Damien's last trip to the state tourney was in 2003 while the Konawaena is back after a one-year hiatus. ScoringLive photo illustration

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After 12 long years, Damien is back in the state tournament.

The Monarchs (6-1) captured their first Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II title since 2003 and will face Konawaena in the first round of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Football State Championships at Julian Yates Field Saturday.

"We're excited for the opportunity to be in this tournament with all these other great teams," said Damien coach Eddie Klaneski. "We're happy for our school, our kids and our families."

Damien, who is ranked seventh in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Power Rankings, has been waiting patiently for its next opponent after clinching the league crown with a 28-16 win over Pac-Five on Oct. 17. The victory avoided the need for a two-week, two-tiered playoff to determine the ILH champion.

"Those weeks off was good for us," said Klaneski. "We got a few injuries that we needed to take care off. Now it's game week and we're excited about moving forward and getting back on the practice field."

The Monarchs were hit hard with injuries during the course of the season. That list includes quarterbacks Bransen Apao (ankle) and Marcus Faufata-Pedrina (shoulder), linebacker Shawn Borges (thumb) and running back Justice White (concussion).

Offensively Damien runs a split back option attack that is similar to one that was made famous by De La Salle. The offensive line unit of Isaac Sagapolutele, Aissac Unga, Rush Asing, Soane Tuihalafatai and Matthew Adora paves the way for running game.

Faufata-Pedrina (430 rushing yards, six touchdowns) is expected to get the start under center while Apao will be used at receiver. White (272 yards rushing, two TDs) and Kepono Kawaakoa (422 yards rushing, five TDs) gives the Monarchs a solid one-two punch in the backfield.

On defense the Monarchs have a scrappy group that makes plays despite being undersized. All-Hawaii Division II defensive back Jarin Manuel (three interceptions) headlines the bunch, but the play of Borges, defensive end Courtney Paaga, linebacker Grayson Bueno and defensive back Scott Lam have also been key.

"They're all really good kids and good players," Klaneski said on his defense. "They play hard, they play fast and that's the main thing. We simplify what we do on defense so those guys can go out and make plays."

Damien's defense will have their hands full trying to contain a Konawaena team that averages 36.8 points per game.

"They're very explosive on offense," Klaneski said on Konawaena. "They have a really good quarterback, good running back and a couple good receivers so they can spread us out a little bit more."

The third-ranked Wildcats are also making their return back into the state tourney for the first time since 2013. Konawaena (10-1) captured its fourth Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II title in five years with a 44-21 win over KS-Hawaii on Oct. 23 and was undefeated against the Division I teams in the league.

"We missed out on it last year and I think the kids definitely felt like we failed a little," said first-year coach Brad Uemoto. "We just got so accustomed to winning the BIIF title and coming to the state tournament. It was an odd year for us but we're glad to be back."

The rise of sophomore quarterback Austin Ewing has been key in Konawaena's run in 2015. In 10 games he has completed 55.6 percent of his passes for 1,800 yards and 23 touchdowns against four interceptions. Konawaena's lone loss of the year was to KS-Hawaii in the regular season when Ewing was out with an injury.

"Austin was probably a kid that could have probably came up to varsity last year as a freshman," said Uemoto. "He has great accuracy throwing the ball. He can be a pocket passer, but he can also get out of the pocket and throw on the run as well. He's just a competitive kid."

Ewing also excels in spreading the wealth in the passing game with five players having 300 yards or more on the year. Kamakana Ching (24 catches, 467 yards, nine TDs) and Kupono Kane (18 receptions, 324 yards, two scores) man the outsides in the Wildcats' spread offense while Cameron Howes (22 catches, 380 yards, six TDs) and Kayson Mahiai (25 receptions, 410 yards, four TDs) operate in the slots.

Backup quarterback Tristan Fleming-Nazara is also used as a tight end in some packages (30 catches, 387 yards, two TDs) and senior running back Algene Kelokolio (733 yards rushing, 15 TDs) has experience playing in the state tournament.

"Being a balanced offense is a good trait for us," said Uemoto. "We have a good group of receivers that in terms of statistics are fairly balanced across the board."

Like the Monarchs, the Wildcats have an undersized defense that plays fast and hard. Konawaena made some tweaks to its scheme this year and is holding opponents to just 11.2 points per game.

"We're undersized so typically we're more of an aggressive style," said Uemoto. "We sort of have a new scheme and mixed some zone defenses in throughout the year. In the past we were a heavy blitz, man defense."

Anchoring the defensive unit is tackle Austin Santos-Johnson and defensive end Torin Tuppein. Howes also doubles as a defensive back and heads the secondary.

Uemoto says playing assignment football against the Monarchs' offense will be key for his defense on Saturday.

"Defensively we're a little concerned," said Uemoto. "We fortunately got an opportunity to face a similar offense in Hawaii Prep this year, but it's never an easy task to face an option team. It's so drastically different than any offense you face all year."

The winner in Saturday's matchup will move on to face Radford (11-0) at Roosevelt next Saturday.