In boxing, the old saying is that "styles make fights."

In tomorrow's First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championship semifinal between Baldwin (10-0-1) and Kahuku (9-2), contrasting styles should make for a highly entertaining showdown.

Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. at Aloha Stadium, and it won't take long for fans to see the differences in offensive philosophy.

"We like to run, that's what we do, and they like to pass, that's what they do," Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. "Each works for each program."

That definitely is true.

Baldwin's attack produced 362 yards last Friday in a 22-17 victory over Mililani, including 290 through the air.

The Bears feature a big, strong quarterback in junior Jordan Helle (6 feet 2, 200 pounds) and two tall, athletic receivers in junior Chase Nakamura (6-3, 170) and senior Colten Quinabo (5-11, 180). Against Mililani, Helle completed 21 of 31 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns — all three TDs to Nakamura (seven catches, 114 yards).

Helle also went to slotback Ikaika Lau (5 for 70) and Skyler Cabacungun (3 for 30), and running back Chansi Bolosan kept the Trojans defense honest with 77 tough yards on 15 carries.

"These guys have a lot of skilled receivers and a good running back," said Torres, who scouted the game at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku. "They'll line up with up to five guys wide; it'll be tough to match up with all those receivers."

The matchups will be even tougher for the Red Raiders without starting cornerback Jedi Malufau, who is out for the season with a fractured leg.

"We'll have to disguise our coverages, switching back and forth from man to zone," Torres said. "Fortunately for us, we have a good front four (on the defensive line) and those guys and our linebackers should be able to cover the run. We'll try to pressure their quarterback and make him throw the ball earlier than he wants to. It'll be tough because he's already in a shotgun (formation), but we'll have to find a way to get to him."

Mililani coach James Millwood said the Trojans tried to blitz Helle, but he would take deeper drops and still had the arm strength to complete passes after staying in the pocket till the last possible moment.

"We tried to get to him, but he would drop back five or six yards from the shotgun, so he still had time to throw," Millwood said. "I give (Helle) credit, because when he did get hit, he got right up off the ground."

The Bears' offensive line — left tackle Sione Via (6-1, 244), left guard Keala Maiava (6-1, 286), center Erwin Pestrana (5-11, 188), right guard Sean Tesoro (6-0, 260) and right tackle Joshua Awai (5-11, 233) — allowed zero sacks last week, but faces a new challenge against Kahuku's relentless front seven led by linemen Kaniela Tuipulotu (6-2, 290), Malone Fiso (6-2, 260) and Nai Fotu (5-11, 242) and linebackers Siaosi Tafuna (5-11, 210), Paipai Falemalu (6-2, 205) and Kulia Pickard (5-11, 190).

"The key to the game will be controlling their pass rush and having Jordan make the right reads and hitting the open receiver," Baldwin coach Jimmy Morimoto said. "We've gone over their fronts, blitzes and coverages, so the key will be to block those guys and if Jordan feels the heat, he needs to know where his outlet (receiver) is."

For Kahuku, the challenge will be to again win almost exclusively with a ground attack.

Amazingly, the Red Raiders have completed only one pass in their three postseason victories. And that was for a 5-yard touchdown to the tight end.

But Morimoto said Kahuku's punishing ground game has a cumulative effect on opponents.

"Watching film, other teams loaded the box but their game plan seems to be to pound the ball until they break one," Morimoto said. "And it usually happens in the fourth quarter, that's when they break one. That could be a problem for us, too, because we're smaller and our line could take some punishment."

Kahuku also keeps fresh legs in the game by rotating running backs Lehi Aumua, Neal Lokotui and Junior Mata'afa.

"We'll have to make sure tackles and can't let them sustain drives," Morimoto said. "We'll have to rely on the conditioning we've done over the whole year and hope we can force them into some three-and-outs."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.