Mililani ensured its showdown next weekend for the No. 1 seed in the OIA Open Division tournament will be between unbeaten teams.
Kini McMillan completed 19 of 25 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns as No. 3 Mililani beat host No. 6 Kapolei 42-21 on Saturday.
“We started off kind of fast and we let our foot off the gas pedal,” said McMillan of his team, which lost an early 14-point lead.
Mililani (6-2, 5-0) had already known its game at Kahuku (5-0) next Saturday would be for the No. 1 seed in the four-team OIA tournament.
“We have a tough one, it’ll be a tough matchup,” said Mililani coach Rod York.
Campbell (4-2) will be the No. 3 seed and Kapolei (5-3, 2-3) will be seeded fourth.
Mililani scored first on McMillan’s 55-yard pass down the left sideline to Onosai Salanoa. Lyric Sarae’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 8:55 remaining in the first quarter.
Luck was with the Trojans on their next possession.
McMillan aired one out down the middle and a Hurricanes defensive back was in perfect position to make the interception. He reached up and the ball went off his hands and right to Salanoa, who went the rest of the way for an 85-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 with 5:54 left in the quarter.
“We got lucky on that one,” York said. “It should have been a pick — it bounced into our guy’s hands. It was a change in momentum.”
Kapolei scored on Tama Amisone’s 20-yard pass to Halai Kamohalii with one minute to go in the first quarter. Hurley Kennedy’s PAT kick cut the deficit to 14-7. The score came one play after Diezel Kamoku’s 40-yard punt return.
The Hurricanes tied it at 14-14 on their next possession with Tryton Keliikipi scoring on a 1-yard plunge with 7:32 to go before halftime.
Amisone was injured earlier in the drive after taking a big hit on a scramble and was replaced by Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa. Amisone did not return. Tagovailoa-Amosa finished with 173 passing yards.
“Tama’s probably out, collarbone injury,” said Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez. “We don’t know the extent. Tuli came in and he played well. He didn’t get the lion’s share of the reps at practice this week.”
The Trojans retook the lead, 21-14, on McMillan’s 9-yard pass to Makel Paiva with 41 ticks left in the half.
McMillan completed 10 of 13 passes for 183 yards in the first half, but the Trojans rushed for only 10 yards on 10 attempts.
Amisone had 56 yards passing and 51 rushing for the Hurricanes before exiting the game.
Mililani extended the lead to 28-14 on McMillan’s 20-yard scramble with 3:21 left in the third quarter. The score was set up by Isaiah Iosefa’s interception off a deflection.
The Trojans scored on their next possession on an 18-yard pass from McMillan to Paiva with 10:45 remaining in the game, which made it 35-14.
Tagovailoa-Amosa’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Kamoku got Kapolei within 35-21 with 5:24 remaining.
The Trojans capped the scoring on a 31-yard scoring pass from McMillan to Davyn Joseph.
Mililani’s Salanoa had four receptions for 149 yards. Derek Tsuchiyama and Raymond Roller also had four catches.
“We have a lot (of weapons) — every guy can do special things,” McMillan said.
Hernandez said: “They have a great connection. We couldn’t cover their guys. Their quarterback has a big arm and their guys were open downfield. They’re hard to stop.”
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MILILANI 42, KAPOLEI 21
At Kapolei
Mililani (6-2, 5-0) 14 7 7 14 — 42
Kapolei (5-3, 2-3) 7 7 0 7 — 21
Mil—Onosai Salanoa 55 pass from Kini McMillan (Lyric Sarae kick)
Mil—Salanoa 85 pass from McMillan (Sarae kick)
Kap—Halai Kamohalii 20 pass from Tama
Amisone (Hurley Kennedy kick)
Kap—Tryton Keliikipi 1 run (Kennedy kick)
Mil—Makel Paiva 9 pass from McMillan (Sarae kick)
Mil—McMillan 20 run (Sarae kick)
Mil—Paiva 18 pass from McMillan (Sarae kick)
Kap—Diezel Kamoku 38 pass from Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa (Kennedy kick)
Mil—Davyn Joseph 31 pass from McMillan (Sarae kick)1
RUSHING—Mililani: Kingsten Samuelu 8-49, McMillan 11-25, Sisco Kaleopaa-Ancheta 4-14, Raymond Roller 1-4, Jaylan Johnson 1-1, team 1-(minus 6). Kapolei: Keliikipi 11-52, Amisone 8-51, Caleb Dela Pena-Pihana 1-9, Tagovailoa-Amosa 13-(minus 15).
PASSING—Mililani: McMillan 19-25-1-303. Kapolei: Tagovailoa-Amosa 15-28-1-173, Amisone 5-9-0-56.
RECEIVING—Mililani: Salanoa 4-149, Derek Tsuchiyama 4-31, Roller 4-29, Paiva 3-36, Isaiah Padello 2-25, Joseph 1-31, Lehiwa Kahana-Travis 1-2. Kapolei: Halai Kamohalii 7-84, Kamoku 5-69, Keliikipi 4-31, Izaea Lino 2-28, Malachi Tapaoan 2-17.
Junior Varsity—Mililani 40, Kapolei 14