Nobody’s really happy about this weekend.

From Kealakekua to Lihue, the questions from media and fans aren’t different, and the biggest one is, “Why are we seeded so low?”

Division II football. With the start of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Championships this weekend, there will be plenty of jawboning about what the seeding committee decided. But there hasn’t been a question about the top seed, five-time defending champion ‘Iolani.

It’s the second seed that was, and still is, heavily coveted. The Division I and II tournaments have six teams each, which means the top two seeds in either format get first-round byes.

Radford fans are upset that their OIA White championship team is seeded fifth. Kauai supporters are stunned about a fourth seed.

Konawaena was seeded third by the HHSAA committee behind second-seeded Lahainaluna. The Wildcats, who have been ranked in the Star-Advertiser Football Top 10 for most of the season, traveled to Oahu in preseason to play perennial D-II power ‘Iolani, hoping that the seeding committee would be swayed by a strong performance. Konawaena nearly upset ‘Iolani at the Father Bray Classic in August — the Raiders rallied for a 43-40 win.

But instead of winning a seed and that coveted bye, the Wildcats have a home game on Saturday against Nanakuli.

“We fought for that and lobbied for that bye, but you know, it is what it is,” Konawaena coach Cliff Walters said. “I would’ve liked to have had a bye because you know the history of that situation. If it’s our fate, it’ll work out.”

Walters pointed to last year’s tourney, when Lahainaluna stifled Konawaena 23-6.

“Had we beaten Lahainaluna, we probably would’ve been seeded 2 (this year),” he said.

Lunas co-head coach Garret Tihada doesn’t mind keeping his team behind a curtain, particularly since they’ve already had two weeks off since the end of the MIL season.

“I like the bye. I don’t care who you are. At this time of year, guaranteed you’re banged up. An extra week of rest really helps,” he said.

Below is a look at the opening-round, D-II matchups.

Radford (10-1) at Kauai (8-1), 3 p.m. Saturday, Vidinha Stadium

On paper: Red Raiders football has a distinct look these days, with coach Corey Aguano at the helm. Though the Red Raiders can and will throw the ball, they’re a run-first team with a stable of talented running backs. That’s a far cry from the run-and-shoot aerial show of previous years.

Reggie McFadden (ankle) and Waika Alapai, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound blazer, give Kauai one of its best 1-2 combos at running back ever.

“Reggie’s not healthy yet. Hopefully, he’ll be back. Waika should be up and running by this weekend,” Aguano said.

Though the position is basically a time share among a committee of ballcarriers, Alapai has been very productive. His biggest outputs were against Kapaa (22 carries, 131 yards, one touchdown) and King Kekaulike (14-151-2). He is probably one of the top 10 athletes in the state, on raw ability alone. Some misbehavior kept him sidelined for most of his three years at Kapaa. He transferred to Kauai before the season.

“He’s a good kid. He just needs direction and he’s got to want it,” Aguano said.

Radford has ridden the ups and downs of first-year starter Cody Lui-Yuen. The 6-3, 205-pound junior has passed for 2,356 yards, 29 touchdowns and 13 picks. He’s had big games — 312 yards and three touchdowns against Nanakuli — and some struggles. He was

8-for-32 for 107 yards in last week’s tough OIA White title victory over Nanakuli, but threw only one pick.

Coach Fred Salanoa has continued to bank on him. Lui-Yuen, a lefty with a three-quarter throwing motion, has racked up at least 30 pass attempts in seven of his team’s 10 games. His main target, sophomore Jameson Pasigan, has 44 receptions for 683 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, Pasigan has scored in only one of his past six games as defenses have closed in.

The skinny: The game will kick off at 3 p.m. due to issues concerning Newell’s Shearwater, an endangered bird that flies into the stadium lights when they are on at night. Rather than pay a hefty $25,000 fine, the KIF has played afternoon games for the past two seasons.

In the KIF, Kauai is used to both day games and ground-and-pound attacks. Radford running back Chris Jackson (5-9, 175) is the primary weapon, running out of a shotgun set. He’s also the team’s second-leading receiver.

Will another Ram step into the forefront? Lui-Yuen rarely runs with the ball, and rather than tangle with high-risk situations, Salanoa will usually trust his defense.

Linebackers Isaac Alualu (5-9, 175) and Mana Kakiva (5-11, 215) are high-motor stoppers who put a lid on Nanakuli’s offense last week.

“It’s a testament to how hard they train and condition. These kids have the heart of a lion, pushing through injuries.

Radford’s game last week was televised statewide, so the Red Raiders have an edge, perhaps.

“Radford has some talented players out there. They’re similar to Kapaa’s linebackers, very active,” said Aguano, who is counting on his offensive line to execute. “Our line is young. We’ve only got two seniors.”

X factor: Radford has an obstacle that is unique, flying to Kauai on Saturday morning, then preparing for a mid-afternoon kickoff.

“We wanted to go overnight, but the HHSAA said no. There’s nothing we can do about it and times are hard right now,” Salanoa said. “Hopefully, we can pull it off and come back and face ‘Iolani in the semifinals.”

The Rams have traveled well early in the season, going to Crescent Valley (Ore.) and winning 21-17.

Nanakuli (6-4) at No. 10 Konawaena (9-4), 7 p.m. Saturday

On paper: The Golden Hawks are playing in the state tournament for the first time. In fact, the last time they played beyond the OIA regular season and playoffs was in 1983, when they lost to Saint Louis 15-13 in the Oahu Prep Bowl. Their playoff run this year includes a stunning comeback win over Kaiser, which had been first in the OIA White regular season.

Quarterback/safety Chazz Troutman can be a dynamo when unleashed. His 247 rushing yards against Kalani were the most by a quarterback this year.

Nanakuli was on the verge of going ahead late in the OIA White title game last week before fumbling away the ball at the goal line and eventually losing 21-6 to Radford.

“I think they should’ve won the game,” Konawaena coach Cliff Walters said of Nanakuli. “As fate might have it, we might have been better off playing the other team (Radford). Everybody (in BIIF D-II) throws the ball. Nanakuli has balance.”

Konawaena lost in last year’s state tourney to Lahainaluna 23-6, but has been on a tear this season, even with three games forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player. Only one of those forfeits was in league competition. They closed BIIF play with a 32-28 win at Kamehameha-Hawaii.

The Wildcats have one of the state’s most productive passing attacks. Junior Kahoali‘i Karratti has 2,655 yards, 41 touchdowns and just seven picks. Favorite targets Domonic Morris (32 receptions, 728 yards, 13 touchdowns) and Kenan Gaspar (27, 678, 10) are big-play artists.

John Kamoku had a career-high 231 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win over KS-Hawaii. Kamoku now has 1,180 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 10.9 yards per carry.

“John stepped up. He’s not a big kid, but he stepped up and did what he had to do,” Walters said.

The Golden Hawks will prepare for Kamoku, a converted quarterback with breakaway speed.

“We’re just excited to be where we’re at for the school and the community,” Nanakuli coach Skip Lopes said. “All I know is (Konawaena) is 9-1. They’re the Big Island champ and you don’t go 9-1 if you’re not good. I don’t care if they pass, I told my players you have to stop the run. … Against Kaiser, we stopped the run, not realizing that Mr. (Kai) Gonda was sitting out (with an injury). We played Radford, we stopped their passing game except for one play, but we didn’t stop their running game, which killed us.”

The skinny: All of Konawaena’s pinball-machine statistics don’t tell the whole story. Most of Konawaena’s competition in D-II of the BIIF was nowhere near state-tourney level. Two teams forfeited their seasons before the year was done.

Which brings it all back to the ‘Iolani game. Kamoku had a 69-yard touchdown run, but left early with an injury.

Defensively, Konawaena will face one of the state’s top option quarterbacks in Troutman, who has 6-foot-4 bookends to hoist alley-oop passes to: Joseph Shelton and Lansen Liki.

The Wildcats, led by linebacker Mikey Rabara, saw their share of option attacks in the BIIF, but Walters is wary of what the Golden Hawks can do.

“The thing that troubles me is their quarterback can run and their tailback (Brandon Felisi) is the real deal. He’s fast, he’s shifty. He troubles me,” Walters said. “This kid is shifty and he’s got a good fullback in front of him. I think we’ve got some headaches coming because we’re so used to stopping the pass.”

Lopes doesn’t have much more depth than he did a few years ago, when the Hawks struggled to field a team. The difference now is more commitment by players, and a core of physical, hard-nosed defenders like linebacker Dezmond Kaaihue. They limited Radford’s offense to 174 total yards.

Nanakuli’s savvy game plan, chewing up big chunks of time and milking the clock, could be thwarted on Saturday. Konawaena is willing to go vertical often, which means defenders like Troutman could be exhausted by the final quarter.

But Nanakuli has the capability to counter Konawaena’s explosiveness. Felisi rushed for 101 yards and caught six passes for 65 yards in the loss to Radford. But it was his fumble at the goal line that proved to be the difference. If the Golden Hawks can count on the versatile 5-foot-11, 153-pound senior, they might neutralize the Wildcats enough to pull off a first: a state-tournament win.

X factor: Julian Yates Field sits on the Konawaena campus, upslope in rural Kealakekua. During the Wildcats’ heyday in the 1980s as a BIIF dynasty, crowds of up to 4,000 cheered on for the region’s only high school.

Since Walters’ arrival last year, the Wildcats have not lost a home game. The team’s last home defeat was on Oct. 22, 2010, a 35-20 loss to Honokaa.