This is no easy route for the ILH champion and four-time defending state champion Saint Louis Crusaders.

Saint Louis (5-3, 2-2 ILH regular season) has reigned in the Open Division long enough to be in dynasty mode. However, coach Ron Lee has major concerns about OIA runner-up Mililani (5-2, 5-1 OIA). The two powerhouse programs meet on Saturday, 7 p.m., at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium in the semifinal round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships.

“Mililani is very scary. They got a good O-line and move the ball well. Defensively, they’re very quick and they tackle well. That’s the most impressive (thing). They move well. They’re not very big, but they put pressure and the linebackers cover,” Lee said.

Mililani is coming off a 21-14 loss to No. 1 Kahuku in the OIA championship game. Saint Louis has not played since Nov. 5, when it defeated Kamehameha, 35-21, for the ILH crown.

The Crusaders have kept their noses to the grindstone. Lee watched the OIA final closely.

“They don’t miss tackles. Kahuku had one big play and they got a fumble recovery on the punt for two touchdowns. Defensively, this time they really shut down Kahuku. They’re well coached on defense,” Lee said.

A big factor for Mililani could be wide receiver/defensive back Gavin Hunter, who has made impactful plays in recent weeks. The speedy junior ran back an interception 50 yards for a touchdown.

Saint Louis saw its offensive consistency increase when quarterback AJ Bianco gained more game experience. Bianco went from pocket passer to dual threat during the rugged ILH schedule. The football-basketball standout showed speed that caught defenses off guard. At 6 feet 4 and 220 pounds, he also takes on tacklers occasionally and isn’t afraid to use a stiff arm when needed.

Bianco has passed for 2,338 yards and 14 TDs with six interceptions. His completion rate, just a hair under 70%, and passer rating (169.5) have increased with each week.

He is also Saint Louis’ leading rusher with 432 yards (4.9 per carry) and 10 TDs. The Crusaders beefed up their ground attack in the latter half of the season, using an elephant formation and personnel. That offers another potentially lethal play-action element when they’re not lined up in a classic four-wide set.

“AJ has gotten so much better just from playing. Where he was our last three games, he was 17-for-17, 21-for-24, he was doing some really good things, running for 350 yards. But that was seven, eight weeks ago,” Lee said. “I think he’ll be fine. The receivers, the timing is better. We’ve just got to be ready and focused to play.”

Trech Kekahuna (52 receptions, 636 yards, two TDs) and Jaysen Peters-de Laura (44, 507) have been difficult to cover. Mason Muaau (16, 424, four) and Devon Tauaefa (19, 378, three) provide taller red-zone targets for Bianco.

The longest season in Lee’s five decades of coaching is more like two separate seasons thanks to the break between the ILH season and state tourney.

“Well, I think we did all we could at practice considering it’s been almost two months. We’re not going to know how we play until Saturday. We did a lot of heavy work the last couple weeks, 12 practices we went really hard,” Lee said.

Coming back from roughly two weeks of rest after the ILH campaign required some caution.

“I think they’ve handled it well. We went in three phases. Conditioning. Weights. And then we started to do a little bit of a normal practices, 7-on-7s, get back in a rhythm and the last two weeks, a lot of 11-on-11, a lot of contact trying to get game ready as best we can,” Lee said. “I feel good where we’re at. You get in the game, there’s other things that come up. We were playing really good football defensively and offensively, then the break.”

The element that provides plenty of motivation for Saint Louis is the two spring-season scrimmages between the Crusaders and Mililani’s JPS club team, Mill Vill Trojans.

“We go back a ways. We scrimmaged twice and they gave us all we could handle. Watching their season, outside of Kahuku, (Mililani) didn’t give out many points. Everybody they played they shut out, pretty much. They’re really solid on defense. And the last game with Kahuku, a couple of plays cost them,” Lee said. “They’re really a solid team. They’re like us where they struggle at times offensively, but defensively, they’re good, solid football team.”

Mililani’s offense has morphed over time with former reserve quarterback Emana Tarape. The junior was in learn-on-the-job mode after starter Kini McMillan suffered a season-ending injury early on. Tarape has passed for 905 yards and 12 TDs with eight picks. He can hand the ball off to Nehemiah Timoteo, a bruising running back who has 488 yards and three TDs.

Mililani has depth at wide receiver with Lando Werner-Celes, Hunter, Raymond Roller, John Herold-Namu, Kapono Hookana-Sallas and Jensyn McGee.