Wai'anae's first-round opponent in Saturday's First Hawaiian Bank Football State Championships is a familiar one, and though Kealakehe has a first-year head coach, he's also no stranger to the Seariders.

The game is set for 7 p.m. at Kealakehe Stadium in Kailua, Kona.

It is the third straight year the Waveriders, Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions, will face Wai'anae in the first round of the state tournament. The Seariders won at Kealakehe, 21-14, two years ago and defeated the Waveriders, 28-14, in Wai'anae last season.

This time, Kealakehe (10-2) is guided by Gary Clark, a former Leilehua all-star quarterback and head coach who also coached at 'Aiea. Clark moved to Arizona in 1995 and coached there for two years, then became an assistant coach at Timpview (Provo, Utah) in 1998 and stayed there until taking the helm at Kealakehe last summer.

"It was hard to leave Timpview, it was a great program," Clark said. "We had 13 starting underclassmen last year. But my wife had put a bug in my ear to move back home, and my daughter lives on the Big Island. I had heard about this opening, so I threw my name in the hat."

But Clark did not start his new job until June, and did not meet the players until July.

"We got a late start, and it was tough trying to put a package together in such a short time," Clark said. "But I'm pleased with the progress we made, and the season went great."

The Waveriders opened with a 23-21 victory over Scotts Valley (Calif.), then ran off seven straight BIIF victories before a 27-21 loss to Kea'au last month. Kealakehe rebounded with a 27-2 win over Honoka'a, but fell to Waiakea, 28-27, in the regular season finale.

The Waveriders had won the BIIF first round title and had no chance of winning the second round, so the loss to Waiakea did not have a big impact on Kealakehe. The Waveriders came back one week later to rout the Warriors, 50-13, in the league championship game.

Kealakehe, which was led by standout running back Gabe Tuata last year, brings a more pas-oriented game into this year's state tournament.

Quarterback Kawai Kanuha, a transfer from Konawaena, has led the state in passing yards for much of the season and now has 175 completions in 304 attempts for 3,043 yards and 33 touchdowns, with nine interceptions.

That includes a 472-yard outing last month.

"He's got a great arm and a lot of potential, because he's still learning the game and our system, how to read defenses," said Clark, who added that Kanuha has received recruiting interest from Penn State. "He's going to surprise a lot of people."

Kanuha's favorite target has been receiver Jordan Ursua (61 catches for 972 yards, 10 TDs), but running back Keoki Limahai and receiver Kenny Whiting also have been among the state's leading pass catchers all season.

"They're good possession receivers, but they're also track runners so they are quick," Clark said.

Limahai has led the ground game with 624 yards and 11 touchdowns on 103 carries.

"The whole offense had to learn a different system because last year it was based more on a running game," Clark said. "We've had to progress as a line, and everybody's still had less than a year to get used to it."

Defensively, Clark said the Waveriders play well as a unit.

"We have a lot of young people out there," said Clark, who added junior linebacker Andrew West has been a steady contributor.

Clark said Kealakehe's players are determined to break through the state tournament first-round barrier, which has been an impenetrable wall for BIIF champions for the past eight years.

"From Day 1, the attitude of the athletes here was that they want to be a good team at the state level," Clark said. "They want to show they can compete with the O'ahu teams, and they've made the commitment to work hard for it and get to the next level. But they know it's going to take a lot of work."

Wai'anae coach Danny Matsumoto said opportunities to scout the Waveriders in person or on film have been limited.

"We know the coach and team we're facing is tough, and the hard part is they know a lot more about us than we know about them," Matsumoto said. "Not knowing them, it's going to be hard to prepare."

Read Wes Nakama's blog on prep sports at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com .

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.