How will they make this one interesting?
Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Waianae (9-2) is given as much chance of beating Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion St. Louis (12-0) as Evander Holyfield was given to beat Mike Tyson.
But the analogy should end there. Only diehard Searider optimists can envision a Holyfield-type outcome.
Indeed, a Waianae upset would register on the Richter Scale.
The reasons why Waianae is being counted out even before the bell rings are numerous:
This is not a good year to catch St. Louis in the Prep Bowl. In the 10 years that the Crusaders have dominated the event, this is one of their strongest teams at every position, including three 1995 all-staters still in the lineup: right guard Dominic Raiola, free safety West Tufaga, and middle linebacker Jacob Yoro.
The Crusaders walloped Waianae, 34-7, last August in a preseason game that saw a nervous Jason Gesser make his first start at quarterback for St. Louis. He nonetheless passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns.
St. Louis' passing offense is devastating. Gesser threw 28 ILH touchdown passes and only one interception in 10 ILHgames.
"Jason has thrown deep and he's also thrown some conservative short passes that turned out to be big plays," St. Louis coach Cal Lee said.
The Crusaders also have the best running attack since Chris Fuamatu- Ma'afala left for Utah. Senior Mitchell Ige averages 50 yards a game and the slotbacks (especially Craig Stutzmann) can execute the reverse for a long gain when least expected.
Waianae has lost in the Prep Bowl to St. Louis five times since 1986 by an average margin of 35.6 points.
Unlike St. Louis, no Waianae player has experience in the Prep Bowl championship. The Seariders have not made it there since 1992.
So what's Waianae going to do?
"You need to play it close to the vest," said Waianae coach Leo Taaca, who's appearing in his first Prep Bowl as a head coach (he has been in 10 Prep Bowls as the Seariders' running backs coach).
"A lot of teams will take chances against St. Louis but you can't do that. Any defense any team puts up, St. Louis will adjust. That's a tribute to their coaching staff."
St. Louis' offensive linemen are expecting the Seariders to blitz, blitz and blitz, but Taaca said the Crusaders solved his team's blitz after two series in the preseason game.
"We'll try to put some kind of pressure on the quarterback with our front four (White Sosene, Seei Sevaaetasi, Stanford Evaimalo and Kainoa Evangelista) while everybody else drops back," Taaca said.
"How much we blitz will depend on the tempo of the game. They know our blitzes."
Lee is confident Gesser can handle the blitz.
"If you blitz, you're going to get hurt," he said. "Ask any passing team what they want to see and it's the man coverage. If you see one-on-ones, you should be able to hit your man. We love to see blitz, because if you make a mistake, it'll cost you."
Taaca said this is one of the better secondaries Waianae has had, with free safety Nate Jackson, strong safety Ted Mahelona, and cornerbacks Dauthuille Dizon and Travis Kaopuiki.
"And they faced passing teams (Kaiser, Waipahu, Campbell) all through the OIA playoffs," said Lee, who is seeking his 12th Prep Bowl win since 1983.
As for the Waianae offense, the Seariders will try to run it up the middle as they've done all season.
Mike Simpson, a fearless runner and a capable though infrequent passer, will be back at quarterback.
He was injured against Waipahu in the OIA semifinals.
John Koa, the converted I-back who has had two 100-yard games in a row, will start once again at fullback. Kamuela Black and Esau Fenderson (104 yards against Kaiser) come out of the I.
"Because Koa is an I-back playing fullback, he can see the holes a lot better," Taaca said.
"But our lineman have to sustain their blocks."
Taaca said he doesn't listen to the hoopla surrounding the game.
"There is a lot of hype about it but football is football," he said. "The game is the game. We're going to play our game."
Waianae has been in the Prep Bowl 13 times and has won four times: 1973, 1977, 1978 and 1980.
Fullback Josh Meyer, who scored Waianae's only touchdown in the August defeat, remains sidelined with a leg fracture. Two other injured Seariders will suit up but might not play.
They are right guard Samson Akiona and fullback West Keliikipi.
ILH runner-up Punahou (9-3) will play OIA runner-up Campbell (8-3) in the third-place game at 5:45 p.m.