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Kamehameha Schools Maui quarterback Makana Kamaka-Brayce uses a block by Pa‘u Spencer to throw a touchdown pass during the Warriors’ state semifinal win over Pac-5 last Saturday. The Warriors take on Waimea today in the D-II state final. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

If the Kamehameha Schools Maui football team is going to win its first state championship today, it will have to count on the experience of its 19 seniors mixed in with its remarkable depth provided by younger players.

One of the best players in the state, University of Hawaii verbal commit Frank Kahoa Abreu, will be a game-time decision to play or not on his partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

The Warriors have several other options to go to if their big-play wide receiver is not available for today’s 4 p.m. kickoff against defending champion Waimea in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II state championship game at Mililani High School.

Kamehameha Maui head coach Ulima Afoa was encouraged by the tenor of practice on Tuesday.

“They’re excited about their opportunity,” Afoa said of his players. “They worked hard to get to this opportunity, so I think just judging on some of the things that they’ve already done, I think they’re into preparing to make sure that they get the right outcome.”

The Warriors’ Kaikea Hueu runs with the ball against Pac-5 last Saturday. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Afoa has a lot of respect for Waimea (3-5), the No. 1 seed who advanced to the state final with a 13-10 win over Roosevelt last week while the No. 2-seeded Warriors (7-1) were rolling 31-10 past Pac-5.

“I see a team that has multiple things that they do on offense,” Afoa said of the Menehune. “I mean, it’s a good thing we play in the (Maui Interscholastic League) because we’ve kind of seen it all. They do a little bit of wildcat — basically they are going to test you out to see whether you’re prepared to stop it.”

Abreu and quarterback Makana Kamaka-Brayce, a third-year starter and The Maui News MIL Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, were both key starters in the Warriors’ run to the 2021 state final, which they lost 61-7 to Kapaa after several KSM players tested positive for COVID.

“Today is just making sure everybody on the offense has things down,” Kamaka-Brayce said at practice Wednesday. “We have a short week seeing that we have to fly (on Friday). We won’t really be practicing tomorrow, it’s just a walkthrough. So, just making sure everyone’s on the same page.

“We’re kind of switching some things up, so just making sure everything’s sharp before we fly over.”

Kamehameha Maui’s Joshua Kerr tackles Pac-5’s Seth Miller in the first quarter last Saturday. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Their young offensive line has no seniors — and only one junior — on it.

Sophomore Pa’u Spencer is 6-foot-3, 280 pounds and starts at right tackle; Tanoa Finai, a 6-0, 245-pound freshman, is the starter at right guard; Kamaha’o Akima, a 5-7, 215-pound sophomore, starts at center; Keanu Reyes, a 6-3, 220-pound sophomore, is the starter at left guard; and Kamuela Lani, a 6-2, 225-pound junior, is the starter left tackle.

That young crew opens up an offense that averages 348 yards per game, 134.9 of those yards coming on the ground.

Freshman running back Kaikea Hueu started the season on the junior varsity team, but he is now the leading rusher for the team with 364 yards, an average of 5.3 yards per carry, and five touchdowns.

While Hueu is known on the team as their “Thunder” back, sophomore Zedekiah Campbell is their “Lightning,” with 259 yards and an average of 5.4 yards per carry.

The Warriors’ Keegan Gantala dives for extra yardage in the second quarter last Saturday against Pac-5. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

The Warriors’ bread and butter has always been the passing game and this season is no different. Kamaka-Brayce is the school record-holder in career passing yards — with more than 4,000 — and he is one of the most prolific passer in MIL history.

This season Kamaka-Brayce has 1,602 yards on 109-of-171 passing, but more eye-popping are his 22 touchdown passes to just four interceptions. He is also the team’s third-leading rusher with 153 yards and a 5.3 ypc average on the ground.

Senior Dylan Schnitzer leads the team with 35 receptions and 611 yards, and his seven TD catches are tied for the team lead with Abreu.

Frank Kahoa Abreu’s younger brother, Frank Kapohai Abreu, is a freshman and also a big threat for the Warriors from the wide receiver position.

“Yeah, they’re solid, I mean Frank (Kapohai) he’s just following in his brother’s footsteps and he has potential to be just as good as his brother,” Kamaka-Brayce said at practice Wednesday.

Kahoa Abreu is the school’s all-time receiving leader with more than 2,000 yards in his career.

“Man, it’s been super fun, you know a lot of those yards have been like the one-on-one matchups and I just trust him in those matchups and just the amount of reps we’ve gotten in practice together has made us effective,” Kamaka-Brayce said. “I just know he’s going to be there and he’s super good on the slants in the red zone — we’ve just thrown a lot of those the last three years.”

Josh Kerr is a 5-10, 215-pound senior defensive lineman/linebacker for the Warriors.

“When we went to states our sophomore year and played against Kapaa, like, Kauai has big boys,” Kerr said. “I mean, our team we get a couple big boys. We’re not as big as them, but what we need as a defense to stop them is — since they’re big, we have speed. Some of our boys, we have some size, but we’re mostly fast.

“We’re fast, fast players, fast D-line, fast linebackers. So agility I think we have on our side, our defense is agility athletes.”

Pa’ani Yap is a 5-11, 160-pound senior defensive back who also remembers the devastating loss in the state final two years ago.

“I mean, it’s super important to us boys that came back from our sophomore year and didn’t finish the job, but for our school it means everything for us,” Yap said. “I don’t remember hearing the last time that our school won a state football championship.

“With the camaraderie of our boys and our seniors that we have, and all the young kids that are stepping up to fill the roles of injured people, I mean it’s great to see the effort and the energy that our players bring.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

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FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

DIVISION II

Today’s Game • Championship

No. 2 Kamehameha Maui vs. No. 1 Waimea at Mililani, 4 p.m. (OC16)

DIVISION I

Today’s Game • Championship

No. 1 Konawaena vs. No. 2 Waipahu at Mililani, 7 p.m. (OC16)

OPEN DIVISION

Friday’s Result • Championship

Kahuku 21, No. 1 Mililani 19

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