Farrington's Tavale Masalosalo leaps towards the goal line on a carry against Iolani on August 20, 2011. The Govs defeated the Raiders, 42-7. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Despite the fact that this weekend's Farrington-Iolani football game is a non-league affair, Raiders' coach Wendell Look understands the importance of the game.

Look isn't as concerned about whether his team wins — not that it doesn't want to — but rather, how they play against a burly Governors' squad.

Iolani (2-0), which moved up to Division I this year after winning eight D2 state titles in the last 10 years, has cruised through its first two games of 2015. It opened the season with a 48-14 win over Kamehameha-Maui two weeks ago and followed that up with a 37-0 trouncing of Kealakehe last weekend.

"I think the kids are anxious to play someone who is bigger and is going to pose to them what they're going to see in the (Interscholastic League of Honolulu) Division I," Look said. "The last two games were good competition, it was good starts and stuff, but they know the level of play is going to go up real quick this weekend."

Look, who is in his 25th season leading the program, said he is pleased with his team's progression — and transition — to D1.

"I think for us as coaches, we're where we want to be," Look said."

The Raiders, much to the relief of Look, have managed to avoid major injuries so far. Following Saturday's game, they won't play again until Sept. 11, when they open the ILH season against Punahou. The time off could benefit or hinder the team, Look said.

"We'll see how we come out from this game. We might need the three weeks to recover," Look said. "I think the timing of it is good because we start school next week and it gives the kids time to adjust to being in school and being a true student-athlete. They're just enjoying football mode right now, (but) next week they've got to turn their focus to what they're really here for and that's being a student first. I think it's going to be a good break for us and re-energize us because there are no byes in the ILH schedule. We just go straight through."

Look isn't spending much of his time thinking about the layoff; he's got his hands full preparing for Farrington (1-0), which is ranked sixth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric D1 Power Rankings.

"We've seen some film on them and they are a big, big group of guys," Look said of the Govs. "They're very talented, they're athletic, offensively they're not one-dimensional anymore. They run the ball really well, (but) they can throw the ball around now, too, so that makes it very difficult to defend and defensively they've got great athletes that can cover and can run, so it's your typical Farrington Governor team."

The play in the trenches will be of utmost importance, Look said.

"I always talk about our line and that's where it all starts," he said. "I think the challenge on both sides of the ball is what I want to look at this week. That's going to determine how we fare this season: how we can play against bigger and more athletic linemen than us."

Farrington opened its season last weekend with a 46-6 drubbing of Waipahu. It amassed 504 yards of total offense in a balanced attack, throwing for 257 yards and rushing for 247. The defense held the opposition to under 200 total yards, just 30 of which came on the ground.

There was good and bad that came from the game, Govs' coach Randall Okimoto said.

"Last week we had about four starters sit out because of (a violation of) team rules, school rules, not taking care of business there," said Okimoto, who is in his 14th season at the helm of his alma mater. "We've never had that many just be absent from our team, but the good thing is other guys have been stepping up real well."

Okimoto said junior Bishop Rapoza will start his second straight game at quarterback.

"He started against Waipahu and scored three touchdowns, which was good because we were able to get the next guy in, Joziah (Anakalea), who scored two touchdowns and then we got Justin (Uahinui) in," Okimoto said. "It would be good if we can get all three guys in against Iolani as well."

Junior running back Challen Faamatau was a dual threat last week. He rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries and also caught four passes for 118 yards and two more scores.

Okimoto praised the Raiders when making his assessment of them.

"They're very disciplined as usual," Okimoto said. "What they lack in size, they make up in discipline and execution. Wendell does a great job with them. One thing about them is I didn't notice any penalties when watching their film and compared to us, we had 22 last week. I'm looking forward to this week because Iolani will give us a very good look. They're a team that will never give up and play for four quarters, so it will be good for us."

Due to the construction of an on-field stadium — which is expected to be ready in 2017 — the Govs have been relegated to practicing at nearby Kalakaua Park.

"What happens is you kind of get a little worn down because of the travel time," Okimoto said. "Having to travel to practice and track back; run to the park and run back, but the kids are adjusting.

Okimoto is hoping the early afternoon start time will work in his team's favor Saturday.

"I think our current situation prepares us for it," Okimoto said. "Like I said, we're traveling to practice and it's hot at 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock and it's also hot at 2 o'clock. The only issue is that the game is earlier, so as far as getting mentally prepared for the game, they've got to get up earlier, so our players have to be mindful of that and be disciplined.

It will be the first meeting between the schools since 2011. Farrington won that game, 42-7, behind 216 rushing yards and three touchdowns by Tyler Taumua.

Kickoff between the Governors and Raiders is set for 2 p.m. at Eddie Hamada Field at Kozuki Stadium.