Emana Tarape threw four touchdown passes as No. 3 Mililani overpowered No. 5 Campbell 42-7 in the semifinal round of the OIA Open Division playoffs on Friday at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.
The win seals one of the OIA’s three state-tournament berths for Mililani (5-1).
Tarape played a little more than two quarters, completing six of his eight pass attempts for 135 yards and touchdowns of 33, 30, 39 and 21 yards before yielding to backup Makavelli Novera. Running back Nehemiah Timoteo amassed 119 yards from scrimmage with two TDs.
“I feel good. We got a playoff win against Campbell, a tough opponent,” Trojans coach Rod York said. “Campbell’s always well coached. We were just fortunate to come out and get the victory.”
Mililani will play today’s Kahuku-Waianae winner for the OIA Open championship next Friday. Campbell (4-3) still has a shot at the state tourney. The Sabers will meet the Kahuku-Waianae loser next week for the third and final OIA berth.
York was in good spirits as his team celebrated senior night, but sees plenty of room for improvement.
“We came out and worked the game plan, but we had three series before the half and three turnovers. So we’re still not playing good football yet, but it’s getting better. Hopefully, we’re going to improve and peak in the championship game next week,” he said.
Mililani’s defense wasted no time asserting control. Mikey Agasiva’s sack of Jonah Tofagau-Tavui nearly resulted in a fumble recovery. Moments later, Tarape found Jensyn McGee open for a 33-yard touchdown play.
The Trojans’ special teams unit came up big on Campbell’s ensuing series. Gavin Hunter blocked a punt by Bailey Lopes and the Sabers recovered at the Campbell 33-yard line. Two plays later, Tarape connected with Raymond Roller on a 30-yard TD pass.
Mililani led 14-0 with 4:54 to go in the first quarter.
Tarape was up to the challenge when Mililani had a third-and-22, finding running back Nehemiah Timoteo on a screen pass. Timoteo raced down the right sideline for a 39-yard TD pass with 1:24 left in the opening quarter.
An interception by freshman Aiden Manutai gave Mililani the ball at Campbell’s 30-yard line to close the first quarter.
Two snaps later, Timoteo was in the end zone again, this time with a 7-yard burst. The Trojans led 28-0 with 11:41 remaining in the second quarter.
With Tofagau-Tavui injured on a pass play, Chayne Kuboyama-Hayashi filled in. The Sabers drove to the Mililani 24-yard line, but Sehutha Maka-Mailei’s 42-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.
Campbell defensive back Kela Moore came up with two interceptions in the red zone and Diego Betancourt had another at the goal line to help thwart any further scores by the Trojans in the first half.
Gavin Hunter, who also played some cornerback, hauled in a 21-yard TD pass from Tarape with 7:06 to play in the third quarter. Mililani led 35-0 and the mercy-rule running clock began with the ensuing kickoff.
Campbell finally got on the scoreboard on a fourth-down screen pass from Kuboyama-Hayashi to Rowen-Ray Bucao. The 40-yard TD came with 6:15 remaining.
Mililani won the regular-season matchup with Campbell 48-14 on Nov. 20.
Mililani has won four OIA championships, all under York, in 2010, ’13, ’14 and ’18.
Kailua 14, Aiea 13
The Surfriders ended their season with a win, and it came in thrilling, bizarre fashion.
Pomaika’i Konohia returned a blocked field goal 75 yards off a lateral from Aina Quidachay Wise with 3:38 remaining and Theodor Bierbrauer made the go-ahead PAT as the host Surfriders beat Na Alii.
Keoni Williams, who was aligned at right rush end, appeared to be offside before blocking a 27-yard field-goal attempt by Aiea’s Bryson Boyea Quiton.
The official at the line of scrimmage appeared to signal the play dead by waving his arms in the air, but didn’t throw a penalty flag. Most of the players on the field stopped before Quidachay Wise picked up the ball and pitched it to Konohia before being tackled.
“When it happened I didn’t really know what was going on,” said Konohia, a senior. “Aina just tossed me the ball, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I got the ball,’ and everyone just said, ‘Run, run.’ As I was running, I was like ‘Yeah.’ My heart was pounding.”
Aiea coach Wendell Say was shocked no flag was thrown. He also mentioned members of his coaching staff heard a whistle and saw an official waving his arms to stop play.
“Obviously, I thought he was offside,” Say said. “It looked like (the official) called it done already. That’s why they didn’t pick up the ball. All of the sudden they pick up the ball and run and our kids were dumbfounded.”
On the next possession, Na Alii advanced the ball to the Surfriders 42 but turned the ball over on downs. Kailua had a fourth-and-2 from the Aiea 45 in the final minute, but an offside penalty essentially ended the game.
Kailua, which gained only 67 yards in the second half, got within 13-7 on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Romeo Ortiz with 5:11 remaining.
Ortiz finished with 133 passing yards and 58 rushing. He was intercepted by Aiea’s Romeo Simpson and Teahiroa Fukumitsu.
The Surfriders (2-3 OIA D-I and 2-4 overall) ended their season with two consecutive wins.
“It’s everything for these seniors, so that we can send them out the right way,” said Kailua coach Joseph Wong. “The last memory they have on this field is a win, and these underclassmen saw these seniors pull together.”
Na Alii (3-2) had already clinched the No. 2 seed in OIA D-I and a date with Moanalua (4-1) for the league’s lone berth in the state tournament. Na Menehune defeated Na Alii 28-25 on Oct. 22.
The only score of the first half came on an 18-yard pass from Ezekiel Olie to Jayden Chanel, who made a leaping grab at the goal line with 2:52 left before halftime to put Aiea up 6-0.
Na Alii went up 13-0 on a 44-yard pass from Olie to Jheremie Cacpal with 7:02 left in the fourth quarter.
Olie completed 19 of 38 passes for 221 yards, and Cacpal had five receptions for 134 yards.
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Kyle Sakamoto, Star-Advertiser
Kaiser 48, Kaimuki 17
Easton Yoshino threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns and the Cougars wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the OIA Division II final against Radford with a win over the Bulldogs.
Six players scored touchdowns for the Cougars, who are 7-0 to start a season for the first time since winning their first eight games in 2011.
Kamakana Mahiko, the leading receiver in OIA D-II entering the weekend, had four catches for 138 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter.
Kaiser’s Kai Strawn led all rushers with 122 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Kaimuki quarterback Sione Taufa threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah White and Alvin Tanioka added a 34-yard touchdown run for the Bulldogs (2-5).
Kaiser had lost seven of the previous eight meetings in the series.
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Star-Advertiser staff
Nanakuli 58, Waialua 7
The homecoming atmosphere, along with a bruising rushing attack, propelled the Golden Hawks to a big win over the Bulldogs to break the .500 mark.
“Nanakuli, it’s all about community over here,” Nanakuli coach Kili Watson said. “It brings out that extra juice. With the dropping of some of the restrictions, allowing the families to come in, the atmosphere is just different. Very energetic, and the boys feed off of it.”
The Golden Hawks’ ground game shone in a six-touchdown effort, with five of those six scores coming in the first half alone.
Nanakuli running back Christian Asinsin was responsible for half of those rushing touchdowns, leading all rushers with 149 ground yards on 17 carries. Three other Golden Hawks running backs later found the end zone, including second-leading rusher Branztyn Reyes, who picked up 62 yards on four carries.
“There was good synergy,” Watson said of the ground game. “The linemen did an excellent job in the box. Its easy when you’ve got a running back like (Asinsin). It makes the job a lot easier. Overall, just a good reflection of the unit. Offense did well, defense put us in good positions. Good team win.”
The Nanakuli passing attack also had success as quarterback Keahi Ah Sui completed 15 of 21 passes for a game-high 263 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. Ah Sui’s passes found their way to a trio of receivers. David Kalili led all receivers with 90 yards on five catches, while Joseph Lewis IV turned three catches into 78 yards. Hansen Salausa-Ka’awa added 77 yards on five receptions.
The Golden Hawks took advantage of an early Waialua turnover on downs, as Asinsin’s first touchdown of the day, a 10-yard rumble, capped off a quick two-play scoring drive on Nanakuli’s first offensive series. The defense forced a Bulldogs three-and-out, which tuned into a short Nanakuli drive that ended with Asinsin’s 2-yard touchdown run. Another three-and-out later, Ah Sui decided it was his turn, finding Kalili for a 41-yard catch-and-run score to cap a four-play drive that put the Golden Hawks up 21-0 in the first quarter.
Asinsin’s third touchdown, a 7-yard scamper to open the second quarter, ignited another Nanakuli scoring run before halftime. After some trickery from Watson, offensive lineman Bryden Reyes found himself on the receiving end of a triple handoff, crashing over the goal line from a yard out. Branztyn Reyes scored from 5 yards out on the next drive to make it 40 Golden Hawks points in the first half.
Amidst the Nanakuli scoring barrage, Waialua managed its only points of the day, an 8-yard connection between quarterback Tyson Apau and James Zara. Apau finished with 52 passing yards on 6-for-21 passing.
Nanakuli managed a trio of scores in a mercy-rule-accelerated second half. After Allen Mahoe III’s 10-yard score to start the second half, Ah Sui and the passing game took over. Ah Sui found Salausa-Ka’awa and Joseph Lewis IV on back-to-back drives, connecting for a 7-yard score and a 15-yard score, respectively, for the finishing blows.
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Jonathan Chen, Star-Advertiser
Pearl City 52, McKinley 14
Chargers senior quarterback Sefo Feesago passed for 241 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 74 yards, and senior wide receiver Joshua Gleason caught eight passes for 239 yards and five scores as the Chargers (5-3) cruised by the Tigers (0-7).
Gleason caught 60- and 18-yard touchdown passes from Feesago, and junior kicker Marcus Rodriguez made both extra points for Pearl City’s 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Rodriguez added a 38-yard field goal to increase the score to 17-0, sophomore wide receiver Shaedyn Quemado ran the ball in 2 yards for a touchdown to help make it 24-0.
McKinley got its first points on the board in the second quarter on junior wide receiver Preston Note’s 19-yard pass from junior quarterback Dustin Chow, who threw for 303 yards. Junior kicker Luke Fujioka-Silva’s extra-point kick made it 24-7.
Gleason scored twice more on consecutive 11-yard touchdowns, putting the Chargers up 38-7. Rodriguez notched a 24-yard touchdown catch for a 45-7 third-quarter lead.
Gleason got his fifth touchdown of the night on an 80-yard reception from senior quarterback Ryan Littlejohn, with Rodriguez’s extra point increasing the Chargers’ lead to 52-7 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
McKinley scored the final touchdown of the game with senior wide receiver Michael Papa’s 23-yard catch and Fujioka-Silva’s extra point.
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Noelle Kakimoto, Special to the Star-Advertiser
Mililani 42, Campbell 7
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
Campbell (4-3, 4-3) 0 0 0 7 — 7
Mililani (5-1, 5-1) 21 7 7 7 — 42
MIL—Jensyn McGee 33 pass from Emana Tarape (Makel Paiva kick)
MIL—Raymond Roller 30 pass from Tarape (Paiva kick)
MIL—Nehemiah Timoteo 39 pass from Tarape (Paiva kick)
MIL—Timoteo 7 run (Paiva kick)
MIL—Gavin Hunter 21 pass from Tarape (Paiva kick)
CAM—Rowen-Ray Bucao 40 pass from Chayne Kuboyama-Hayashi (Sehutha Maka-Mailei kick)
MIL—Makamale‘a Meyer 84 pass from Makavelli Novera (Paiva kick)
JV—Mililani 37, Campbell 7.
Individual statistics
RUSHING—Cam: Chauncee Lopez 3-(-6), Jonah Tofagau-Tavui 9-2, Kuboyama-Hayashi 3-0. Mil: Nehemiah Timoteo 11-80, Emana Tarape 2-5, Makavelli Novera 2-7, Tavian Hallums 8-27.
PASSING—Cam: Jonah Tofagau-Tavui 7-11-1-37, Kuboyama-Hayashi 13-27-1-150. Mil: Tarape 6-8-1-135, Novera 4-9-2-113.
RECEIVING—Cam: Dallas Fonseca-Juan 7-80, Bucao 8-77, Diego Betancourt 2-9, Tofagau-Tavui 1-9, Kingston Ishimine 2-12. Mil: Jensyn McGee 1-33, Roller 1-30, Hunter 3-41, Timoteo 1-39, Paiva 1-15, Hallums 1-(-2), Eric Stephens 1-8, Meyer 1-84.
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Kailua 14, Aiea 13
At Kailua
Aiea (3-2) 0 6 0 7 — 13
Kailua (2-3, 2-4) 0 0 0 14 — 14
Aiea—Jayden Chanel 18 pass from Ezekiel Olie (pass failed)
Aiea—Jheremie Cacpal 44 pass from Olie (Bryson Boyea Quiton kick)
Kail—Romeo Ortiz 1 run (Theodor Bierbrauer kick)
Kail—Pomaika’i Konohia 75 blocked field goal return (Bierbrauer kick)
RUSHING—Aiea: Kaimana Lale-Saole 13-28, Kane Lorenzana 2-2, Olie 1-(minus 8). Kailua: Ortiz 9-58, Clayton Quidashay 17-7, Kahiapo McKeague 1-6.
PASSING—Aiea: Olie 19-38-0-221. Kailua: Ortiz 13-21-2-133, McKeague 2-6-0-33.
RECEIVING—Aiea: Chanel 6-69, Cacpal 5-134, Lale-Saole 3-2, JD Leama 2-16, Trev’yn Kim Choy-Keb-Ah Lo 1-4, Lorenzana 2-(minus 4). Kailua: Nainoa Smith-Akana 5-43, Japheth Lilo 3-70, Damien Jacobs 3-26, Jathan Bejarano 2-1, Blazen Lono-Wong 1-22, Solomon Keaunui-Demello 1-4.
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Kaiser 48, Kaimuki 17
At Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium
Kaiser (7-0, 7-0) 21 20 7 0 — 48
Kaimuki (2-5, 2-5) 0 10 0 7 – 17
KAIS — Nick Wild fumble recovery in end zone (Shane Smith kick)
KAIS — Ethan Beltran 27 pass from Easton Yoshino (Smith kick)
KAIS — Donovan Reis 1 pass from Yoshino (Smith kick)
KAIS — Kamakana Mahiko 83 pass from Yoshino (Ian Shearer kick)
KAIM — FG Kurt Kawamoto 25
KAIS — Kai Strawn 37 run (Shearer kick)
KAIS — Kai Blackston 7 run (kick failed)
KAIM — Jeremiah White 50 pass from Sione Taufa (Kawamoto kick)
KAIS — Justin Kanekoa 1 fumble return (Smith kick)
KAIM — Alvin Tanioka 34 run (Kawamoto kick)
RUSHING—Kaiser: Strawn 11-122, Blackston 12-69, Te’a Nu’uhiwa-Santos 3-19, Yoshino 3-13, Reis 1-8, Kanekoa 0-1, Brody Maeda 1-(minus 5). Kaimuki: Tanioka 8-101. Joshua Leota Jr. 6-32, Taufa 5-12, White 2-10, Ofa Vehikite 2-(minus 6), team 4-(minus 24).
PASSING—Kaiser: Yoshino 11-16-0-217, Reis 2-3-0-18, Maeda 1-1-0-0. KaimukI: Taufa 4-10-0-101.
RECEIVING—Kaiser: Mahiko 4-138, Beltran 4-68, Mason Nelson 2-15, Kanekoa 1-8, Kahiau Nauka 1-3, Rayne Sumida 1-2, Reis 1-1. Kaimuki: White 2-56, Tanioka 1-27, Kenny Eaton 1-18.
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Nanakuli 58, Waialua 7
At Nanakuli
Waialua (2-5) 0 7 0 0 — 7
Nanakuli (4-3) 21 19 18 0 — 58
NANA—Christian Asinsin 10 run (Branztyn Reyes kick)
NANA—Asinsin 2 run (Kick blocked)
NANA—David Kalili 41 pass from Keahi Ah Sui (Kainalu Lewis pass from Allen Mahoe III)
NANA—Asinsin 7 run (Kick failed)
WLUA—James Zara 8 pass from Tyson Apau (Lass Stolten kick)
NANA—Bryden Reyes 1 run (Kick failed)
NANA—Bran. Reyes 5 run (Bran. Reyes kick)
NANA—Mahoe III 10 run (Kick failed)
NANA—Hansen Salausa-Ka’awa 7 pass from Ah Sui (Kick failed)
NANA—Joseph Lewis IV 15 pass from Ah Sui (Kick failed)
RUSHING—Waialua: Elisha Sheridan 1-15, Taylor Calaro 6-3, Jack Amarcio 1-(minus 2), Apau 7-(minus 10).
Nanakuli: Asinsin 17-149, Bran. Reyes 4-62, Ah Sui 3-23, Mahoe III 2-15, Lewis IV 1-25, Bry. Reyes 1-1, Salausa-Ka’awa 1-1.
PASSING—Waialua: Apau 6-21-0-52.
Nanakuli: Ah Sui 15-21-0-263.
RECEIVING—Waialua: Gino Coyle 1-30, Seth Stanek 1-15, Zara 3-4, Jayvie Arellano 1-3.
Nanakuli: Kalili 5-90, Lewis IV 3-78, Salausa-Ka’awa 5-77, Mahoe III 1-16, Asinsin 1-2
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Pearl City 52, McKinley 14
at Pearl City H.S.
McKinley (0-7) 0 7 0 7 — 14
Pearl City (5-3) 24 14 7 7 — 52
PC – Joshua Gleason 60 pass from Sefo Feesago (Marcus Rodriguez kick)
PC – Gleason 18 pass from Feesago (Rodriguez kick)
PC – Rodriguez 38 field goal
PC – Shaedyn Quemado 2 run (Rodriguez kick)
McK – Preston Note 19 pass from Dustin Chow (Luke Fujioka-Silva kick)
PC – Gleason 11 pass from Feesago (Rodriguez kick)
PC – Gleason 11 pass from Feesago (Rodriguez kick)
PC – Rodriguez 24 pass from Feesago (Rodriguez kick)
PC – Gleason 80 pass from Ryan Littlejohn (Rodriguez kick)
McK – Michael Papa 23 pass from Chow (Fujioka-Silva kick)
RUSHING—McKinley: Chow 7-21, Chris Pham 1-3, Elias Bermudes 2-(minus 8), TEAM 1-(minus 11). Pearl City: Feesago 5-74, Quemado 5-55, Caleb Kaai 6-31, Zion Gella-Kaulia 1-1, Littlejohn 1-1.
PASSING—McKinley: Chow 25-38-2-303. Pearl City: Feesago 13-19-1-241, Littlejohn 2-2-0-86.
RECEIVING—McKinley: Note 6-84, Papa 6-72, Bermudes 8-65, Ethan Duong 2-61, Nathen Rodriguez 2-17, Chris Pham 1-4. Pearl City: Gleason 8-239, Kansou 4-51, Rodriguez 1-24, Taohi-John Williams 1-7, Cameron Galutira 1-6.
BIIF
Division I Championship
Konawaena 13, Hilo 12
