Wahiawa is brimming with green pride as Leilehua High School takes on Punahou in Friday's Division I state football championship.

Leilehua student support group MuleNation is offering “;Wahiawa Built”; T-shirts of different styles and colors to help boost spirit in the Central Oahu community, and forest green is the most popular. The school colors are green and gold.

MuleNation (named after the school's mascot - a mule) consists of about 16 students who helped design and market the shirts, according to Willie Ganiko, a teacher and adviser to the group.

About 1,000 shirts have been sold. Proceeds go toward several senior graduation activities, difficult for the public school to finance, he said.

Ganiko said the timing of the shirt sales just happened to coincide with the football championship. But they were intended to show support for student athletes in every sport, not just the football players, he added.

Wahiawa's ZIP code, 96786, is also imprinted on the back of most of the shirts to indicate pride in a community often associated with low educational and economic standards, he said.

“;There are so many negative things said about our town. ... But when you see the kids' effort on the field and in class, it's totally different.

“;It's unbelievable how proud the community is of Wahiawa. They flock to buy anything positive (like the shirts) to show their support,”; Ganiko said.

Shirts can be purchased by e-mailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).