You can't tell top from bottom in O'ahu Interscholastic Association Western Division football.

Expect a down-to-the-wire race for five playoff spots in a division where all seven teams are contenders, the coaches say.

Division play opens tonight with defending co-division champion Wai'anae hosting Mililani at Raymond Torii Field. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on OC16.

"Top to bottom, the West might be the toughest division on O'ahu," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said.

The West went 5-1 in last week's non-league games. Radford fell to Pac-Five of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, 21-12; Campbell's game was canceled when its stadium lights didn't function because of copper wire theft.

"Every week is going to be a tough week," 'Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "It's going to come down to who stays healthy."

The Seariders (1-0) are coming off an impressive 21-7 win against East contender Farrington. Wai'anae's defense looked like it hadn't lost a beat from last year. The Seariders' wing-T also looked good.

"They surprised me, Saturday night, to see our offense move the ball," Wai'anae coach Dan Matsumoto said.

Wai'anae returns quarterback Ben McQuown, who must avoid those triple-interception games that he had against Farrington, and running backs Justin Kauwalu and Danny Kekoanui.

The Trojans (1-0) are led by third-year starting quarterback Rustin Funakoshi, who guided the Trojans to the West title as a sophomore. First-year coach Darnell Arceneaux has high expectations of him.

"We're going to let him use that (experience) and let him make plays," said Arceneaux, also the offensive coordinator. "Sometimes as a coach, you can over do it and make things harder than it needs to be. We're just letting him play. He doesn't have to win the game. Guys like even Colt Brennan lets the guys (around him) do all the work."

At Leilehua (1-0), who shared the title with Wai'anae, just how hard is it to replace three-year starting quarterback Bryant Moniz? Coach Nolan Tokuda is letting Kaipo Kea and Kaipo DeRego share the position. Neither will leave the field since both also play slotback.

The Mules open Saturday against Radford (0-1) at Hugh Yoshida Stadium in Wahiawa. The game is called the Spirit of Freedom Bowl because of each school's ties to the military in their communities. Tokuda said it's like Army-Navy because of the Schofield-Pearl Harbor relationship to each school.

"I like our chances (in the division)," Tokuda said. "But you can't count out any team."

Kapolei (1-0) also returns a third-year starting quarterback in Mason Koa, who passed for 1,254 yards and rushed for 834. Like Funakoshi, he will be cut loose.

"He's matured a lot," Hernandez said. "He's more capable of reading defenses. He's put on some weight, he's up to 205, so that will make him more sturdy."

'Aiea (1-0), beset by injuries last season, is always a threat in the West, especially with running back Daniel Li'ili'i, while Radford (0-1) returns quarterback Epa Maika, who passed for 910 yards last season.

Campbell went untested in non-league with the cancellation of its game last week against Roosevelt. It could be a tough transition to live game action from practice scrimmages.

"Game speed will be the biggest transition," Campbell coach Tumoana Kenessey said.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.