Punahou is the only team in Hawaii to ever replace St. Louis in the national rankings and their leader, Dan Morrison, has been named ILH coach of the year two of the past three seasons.
Fittingly, the ILH first-round title is on the line Saturday night at Aloha Stadium as the teams face each other with 4-0 records.
Last year, the Buffanblu upset the Crusaders, 21-13, in the next-to-last game of the first round and took their place at the No. 23 spot in the USA Today Super 25 poll. It was Morrison's second win over St. Louis since 1993 and snapped a 22-game Crusader win streak.
This time, St. Louis (6-0 overall) is ranked No. 18 in that poll and considered to be even stronger on defense than last year.
A Punahou win would not give the Buffanblu a place in the national poll this time because they are 5-1 overall. Teams must be unbeaten to break into the rankings, according to USA Today's criteria.
The 10-time defending ILH and Prep Bowl champion Crusaders enter the game with the league's leading offense and defense. Punahou is second in both categories.
Offensively, the teams are reasonably matched on paper. The Crusaders average 461.5 yards a game while the Buffanblu average 433.3 yards.
But defensively, St. Louis is a wall, having allowed only 689 rushing and passing yards in four games - an average of 172.3 yards.
Punahou has the league's leading rusher in Danny Makainai (405 yards, five touchdowns), but St. Louis has been impenetrable against the rush. Opponents average 44 yards.
Punahou's senior quarterback, Noah King, leads the league in passing yardage with 915 yards.
"They spread you out," said St. Louis coach Cal Lee. "You'd think King was a veteran quarterback the way he plays."
But the Crusaders' own junior quarterback, Jason Gesser, has 903 yards and has thrown for 11 touchdowns to King's nine.
In 94 attempts, King has been picked off five times while Gesser is the only ILH starter not to have been intercepted (70 attempts).
Neither quarterback has been sacked very much.
"Gesser gets great depth on his drops - nine to 10 yards - and good height with a good, strong accurate arm," said Morrison.
Punahou's Tafiti Uso leads the league in receiving with 470 yards on 24 catches and six touchdowns.
Craig Stutzmann (257 yards and two TDs) and Randyn Akiona (200 yards, one TD) are Gesser's favorite targets.
Bad news for St. Louis is that all-state senior middle linebacker Jacob Yoro suffered a ligament tear in his knee against Kamehameha last weekend. Lee said he'll be out about three weeks.
Sophomores Joe Siofele and Chad Santos will fill in for Yoro.
Punahou's defense, led by senior linebacker Scott LaFountaine, will be counted on to make the difference.
Last year, LaFountaine made one of the team's three sacks, had two pressures and two of the Buffanblu's five interceptions.
In the Oahu Interscholastic Association, the race is on for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Red Conference.
Farrington (3-1), which must play scrappy Kailua (1-3) at the Surfriders' field tomorrow.
The Governors are on a roll after losing their opening game. But the Surfriders proved a couple of weeks ago that they can exact a major toll on their own turf as they upended Waipahu (2-2).
Meanwhile, three-time defending OIA champion Kahuku (1-4) needs a home victory against Campbell (3-1) tomorrow to have a chance for the fifth playoff berth.
Roosevelt (1-4) has a bye this weekend and will finish at Kailua next weekend. The Rough Riders have beaten Kahuku and a win against Kailua, whether the Surfriders are 2-3 or 1-4 going into next weekend's game, would give Roosevelt the final Red Conference playoff berth.
Already assured of playoff berths are Waianae (4-0), Farrington, Campbell, and Waipahu.
The Seariders seek to clinch a share of the conference title with a win at Aloha Stadium tomorrow night against Waipahu.
The Governors can claim their share of the title with a victory tomorrow and at Waianae next weekend.
In the White Conference, Leilehua (4-0) is clearly in the driver's seat and can clinch the conference title with a win over McKinley (3-2) at Roosevelt.
The Mules, Tigers and Aiea (4-1) are already in the playoff picture, while Castle (2-1) must score a home win against Pearl City (1-3) this weekend to clinch the fourth berth.
In the Blue Conference, Kaiser (4-0) would secure a share of the conference title with a win at home Saturday against Kalani (1-3). In contention for the other two playoff berths from the Blue Conference are Radford (3-1), Kaimuki (3-1), and Mililani (3-2).
The OIA playoffs, which will begin Oct. 24, have expanded from an eight-team to a 12-team format. The postseason consolation playoffs have been discontinued.