In what is becoming a familiar scenario for 'Iolani, the boxer-type Raiders will face slugger Waipahu at 4 p.m. today in an attempt to win their fifth straight First Hawaiian Bank/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division II Football State Championship.

The game will kick off a championship doubleheader at Aloha Stadium, with Kahuku and Punahou squaring off for the Division I title at 7. The games will be shown on Oceanic Time Warner on a pay-per-view basis only.

'Iolani (7-4) brings their trademark finesse offense and scrappy defense into the fold, while Waipahu (9-3) hopes to capitalize on a big size advantage with its physical play.

The Marauders, though, will have to do it without starting quarterback Drake Yoshioka, who suffered a collarbone injury in last week's 19-14 semifinal victory over Lahainaluna.

Yoshioka had thrown for 1,286 yards and seven touchdowns, but with him out, Waipahu may rely more heavily on a ground attack led by fullback Gregorio Alip. The hard-running but surprisingly speedy Alip has rushed for 1,017 yards and 17 touchdowns on 158 carries (6.8 ypc), including 134 yards and two TDs on 18 carries last week.

Matapua Tulafale added 68 yards on 10 carries, and the Marauders finished 204 rushing yards overall.

Waipahu's defense, meanwhile, limited the Lunas to 183 yards of total offense.

'Iolani faced another big, physical team that featured a punishing ground game and stout defense in last week's 17-13 victory over Kapa'a.

The Raiders trailed 13-0 in the second quarter before rallying in the second half. Running back Jordan Lee led the offense with 136 yards on 16 carries, and Kody Mento added 50 yards on 10 carries as 'Iolani finished with 198 yards on the ground, well above its average of 115.4 ypg.

That was a switch from the Raiders' usual prolific passing attack, in which quarterback Reece Foy has completed 171 of 305 passes (56.1 percent) for 2,050 yards and 13 touchdowns.

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