Mililani keeps Waianae winless

This time, the men of Troy finished strong.

Coming off a sound defeat at the hands of powerhouse Saint Louis a week ago, Mililani marched into Waianae and came away with a 19-0 win last night at Raymond Torii Field.

"We can’t complain coming away with a victory at Waianae," Trojans coach Rod York said. "We’re happy to go into a bye week with confidence. We’ll have time to get better. It’s about not turning the ball over, playing well on special teams and the defense got a shutout. Coach Sam Downey and the defensive staff did a great job."

Mililani improved to 1-1 in Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West play (2-2 overall). Waianae dropped to 0-4 (0-2 league). All four losses have been to teams that are currently in the Top 10 or were in the poll earlier in the season.

A subdued crowd of about 1,500 saw the visiting Trojans stifle Waianae’s offense, sacking quarterback Kekoa Kaluhiokalani five times. Mililani permitted just 33 rushing yards by Waianae’s wing-T attack. Waianae running back Jaylen Mitchell, still limping a bit with an injury, carried the ball just three times for 1 yard.

Offensively, Mililani quarterback Jarin Morikawa was 23-for-30 for 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His pinpoint accuracy and Waianae’s soft coverage allowed Deshawn Duncan-Benson (11 receptions, 133 yards) and Kaimi Wilson (10 catches, 66 yards) to find their openings.

Duncan-Benson, a 6-foot-2 senior, passed the 100-yard mark for a second game in a row. He and Wilson have shown remarkable chemistry with Morikawa though the three are first-year starters.

"It feels good to get that ‘W’ after losing a couple of games. We read at the line of scrimmage, read the safeties as we go and (Morikawa) makes his decision. Kaimi is the deep threat, so we threw short stuff all night," Duncan-Benson said, recalling his reserve role last year.

"I was under the shadow of Hassan Richardson," he said.

The first half was played largely in the shadows of the goalposts in Waianae’s end zone. Four sacks by the visitors, including three by junior Dakota Miller, kept Waianae punter Alan Ibanez backed up all half.

The Trojans scored on their first series. Morikawa completed four passes in a row, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Duncan-Benson for a 7-0 lead with 9:55 to go in the first quarter.

"The first one was a straight seam down the middle of the field," Duncan-Benson said.

Waianae got a 30-yard punt return by MItchell, plus a personal foul call on Mililani, to start a possession at the Trojans’ 23-yard line late in the opening quarter. However, the Seariders went without a first down again, and Shaughn Spencer’s 38-yard field-goal try was wide left.

Mililani got a 23-yard field goal from Tokunaga from the right hashmark for a 10-0 lead with 2:28 left before halftime.

After a sack by Miller, the Trojans got the ball back with 1:30 to go in the half. Morikawa found Duncan-Benson on a third-and-15 completion, and the speedy senior did the rest. He beat his defender, faked another and cut back for a 40-yard touchdown, giving Mililani a 16-0 lead with 44 seconds before intermission.

"The second one, we were running out of time and I was just trying to find an opening," Duncan-Benson said.

The Trojans drove to the Waianae 2-yard line late midway through the third quarter and settled for a 19-yard field goal by Tokunaga. That made it a three-possession lead.

Morikawa was 16-for-20 for 162 passing yards by the break. Waianae had 2 yards in total offense after two quarters.