At the outset of the season, Friday's showdown between Kahuku and Farrington at Carelton E. Weimer Athletic Field was to pegged to determine the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red East champion.

Instead, the Red Raiders (6-0 overall, 4-0 Red East), first in the SL-OC 16 Football Power Rankings, can clinch at least a share of the division title and earn the East's top seed for the OIA tournament with a win against the No. 6 Governors (4-2, 2-2).

Who could have foreseen Farrington losing to Castle and Kailua? The Governors would not only need to beat Kahuku, but hope that the Red Raiders lose again next weekend for any sort of major shakeup in the East.

Still, Kahuku wants to keep the momentum, as well as its national ranking (23rd in the RivalsHigh 100).

The Red Raiders have an improved passing attack, averaging 151.7 yards per game, their best in coach Reggie Torres' era (since 2006). QB Evan Moe has completed 67 percent of his passes and he has some athletic targets in Punga Vea and Shairone Thompson.

Still, the bread-and-butter is the run at Kahuku. Tailback Aofaga Wily averages 8.1 yards per carry.

"We will need to control the line of scrimmage and excel in our run packages which allows us to play-action," Torres said in an e-mail.

The Governors are no slouches on offense either. RB Scotland Smith, the Govs' leading rusher, averages 5.9 yards per carry.

"We need to control the line of scrimmage and not get into any second- or third-down and short situations," Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. "They're most dangerous when they are in play-action situations."

In another Red East showdown, Castle visits No. 7 Kailua Saturday in a showcase of quarterbacks.

The Surfriders (5-2, 4-1) feature O'ahu's leading passer in sophomore Kahuku Iaea, who has passed for 1,809 yards and 14 TDs. The Knights (4-2, 2-2) have veteran Jaymason Lee, who has 1,255 yards and eight TDs, at the helm.

Kailua needs to win to stay among the top three in the division. The top three teams in each division draw byes in the first round of the OIA tournament. The top five teams from each division advance to the tournament.

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