourth-ranked Kamehameha (7-3 overall, 6-1 ILH) and sixth-ranked Punahou (9-2, 6-1) will meet for the third time this season Thursday night. The winner of the highly-anticipated game at Aloha Stadium is the ILH champion and will be the private-school league's lone representative in the upcoming First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Football State Championships. The loser's season is over.

The teams completed the regular season with an identical league record, with their only losses coming against each other.

Punahou got the better of the Warriors in a 17-14 nail-biter back on Oct. 1. In that game, running back Steven Lakalaka carried the Buffanblu with 151 rushing yards to overcome two interceptions and just 63 pass yards by quarterback Larry Tuileta. Lakalaka scored on touchdown runs of 14 and 12 yards in the first half to his team ahead, 14-0, and kicker Kaimi Fairbairn converted a 50-yard field goal in the third quarter that proved to be the difference.

Kamehameha actually outgained the Buffanblu in that game, 297 yards of total offense to 187, but committed four turnovers - including fumbles on its first three drives of the game - and was flagged 11 times for 97 yards in the loss. Linebacker Kory Rasmussen had both picks for the Warriors' defense.

Two weeks after their first meeting, the script was flipped as Punahou gained 255 offensive yards to Kamehameha's 185, but it was the Warriors who came away with a 17-10 win.

The teams exchanged second-quarter field goals and were dead-locked at 3-apiece at the half, before their defense put the Warriors ahead with a 60-yard fumble return by Pono Choy off a Jacob Ioane fumble. Bronson Barretto, who had 75 rushing yards, scored on a 6-yard touchdown run that gave Kamehameha a 17-3 lead in the fourth quarter. Punahou scored its only touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Tuileta to Malik Johnson in the closing minutes.

Special teams were just that for Kamehameha in that win. Kicker Kanekoa Pawn-White had four touchbacks on kickoffs, punter Trey Kodama booted four punts of 40 or more yards, return man Alii Pedrina had several long returns to help the Warriors win the field-position battle and Kamuela Grugier-Hill blocked a first-quarter Punahou field goal. Defensively, Taylor Taliulu recorded an interception and three other Warriors had a sack as they held Lakalaka to just 50 rushing yards.

The Warriors may be the hottest team in the state, having won their last three games and seven of their last eight since back-to-back losses to Farrington and Kahuku - the No. 1 and 2 teams in the state - to open the season.

Kamehameha's offense - which had been using both Makoa Camanse-Stevens and Nephi Stevens at the quarterback position - turned exclusively to Stevens in its last game, a 21-7 win over Saint Louis two weeks ago. The junior has thrown for 889 yards with four touchdowns against one interception and has 110 rushing yards with three TDs this season. The Warriors are balanced offensively, rushing for an average of 140.3 yards while passing for 143.1. They put up 26.5 points per game while allowing 12.9.

Punahou has relied more on the pass, throwing for an average of 152.3 yards with 106.8 rushing per game. They average 26.2 points on offense, while allowing just 8.7 points defensively.

Kickoff between the Warriors and Buffanblu is set for 6 p.m.