An elimination-type showdown in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and two big matchups in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association highlight this weekend's football action.

Tonight at Aloha Stadium, Kamehameha takes on Punahou in a matchup of teams trying to stay in the hunt for the ILH's Division I championship. Both are 0-1 in league play, each losing to Saint Louis.

Avoiding an 0-2 start is critical; since 1994, only once (Punahou, 2005) has the ILH champion finished the regular season with more than one loss.

And though Punahou is ranked No. 3 and Kamehameha No. 4 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, only the ILH champion receives a Division I state tournament berth.

In the OIA Red (Division I) Conference, two big matchups in the Western and Eastern divisions have championship implications. In the West, No. 2-ranked Leilehua plays host to No. 7 Wai'anae tonight at Hugh Yoshida Stadium, and in the East, No. 6 Kahuku plays upstart Kaimuki tomorrow at Roosevelt's Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.

The Leilehua-Wai'anae game will be televised live on OC16.

Here is a closer look at each game, as well as an ILH DII matchup between Damien and No. 9 'Iolani:

KAMEHAMEHA VS. PUNAHOU

When: Tonight, 7:45

Where: Aloha Stadium

Records: Kamehameha 3-2 overall, 0-1 ILH; Punahou 3-1, 0-1

Advertiser ranking: Punahou No. 3, Kamehameha No. 4.

Last week: Kamehameha lost to Saint Louis, 28-20; Punahou had a bye

Notable: The Warriors led Saint Louis, 20-14, midway through the third quarter before the Crusaders rallied for their fourth win without a loss. Kamehameha running back Ryan Ho rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, but the Warriors were held to only 96 yards passing ... In Punahou's last game, the Buffanblu trailed Saint Louis 34-6 at one point before losing, 40-19. Punahou was held to minus-2 yards rushing. ... Buffanblu senior quarterback Cayman Shutter returned from a shoulder injury to start the Saint Louis game, but completed just 4 of 11 passes for 63 yards. Kimo Makaula then moved over from receiver/tight end and completed 14 of 21 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but he also was intercepted twice. ... Punahou defeated Kamehameha twice last season, but before that the Warriors had been dominating the series in the past decade, winning 19 of the 21 meetings since 1997.

WAI'ANAE AT LEILEHUA

When: Tonight, 7:30

Where: Hugh Yoshida Stadium

Records: Leilehua 5-0 overall, 3-0 OIA Red West; Wai'anae 3-2, 3-0

Advertiser ranking: Leilehua No. 2, Wai'anae No. 7

Last week: Leilehua defeated Pearl City, 33-12; Wai'anae defeated Nanakuli, 20-0

Notable: Leilehua receiver Edieson Dumlao sat out last week's game after suffering a mild concussion Sept. 12 against Kapolei, but Cheves Aberilla Ramento stepped in and caught seven passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns vs. Pearl City. ... Mules quarterback Andrew Manley completed 20 of 26 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Rico Newman threw a 63-yard TD pass to Aberilla Ramento. ... Leilehua held the Chargers to 22 yards rushing, but Pearl City gained 274 yards through the air. ... Wai'anae running back Danny Kekoanui rushed for 160 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries against Nanakuli. Nine other Seariders carried the ball as Wai'anae finished with 229 yards on the ground. ... The Seariders held the Golden Hawks to 31 yards rushing.

DAMIEN AT 'IOLANI

When: Tomorrow, 2 p.m.

Where: Eddie Hamada Field

Records: 'Iolani 5-1overall, 3-0 ILH; Damien 5-1, 2-1

Advertiser ranking: 'Iolani No. 9, Damien unranked

Last week: 'Iolani defeated Pac-Five, 48-17; Damien defeated Word of Life, 20-7

Notable: This is the second and final scheduled meeting between the two teams this season. 'Iolani won the first time around, 27-21, after leading 21-0 at halftime before Damien rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Raiders quarterback Jarrett Arakawa completed 19 of 29 passes for 300 yards and three TDs in that game, with five passes going to receiver Brandon Ball for 118 yards. Arakawa was 13 of 23 for 264 yards and three touchdowns against Pac-Five last week. ... Damien running back Brenan Furtado rushed for 136 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries in the first meeting, and followed that with a 200-yard, five-TD performance the following week against Pac-Five. He had 124 yards — including a 92-yard touchdown — in last week's victory over Word of Life.

KAHUKU VS. KAIMUKI

When: Tomorrow, about 25 minutes after 4 p.m. JV game

Where: Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium, Roosevelt

Records: Kahuku 4-1 overall, 3-0 OIA Red East; Kaimuki 3-2, 2-1

Advertiser ranking: Kahuku No. 6, Kaimuki unranked

Last week: Kahuku defeated McKinley, 30-6; Kaimuki defeated Roosevelt, 27-6

Notable: Kahuku has won four straight games since opening the season with a 35-0 loss to Kamehameha. The Red Raiders rushed for 320 yards against McKinley last week. Defensively, they held the Tigers to 2 yards rushing. ... Kaimuki showed a balanced attack against Roosevelt last week, rushing for 177 yards and passing for 213. Chris Fiamete had eight catches for 146 yards and one touchdown. ... The Bulldogs held the Rough Riders to 65 yards rushing and 93 passing.

CORRECTION

Kalani will forfeit its next three games — against 'Aiea, Campbell and Radford — due to a lack of eligible and healthy players, athletic director Greg Van Cantfort announced yesterday.

Six of the 25 players on the Falcons roster are ineligible and cannot be reinstated until the next grade check, which is Oct. 27.

Van Cantfort said the season finale against Anuenue on Oct. 17 might be played if some JV players are promoted to varsity at that point.

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com