Kamehameha Schools Maui wide receiver Frank Abreu celebrates his touchdown catch during the Warriors’ win over King Kekaulike last Friday. The Warriors are the No. 2 seed for the Division II state tournament and will host Pac-Five or Kaimuki in a semifinal at 6 p.m. on Nov. 18. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

The Lahainaluna High School football team has traveled a journey unlike any other season in its history this year, and the Lunas’ path to what would be the first Division I state title ever for the Maui Interscholastic League will also not be easy.

The Lunas (5-0) ran their football MIL-record win streak to 44 this season and were awarded the No. 4 seed for the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA state D-I six-team bracket that was to be revealed Friday night.

The Lunas are set to host No. 5 Kapaa of the Kauai Interscholastic Federation on Nov. 11 — kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sue Cooley Stadium. A win in that game would send the Lunas to Hawaii Island to face No. 1-seeded Konawaena on Nov. 18.

MIL D-II champion Kamehameha Maui is the No. 2 seed in its bracket and will start its postseason in a 6 p.m. semifinal on Nov. 18. They will host the winner of next week’s game between third-seeded Pac-Five of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up Kaimuki.

State championship games for both divisions will be played Nov. 25 at Mililani High School.

Lahainaluna’s Kaulana Tihada carries the ball during a win over Baldwin on Oct. 21. The fourth-seeded Lunas are set to host fifth-seeded Kapaa in a Division I state quarterfinal next Saturday at Sue Cooley Stadium. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Lahainaluna co-head coach Dean Rickard said there has been a pep in the step of his players this week after they clinched their 16th straight trip to a state tournament. There was a lot of doubt as to whether the Lunas would even play this season immediately after the Aug. 8 wildfire devastated their town.

“The kids are very excited, of course, they actually fought hard to just get back into the season,” Rickard said. “For sure, they wanted it because they couldn’t see themselves playing for any other school. So, just representing Lahainaluna and to play in the red and white is what they wanted. The goal was always to get back to the state tournament and we did that.”

The Lunas have a long history of playing Kapaa in the state tournament — the last time they met in the postseason, Lahainaluna beat Kapaa 21-10 for the 2019 D-II state title, the Lunas’ fourth straight state crown at that level.

“We know that we’ve been playing them a lot, but at the same time we’ve got film on them, so we’ve exchanged films,” Rickard said. “They asked for our films, we gave them. We asked for their films, they gave them. So, there’s no hidden secrets.”

Kapaa head coach Mike Tressler was in the stands for Lahainaluna’s 42-0 win over Maui High that clinched the MIL D-I title last week.

Lahainaluna quarterback Noa Gordon throws under pressure from Baldwin’s Joshua Sniffen as the Lunas’ Talan Toshikiyo blocks during the Lunas’ win on Sept. 30. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

“They came and actually scouted us in person against Maui High, so we knew coach Tressler was in the stands,” Rickard said. “We know that they’ll be prepared as well as they can.”

Rickard said Kapaa “definitely has size. They’re pretty much a physical team, they like to run the ball, but at the same time they can air it out when they need to.”

Rickard and company did get some good news on the injury front this week when they learned that Noa Gordon will be available to play against Kapaa after a re-evaluation of his injured clavicle that was originally thought to be season-ending.

Gordon could see action at quarterback as a changeup to starter Lyrik Kahula, and Gordon is also the Lunas’ punter. Defensive back Avery Baybayan, who was injured in the Maui High game, is out for the Kapaa game and will be re-evaluated for a shoulder injury afterwards.

“We’re just kind of preparing for about anything they can throw at us and they’ve done the same thing for us as well,” Rickard said of Kapaa. “We know that they’re well-coached, they look disciplined, they’re physical, they are a physical team.

Kamehameha Maui coach Ulima Afoa works the sideline last Friday. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

“We consider ourselves as physical and it’s just going to be a matter of who executes better and who makes the least mistakes and controls the ball. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”

Rickard had one word for how important playing the Kapaa game at home is.

“Huge,” he said. “That was one thing that we were adamant about as far as stressing to our (athletic director) and the league that if we ever were to host a game we want to do it at Sue Cooley. That is a true home-field advantage for us. Regardless of not just this season, but any season.”

Kamehameha Maui coach Ulima Afoa is thankful to have the time off — when his Warriors hit the field on Nov. 18 it will be just their third game since Sept. 29, an eight-week span.

The Warriors are 6-1 and their only blemish was a 19-13 loss to the Lunas that was not decided until the final seconds.

“It’s the latter half of the season, so we plan the calendar accordingly where we give our kids time to catch up on some academic stuff, get their bodies healed up,” Afoa said. “We keep them in the weight room and do activities just to continue to do some team-bonding stuff.

“You can’t continue to grind them in this part of the season because then it becomes a process of diminishing returns. So, it’s about being smart and what is it that you’re trying to accomplish with so much time off.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

Kamehameha Maui coach Ulima Afoa works the sideline last Friday. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo Lahainaluna quarterback Noa Gordon throws under pressure from Baldwin’s Joshua Sniffen as the Lunas’ Talan Toshikiyo blocks during the Lunas’ win on Sept. 30. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo Lahainaluna’s Kaulana Tihada carries the ball during a win over Baldwin on Oct. 21. The fourth-seeded Lunas are set to host fifth-seeded Kapaa in a Division I state quarterfinal next Saturday at Sue Cooley Stadium. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Kamehameha Schools Maui wide receiver Frank Abreu celebrates his touchdown catch during the Warriors’ win over King Kekaulike last Friday. The Warriors are the No. 2 seed for the Division II state tournament and will host Pac-Five or Kaimuki in a semifinal at 6 p.m. on Nov. 18. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

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