Austin Ewing and the Wildcats host Elijah Ragudo and the Lunas this weekend at Julian R. Yates Field. ScoringLive photo illustration

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The matchup at Julian R. Yates Field this weekend will feature two offenses that are polar opposites from each other.

One offense is an all-out aerial assault. The other team has a multifaceted ground attack that isn't reliant on a single ballcarrier.

Konawaena, the top-ranked team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Power Rankings, will host No. 3 Lahainaluna in the semifinal round of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Football Championships Saturday night.

The Wildcats (8-1) and the Lunas (7-4) are two of the three remaining non-Oahu teams that are still alive in the HHSAA's new three-tiered state tournament. The winner of Saturday's game will meet either Damien or Kapaa, the other non-Oahu team in the tourney, in the Division II championship game on Nov. 18.

Konawaena, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II champion, has been successful in league play in the past couple years, but struggled whenever it made it into the postseason. 

That all changed in 2015 when the Wildcats defeated Damien at home, 42-33 for their first-ever win in the state tournament. Second-year coach Brad Uemoto, who was the ScoringLive All-Hawaii Division II Coach of the Year in his first season, is hoping that home field advantage carries his team again when the Lunas come to town.

"We always love playing here," said Uemoto. "The atmosphere, even in the regular season, is something special for these kids and community. As the games get bigger, the crowd and energy gets better."

The Wildcats will take on a Lahainaluna program that is making its 10th straight tournament appearance. In that time span, the Lunas have made it to Division II title game three times. 

"They're a very well coached team, they're very disciplined, very methodical. Teams like that gives us problems," Uemoto said of Lahainaluna. "They got good size, a bunch of different athletes. They got speed, they're a very solid team. I think they had some losses earlier in the year, but they're definitely progressing into a state contending team at this point of the year."

The Lunas, the Maui Interscholastic League Division II champions, made their way into the semifinals with a 52-14 opening round win over Waipahu. The Marauders uses a spread offense like Konawaena, but doesn't throw it as often as the Wildcats do.

"I think Waipahu was a lot more balanced than Konawena," said Lahainaluna co-head coach Garret Tihada. "When we watched Konawaena, they ran about 50 pass plays. They love to throw the ball."

Spearheading the Wildcats' attack is junior quarterback Austin Ewing, a 2015 All-Hawaii Division II First Team quarterback. Ewing has thrown for 2,412 yards and 31 touchdowns through nine games.

"Their quarterback is a guy that makes things happen," said Lahainaluna co-head coach Garret Tihada. "He's so elusive and he's just a playmaker."

Konawaena's defense will also have a tough task as it will have to defend the Lunas' modified Wing-T offense. Lahainaluna has utilized double-digit ballcarriers in almost every contest and has even used six different quarterbacks at one point.

"We run a bunch of different packages," said Tihada. "They've all been working hard. We have som pretty quality backs this year. We want to get them in and we're hoping that it confuses the defense a little bit by seeing different ball carriers."

Tihada said the game plan is simple for his team this week.

"Like any other week, we really have to focus on our fundamentals: blocking and tackling. I know that sounds simple, but we stress that a lot. The biggest contributors for us is both the offensive and defensive line. We can only go as far as they take us."

The Wildcats doesn't have the size that Lahainaluna has, but Uemoto is hoping that his team's experience during the preseason and league play will help them on Saturday.

"They're not as big as these Division I teams that we faced, but they bring that physicality," said Uemoto. "Facing Saint Francis (in the preseason) definitely gave us that level of physicality that prepared us for Hilo and the regular season games. I think that carries over to the state tournament a bit.

Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.