Watch out, because there’s another Malepeai running the ball for Mililani.
It’s not Vavae Malepeai, Hawaii’s all-time leading rusher who graduated in 2016 and is now playing for USC. It’s his brother, Kilifi Malepeai, and he stormed onto the scene in high-flying fashion Friday night, rushing for 103 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of a 47-0 Oahu Interscholastic Association Red football victory over Leilehua at John Kauinana Stadium.
“Kliff (Kilifi), that’s one whole ’nother beautiful Malepeai right there,” Mililani offensive lineman Scottie Agasiva said. “I think he’s better than Vae. I’m not just saying that. I really believe that. The work he puts in off the field determines why he is so good. Those runs he made, that’s all him. He’s a hard worker. Takes no days off. Any injuries he might have, he’s still out there.”
FOLLOW ALONGA game of interest not on the radio or TV? Then follow our live blogs on HawaiiPrepWorld.com. Here are the bloggers for today’s games:
>> Kalani vs. Kaimuki, at Aloha Stadium, 5 p.m.
>> Castle at Kapolei, 6:30 p.m.
>> Aiea at Campbell, 6:30 p.m.
>> Kalaheo vs. McKinley, at Skippa Diaz, 6:30 p.m.
>> Roosevelt vs. Pearl City, at Aloha Stadium, 7:30
* Hawaii high school football scoreboard, Aug. 18
Agasiva is part of a cohesive unit up front that also includes Rio Claytor, Sergio Muasau, Noah Williams and Jacob Tuatagoloa. They also gave junior quarterback Dillon Gabriel plenty of room to throw for 266 yards and two touchdowns.
“It all starts with the O-line and they did a helluva job,” said Trojans coach Rod York, whose team was playing in its season opener. “Kliff did an awesome job breaking out and establishing who he is. We take whatever they give us. They gave us the run, we took it.”
The Mililani defense also played with passion. Mykah Tuiolemotu, a captain, led the way with three sacks and two other tackles for loss. Leilehua quarterback Max Nichols was sacked seven times.
“Mililani is a great team and they have a bunch of great players,” said Nichols, who was starting at quarterback instead of Kona Andres. “We showed that we have resilience, and we are going to be fine going down through the rest of the season.”
Added Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu, whose team fell to 1-2 and 0-2 in the OIA Red, “Give credit to Mililani. They looked fast and that comes with being healthy. They were ready to go, licking their chops after that bye week last week. Even though it was a tough game for us, a tough pill to swallow, that’s the standard. We just gotta keep grinding through. We’ve played three top squads in a row.”
The Mules fell to Kahuku 24-0 last week and beat St. Francis 13-9 the week before.
The Trojans drove 80 yards on their opening drive, with Gabriel scoring on a 3-yard run. Malepeai scored the next three Mililani touchdowns — on runs of 27 and 19 yards and a 20-yard pass from Gabriel — as the Trojans built a 40-0 halftime lead.
Raysen Motoyama scored two of the Trojans’ final three touchdowns.
Click here to see more photos of the game between Mililani and Leilehua. Opens in a new tab
