After a rocky coaching change last spring that threatened to divide the program, Kaua'i High School's football team is back where it had been the previous four years and feels it rightfully belongs: on the field in November, as a league champion preparing for a state tournament game.

The five-time reigning Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation champion Red Raiders (7-1) will face O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Conference runner-up Roosevelt (6-3-1) in a Division II first-round game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Vidinha Stadium in Lihu'e.

The game will be televised live statewide on OC16.

"I'm really proud of the boys and the coaching staff," said Derek Borrero, Kaua'i's first-year head coach. "They expected to stay at this level, with a chance to compete for a state championship again. It's a cohesive team, and it's stayed strong."

Just seven months ago, the future of the program was cast in doubt after longtime coach Keli'i Morgado was abruptly replaced by Borrero, who had been the JV coach. Morgado publicly questioned the school administration's hiring procedures, and eventually filed an unsuccessful lawsuit.

Players on the varsity and JV — 90 of whom reportedly signed a petition saying they wanted Morgado as their coach — expressed feelings of confusion, and several pondered whether to continue playing football.

"One of the keys was the seniors, because they paid the biggest price," Borrero said. "They had a close relationship with Coach Morgado — he taught them not just how to win, but he also taught them how to be good adults. So (the transition) was rough on them.

"But this game of football closely resembles things you have to go through in life, the struggles and the challenges you will have to face. This whole experience has taught them some of that."

It also was not easy on Borrero, who said he would have been satisfied staying on as the JV head coach.

"I had no intentions of stepping on anyone's toes," Borrero said. "But when things fell the way they did, the program had to move forward."

Borrero's first decision as head coach was to change as little as possible. He retained most of Morgado's assistants and the program's characteristics.

"The staff knows exactly what to do, and I tried to duplicate (Morgado's) schemes on offense and defense," Borrero said. "I did not change a lot of stuff, down to when we eat and watch film, to what we wear ... the system wasn't broken, so I had no intentions of trying to fix it. The success still comes from the hard work Coach Morgado and his staff had put in for eight years."

The Red Raiders opened the season with two impressive nonleague victories over Kea'au (36-6) and Hilo (40-0), then began the regular season with a 42-0 whitewash of Kapa'a.

They fell to Waimea, 16-14, on Sept. 14, but haven't lost since.

"Whenever a team has a coaching transition, that's usually the perfect time for opponents to strike," Borrero said. "I remember we did that, when Jon Kobayashi left Waimea. But our motto since spring has been to win another championship, and we really didn't miss a step. That's one of the things I'm very proud of for the kids. Very few programs can handle change as well as they did, and they really stepped up."

Kaua'i still employs a dangerous run-and-shoot offense, which is now directed by junior quarterback Trent Allianic, who took over for a starter on academic probation. He has two tall veteran receivers in 6-foot-3 Tyrus Ceria-Lux and 6-foot-2 John Gebauer, and senior linemen Dayson Nambu, Schyler Arakaki and Michael Julian anchor the line.

The defense is led by defensive lineman Chad Koga, middle linebacker Darren Satta and defensive back Keala Lovell. Punt and kick returner Brandon Largusa has led the special teams.

But the key, Borrero said, has been the Red Raiders' unity and work ethic.

"They had to go through this experience together," he said. "In order to achieve what we did, it took a lot of hard work from everybody involved."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.