The Mililani football program heads into the playoffs still searching for its identity, but it can rest assured it is still the team that can handle Kapolei.
The Trojans were shut out at halftime, but scored on their first three possessions after the break to top the host Hurricanes 21-13 on Saturday afternoon. Mililani beat Kapolei for the seventh straight time, but all of the previous games were by 20 or more points.
The Hurricanes picked off the Trojans three times in the first half, two of them by Makana Taylor, but had only a field goal by Larry McCarley to show for it because of three red zone turnovers by their offense.
Mililani came out of halftime dedicated to the running game, keeping the ball on the ground for 11 of 13 plays before Jarius Borges sliced into the end zone from a yard out for a 7-3 advantage. The Trojans forced a punt and needed only two running plays for its next score, a 45-yard weaving effort by Borges. He finished with 79 yards on 15 carries and the Trojans dialed up 47 running plays to 18 passes.
“I just told the guys we are still trying to find our identity and we made a statement,” Mililani co-head coach Vavae Tata said. “We are just happy to be 1-0 with all of the playoffs coming up.”
Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez changed his offense in the third quarter, splitting heralded quarterback Tama Amisone out wide after reaching midfield. The move worked, as sophomore backup quarterback Leyson Rodrigues hit Nikko Smith for 18 yards and then found Zayne Pasion over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown pass, with Amisone commanding plenty of attention as he ran a go route down the sideline.
Rodrigues threw for 93 yards and an interception on eight attempts and Amisone threw for 203 yards and two interceptions, both by Jonah Togafau-Tavui, on 21 throws. Amisone ran the ball 10 times for 63 yards and caught two passes for no gain.
“Tama is still our quarterback,” Hernandez said. “He is our best receiver, our best running back, our best safety, our best cornerback and our best quarterback. If I could clone him and put him everywhere I would. Every team is keying all 11 guys on him and it’s tough to be him.”
The Hurricanes finally stopped the run in the fourth quarter and forced Mililani into third and long three times, but Trojans quarterback Kekoa Koong, who came on in relief of Dallas Carter, converted on passes each time before hitting Onosa’i Salanoa-Foumai for a touchdown from 25 yards to to run up a 21-10 lead with under five minutes left that the Hurricanes couldn’t overcome.
“It’s great to have pieces back, now we have to get the ball to our playmakers,” Tata said. “On defense we bent but didn’t break, we let one slip away, but hey, that’s life and that’s football. We just have to adapt and adjust and keep it moving.”
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NO. 2 MILILANI 21, NO. 4 KAPOLEI 13
At Kapolei
Mililani (8-1, 4-1) 0 0 14 7 — 21
Kapolei (5-3, 2-3) 0 3 0 10 — 13
KAP—FG Larry McCarley 38
MIL—Jarius Borges 1 run (Pookela Tom Makue kick)
MIL—Borges 45 run (Tom Makue kick)
KAP—Zayne Pasion 30 pass from Leysen Rodrigues (McCarley kick)
MIL—Onosai Salanoa-Emosi 25 pass from Kekoa Koong (Tom Makue kick)
KAP—FG McCarley 31
RUSHING—Mililani: Borges 15-79, Derek Tsuchiyama 13-55, Koong 5-30, Nakoa Kahana-Travis 5-26, Prince Tominiko 7-15, TEAM 2-(minus 4). Kapolei: Liatama Amisone 10-63, Chazz-Michael Kapahu 7-16, Rodrigues 1-(minus 5).
PASSING—Mililani: Koong 9-12-1-183, Dallas Carter 2-6-2-13. Kapolei: Amisone 13-21-2-203, Rodrigues 6-8-1-93.
RECEIVING—Mililani: Salanoa-Emosi 5-91, Kayden Anzaldo 2-45, Tsuchiyama 2-22, Jonah Togafau-Tavui 1-31, Borges 1-7. Kapolei: Pasion 6-68, Maui Remigio 3-104, Nikko Smith 3-45, Ikaika Viernes 2-50, Amisone 2-0, Shayden Roman 1-17, Chase Camarillo 1-6, Kayson Pagaragaran 1-6.
