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KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Saturday’s Far East Divisions I and II title games offer quite the contrast in styles.

Daegu visiting Matthew C. Perry signals a visit into uncharted territory, the teams having never faced each other and only familiar with each other’s game plans through facing other opponents who play similar styles. Kickoff of the D-II title game is at noon.

Kadena at Kubasaki, six hours later on Okinawa, features teams all too familiar with each other. The teams squared off four times last season – including the Dragons’ 34-31 overtime win in the D-I title game last Nov. 9 – and two more times this season.

“Two great programs, two great traditions, two great groups of young men and two great coaching staffs,” Kubasaki coach Fred Bales said. “In one sense, it’s another day at the office; in another, it’s a championship game. It’s another game, but some are bigger than others.”

Bales could easily be speaking for three of the four teams in action on Saturday. Daegu, the reigning D-II champion, will appear in its sixth title game and has three victories to its credit. Kadena is entered in its seventh D-I title game, winning three, while Kubasaki, in its fifth final – including the last four – is trying to match Kadena’s title total.

Only the Samurai, back as a varsity program after an 11-year hiatus, are new to November Madness. While the coaching staff knows what’s at stake, head coach Frank Macias says “for the kids, it’s all new. It’s just another game.”

But while the teams haven’t set eyes on each other, they each know what the other team does: Daegu operates out of a spread-option and Perry a power running game.

The Samurai (5-1 overall, 4-0 D-II) have faced three spread teams this season in Robert D. Edgren, Zama and American School In Japan. And the Warriors (6-1, 5-1) have played two teams, Osan and Seoul American, that incorporate power concepts into their offenses.

“We’ve been working … to ensure that our offense is sharp and crisp at what we do,” Daegu coach Ken Walter said. “I’m sure they’re doing the same thing.”

Having seen film of Warriors games, Macias referred to Walter as a good coach and Daegu as a fast team. “We’re going to have our hands full with them,” Macias said.

Primary on the Samurai’s watch list are Daegu’s running back tandem of DeAndre Rosalie (627 yards, eight touchdowns, 66 carries) and DeMarco Andrews (1,125, 16, 63). The Warriors, meanwhile, must buckle down on burly Perry backs Caeleb Ricafrente and Mick Carreiro (combined 719 yards, nine touchdowns).

“Three yards and a cloud of dust vs. getting the big play at any time,” Macias said. “How they will compare to Edgren and Zama? We’ll see.”

Speed and quickness are the hallmarks of Kubasaki (5-2, 4-1 D-I), which gets much of its production from the passing game, and Kadena (5-2, 3-2), which relies on its own hybrid spread-power attack.

Dragons quarterback DeCurtis Davis, a junior, leads the Pacific in offensive touchdowns, with 25, and is 78-for-137 for 1,116 yards and has 317 yards on 90 carries. Senior back Winston Maxwell complements Davis with 738 yards on 118 carries.

While Barry Mitchell and Kortez Hixon can be dangerous running options, most of the Panthers’ production comes from senior Justin Sego (1,260 yards, 13 touchdowns, 132 carries). Kubasaki has won twice this season against Kadena. Panthers coach Sergio Mendoza said he doesn’t feel either side will depart much from what they’ve done to be successful.

“We just need to try to execute better,” Mendoza said, adding that Kubasaki “did the basics better” in their first two meetings. “We’re going to try to fix that.”

ornauer.dave@stripes.com

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Dave Ornauer has been employed by or assigned to Stars and Stripes Pacific almost continuously since March 5, 1981. He covers interservice and high school sports at DODEA-Pacific schools and manages the Pacific Storm Tracker.

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