Call him McMillan the maestro.
Mililani quarterback Kini McMillan stunned No. 1 Kahuku with QB draws all night, finishing with three touchdown passes and another by rush as No. 2 Mililani came up with a 28-21 win for the OIA Open Division championship on Saturday night at Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Mililani (10-1) won its first league title since 2018.
Kahuku had not lost since a 55-8 defeat against Mater Dei (Calif.), which was No. 1 in the nation at the time. A week after that, Kahuku shocked defending national champion St. John Bosco to land in the national rankings.
Maybe Mililani deserves a spot there, too.
“Definitely, our defense was big. The turnovers we caused were big for us,” Mililani coach Rod York said. “The O-line did a great job protecting Kini. He proved to everyone what I’ve been saying. He’s the best quarterback in the nation.”
McMillan was uber quick with 21 carries for 108 yards.
“You want to blitz, he’ll kill you. The key was protection, and we didn’t put (the quarterback draw) in until now. Now is go time,” York said. “We still had to keep him healthy. I said, ‘What you want to do?’ He said, ‘Coach, what you want to do?’ I said, ‘Let’s go empty (backfield).’”
McMillan passed for 272 yards without a pick, but he froze Kahuku’s elite defense with his slashing runs.
“Basically, before the game, it wasn’t part of the game plan, but I trust Coach. He said he would give me the keys to call the plays. I’m so blessed that he trusted in me,” he said.
McMillan was a bit surprised that someone called him the best in the country.
“Who did? Who did? You know, Coach has been telling me that for a long time,” McMillan said.
Like Mililani, Kahuku is in the state tournament.
“Hats off to Mililani. They played a great game,” Red Raiders coach Sterling Carvalho said. “They deserve it. It doesn’t matter who we play. We beat ourselves. We have to make sure we don’t beat ourselves. I’ll take all responsibility. It was my fault tonight. I made some bad calls. We’ll get better.”
Mililani threatened to score first. McMillan caught Kahuku off guard, running three times on draw plays for 29 yards, but on fourth-and-4 from the 8-yard line, he was stopped short by 2 yards.
Kahuku then drove for the first score. Kaimana Carvalho took a wildcat snap and appeared to be tackled for loss, but spun and reversed field for a 31-yard TD.
Mililani drove 51 yards in six plays to pay dirt, aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Kahuku. McMillan found Derek Tsuchiyama wide open in the end zone for a 16-yard TD to tie the game at 7 with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.
For a third time in four series, Mililani drove into the red zone, using five-wide sets. McMillan’s 18-yard QB draw and a 19-yard strike to Davyn Joseph moved the ball downfield quickly, silencing a partisan Kahuku crowd.
The drive stalled, and Lyric Sarae’s 25-yard field goal try from the left hash mark was wide left with 5:36 to go in the first half.
McMillan was masterful in the empty-backfield formation. The Trojans took the lead on a 32-yard strike from McMillan to Tsuchiyama on a seam route. Mililani led 14-7 with 1:32 to go in the first half.
Kahuku had fourth-and-2 at its 28-yard line, called time out, and then lost 3 yards on a pass from Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa to Diezel Kamoku.
Mililani got the ball at Kahuku’s 25-yard line with 25 seconds left in the half. Two plays later, McMillan fired a TD pass to Onosai Salanoa in the middle of the end zone for a 21-7 lead with 12 seconds before intermission.
Kahuku’s prolific running back, Va‘aimalae Fonoti, had six carries for 16 yards in the first half.
Kahuku brought pressure on McMillan, stalling a Mililani drive. Sarae then missed a 29-yard field-goal attempt, his second of the game, and Kahuku got a reprieve with 5:51 to go in the third quarter.
After struggling to move the ball since the first drive, Kahuku got on the board on a 66-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa-Amosa — throwing into a stiff wind — to Kamoku, who beat double coverage down the right sideline. The receiver was flagged for taunting as he entered the end zone, but the TD stood, and Kahuku trailed 21-14 with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
Kahuku was gifted a golden opportunity when Joseph, the punter, came up short on a fake punt run. The Red Raiders drove to the Mililani 22-yard line, but the Trojans got sacks from Enari Tapeni and Aizek Mahuka.
On third-and-22, Kamoku hauled in a 15-yard reception and Mililani was flagged for facemask. Tagovailoa-Amosa then lobbed a 9-yard TD pass to Kache Kaio, and Kahuku tied the game at 21 with 11:44 left.
A 49-yard kick return on a reverse by Joseph set up Mililani at the Kahuku 35-yard line. Joseph suffered an injury on the play, a key loss, but the Trojans still drove to the Kahuku 1-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, Kahuku stonewalled McMillan on a sneak attempt.
Kahuku generously gave right back to Mililani moments later on a fumble by Fonoti, recovered by Puni at the Kahuku 28-yard line. McMillan darted up the middle for 27 yards, then scored on a 1-yard TD for a 28-21 Trojans lead with 6:32 left.
Kahuku’s next series was thwarted by Tapeni’s sack on third-and-long.
Mililani put the game away as McMillan found Tsuchiyama on a key third-down completion for 9 yards, and on another third-and-long, McMillan raced up the middle for a first down with less than two minutes to play.
NO. 2 MILILANI 28, NO. 1 KAHUKU 21
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
Mililani (10-1) 7 14
Kahuku(10-2) 7 0 7 7 —21
KAH—Kaimana Carvalho 31 run (Manoa Kahalepuna kick)
MIL—Derek Tsuchiyama 16 pass from Kini McMillan (Lyric Sarae kick) MIL—Tsuchiyama 32 pass from McMillan (Sarae kick)
MIL—Onosai Salanoa 25 pass from Mc- Millan (Sarae kick)
KAH—Diezel Kamoku 66 pass from Tulilele Tagovailoa-Amosa (Kahalepuna kick) KAH—Kache Kaio 9 pass from Tagov- ailoa-Amosa (Kahalepuna kick) MIL—McMillan 1 run (Sarae kick) RUSHING—Mililani: McMillan 21-108, Nakoa Kahana-Travis 1-5, Davyn Joseph 1-5, Team 2-(minus 1). Kahuku: Tagov- ailoa-Amosa 13-62, Carvalho 2-36, Vaae- malae Fonoti 11-31, Kingsley Ah You 1-11, Team 1-(minus 12).
PASSING—Mililani: McMillan 20-37-0- 272. Kahuku: Tagovailoa-Amosa 13-25-0- 193
RECEIVING—Mililani: Tsuchiyama 6-86, Joseph 3-73, Salanoa 3-56, Makel Paiva 3-24, Lehiwa Kahana-Travis 2-21, Kanoa Ferreira 3-12. Kahuku: Kamoku 8-141, Kaio 3-31, Carvalho 1-17, Bryant Lauano 1-4.
