By its video-game-like standards, Mililani’s offense had a relatively tame night Friday.

The Trojans defense, however, made sure the OIA Division I championship remained in Central Oahu, as Mililani retained the crown with a 20-7 win over Kahuku at Aloha Stadium.

"We won the game, but Kahuku is a great team," Mililani coach Rod York said. "We’ll take it. It ain’t easy.

"Kahuku is Kahuku for a reason. You have to go heart to heart against them."

Mililani quarterback McKenzie Milton threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter and the defense protected the lead against a Kahuku offense that played without quarterback Tuli Wily-Matagi for much of the game.

With Kahuku leading 7-6, Wily-Matagi was helped from the field in the second quarter and didn’t return to the game. Mililani shut out the Red Raiders the rest of the way to give second-ranked Mililani (11-0) its third title in the past five years.

Kahuku’s defense kept the Trojans within sight by intercepting Milton twice in the second half and containing running back Vavae Malepeai, who scored the game’s first touchdown and finished with 56 rushing yards, as the Red Raiders held Mililani to its lowest point total of the season. 

But the Red Raiders (8-2) couldn’t close the gap in a scoreless second half and will go without at least a share of the league title in consecutive years for the first time since the 1996 and ’97 seasons, when Waianae won back-to-back OIA titles.

Mililani averaged more than 45 points entering the game and struck first when Malepeai carried the ball four times on a five-play scoring drive, ending it with a 2-yard touchdown run, his 23rd of the season.

The extra-point try went wide and Kahuku took a 7-6 lead after Salanoa-Alo Wily’s 13-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.

Momentum continued to slide toward Kahuku when Keala Santiago intercepted a Milton pass in the end zone. But Wily-Matagi was shaken up at the end of a 20-yard run and had to be helped to the sideline. He was replaced by running back Kesi Ah-Hoy for a play before sophomore Samuta Avea was summoned from the bench.

The Mililani defense homed in on the Red Raiders running backs and posted five tackles for losses totaling 25 yards over Kahuku’s final 10 offensive plays of the first half. 

Milton, meanwhile, threw scoring strikes on consecutive attempts to put the Trojans in command: a 23-yard dart to Bryson Ventura and a 40-yarder to Joshua Butac with 3:28 left in the half. 

The Mililani defense turned away two Kahuku threats early in the third quarter after Santiago returned the opening kickoff 78 yards and the Red Raiders recovered a Malepeai fumble. 

Kahuku’s first opportunity ended with a missed field-goal attempt, and the Trojans stopped them on downs after the fumble recovery at the Trojans 15.

Wily powered the Kahuku offense with 70 yards on nine carries, but the Red Raiders struggled to sustain drives and Mililani held onto field position and ultimately the league title.

Both teams had qualified for the Division I state tournament. The OIA’s final berth in the Di-I state tournament will be decided Saturday when Farrington and Campbell meet at 6 p.m. at Mililani.

"We’ve got to play a lot better coming up in states," York said.

Mil–Vavae Malepeai 2 run (kick failed)

Kah–Salanoa-Alo Wily 13 run (Gabriel Pinheiro-Alves kick)

Mil–Bryson Ventura 23 pass from McKenzie Milton (Jerrod Cunningham kick)

Mil–Joshua Butac 40 pass from Milton (Cunningham kick)

RUSHING-Mililani: Vavae Malepeai 20-56, Milton 8-28, Ventura 1-(-2), Team 2-(-5). Kahuku: Kesi Ah-Hoy 11-19, Salanoa-Alo Wily 9-70, Tuli Wily-Matagi 1-20, Lisiate Tovo 2-2, Pena Fitisimanu 4-13, Samuta Avea 5-(-22), Soli Afalava 3-10, Alohi Gilman 1-0.

PASSING-Mililani: Milton 15-25-2-139. Kahuku: Wily-Matagi 2-5-0-10, Avea 1-12-0-4.

RECEIVING-Mililani: Kainoa Wilson 2-21, Bronson Ramos 1-1,  Malepeai 3-17,  Ventura 6-26, Makana Tauai 2-34, Butac 1-40. Kahuku: Ah-Hoy 3-14.