A high school football season in Hawaii celebrated for its equality has led right back to a familiar place.

Kahuku vs. Saint Louis for all the marbles.

The long-standing football rivalry will be renewed on Friday night at the 15,000-seat Clarence TC Ching Athletics Complex when the Crusaders and Red Raiders meet for the 11th time^Th time in a state championship game.

Kahuku is 6-4 against Saint Louis in such meetings in the top division final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Championships. This is their first meeting on the University of Hawaii campus. All previous meetings were held at Aloha Stadium until the 2021 final was played at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.

Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Spectrum OC16 pay-per-view (channel 1255).

Three-time defending champion Kahuku owns 11 state championships and Saint Louis has seven, but Saint Louis still holds a 4-3 advantage in titles in the Open Division era (since 2016).

First-year coach Tupu Alualu led his alma mater to the state finals for the first time since 2021 as Kahuku prevailed 49-14 and started its modern dynasty under Sterling Carvalho.

The teams met on Aug. 10 in the 2024 season opener at Carleton Weimer Field in Kahuku. Saint Louis’ 42-yard game-winning field goal missed and Kahuku secured a 14-13 victory.

Both teams have changed significantly since this duel. In the last few weeks alone, Kahuku (9-4) welcomed quarterback Matai Fuiava and offensive lineman Jacob Maiava from Mainland powerhouse programs.

Two of the teams’ best playmakers, Titan Lacaden for Saint Louis and Mana Carvalho for Kahuku, were limited or absent for this matchup.

While Campbell turned heads all season as the top team in the state, Kahuku came into form at the right time in all three phases and prevailed in the OIA playoffs. Saint Louis, with junior quarterback Nainoa Lopes at the helm but senior Lacaden as the diminutive workhorse, overcame a complicated ILH playoff format and won in Kamehameha to clinch the ILH title.

Saint Louis then rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat Campbell 27-24 in the state semifinals two weeks ago when star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele suffered a rib injury midway through the game. Kahuku, meanwhile, edged Mililani 8-6 in a defensive affair, with All-Phase star Aiden Manutai having a commanding influence.

In the Oahu Prep Bowl era (1973-1998), Saint Louis won 14 times – including the last 13. Five of those came against Kahuku.

Here is the list of HHSAA finals (Division I and Open) played between the two rivals:

Source: HHSAA

1999: Saint Louis 19, Kahuku 0

2000: Kahuku 26, Saint Louis 20

2001: Kahuku 21, Saint Louis 14

2003: Kahuku 27, Saint Louis 26

2006: Kahuku 7, Saint Louis 6

2015: Kahuku 39, Saint Louis 14

2016: Saint Louis 30, Kahuku 14

2017: Saint Louis 31, Kahuku 28

2019: Saint Louis 45, Kahuku 6

2021: Kahuku 49, Saint Louis 14

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.