Waianae (8-0) seeks its 14th OIA title since 1970 when it faces Campbell (6-2) at Aloha Stadium tomorrow night. No other team in the league has won more titles.
But these Searider players are not spoiled by success. Although the Seariders have been in two of the last three OIA championship games (1993, 1995), they haven't won since 1992. That was the year Waianae stunned previously unbeaten Kahuku, 27-0.
Last year, Kahuku won a third straight league title at Waianae's expense, 33-20.
Campbell, on the other hand, is about to play in its first OIA final. Third-year Sabers head coach Darren Hernandez said he has been inundated with letters and faxes from excited alumni this week.
Some suggest a Saber win would be the biggest event in Ewa since statehood.
"I told the kids they have a chance to achieve something monumental in Campbell history," said Hernandez.
The winner will go on to meet 10-time defending Prep Bowl champion St. Louis of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu on Nov. 29 at Aloha Stadium.
In their first meeting this season (Sept. 14), Waianae held off a second-half rally by Campbell to win, 20-12.
While the Seariders held Campbell to only one first down in the first half of that game, the Sabers held Waianae to one first down in the second half.
The Sabers face the challenge of stopping Waianae's relentless ground game and timely play-action passes.
Waianae, which was tops in the Red Conference with 1,186 rushing yards, has had 462 yards in two playoff games.
The keys are John Koa (110 yards last week) and Esau Fenderson (103 yards two weeks ago).
Waianae quarterback Mike Simpson is suffering from an injury to his throwing arm and is somewhat questionable for tomorrow. But backup, junior Kana Kawai, led the Seariders to two touchdowns in his two series after Simpson went out in the third quarter against Waipahu last week.
Campbell is hurting at quarterback, too. Kaleopa Kaleopa, who has thrown 15 touchdown passes since September, suffered a ligament tear in his right leg against McKinley last week and is a doubtful starter.
Kanaloa Pantastico, the second leading receiver in the Red Conference, will start at quarterback if Kaleopa is unable to play.
Clifford Russell, one of the island's fastest and most productive running backs, had 172 yards of offense for Campbell in last week's game and must be counted on to follow his blocks to daylight tomorrow.
"I think their running game has emerged," Waianae coach, Leo Taaca said.
He said he thinks Russell (238 rushing yards in two playoff games) has become much more effective than he was in September.
"Campbell is a big-play team," Taaca said.
Both Waianae and Campbell are big-play teams on defense.
The Seariders' secondary has played superbly. free safety Nate Jackson picked off three Waiphau passes last week.
Campbell middle linebacker Derek Zoller and outside linebacker Robby Takara, both 6-1, 240 pounds, are strong against the run and the pass and can cause turnovers as well. Strong safety Danilo Viloria, a four-year veteran, is an ever-present menace. He returned an interception 48 yards for a score against Castle in the quarterfinals.
Both teams have slogged through downpours to practice this week. But, if it rains tomorrow night, Taaca knows the scales will tip in favor of his option offense.
"We've always had a wet-ball offense," Taaca said.