They came, they saw, they ended a brutal losing streak.
Top-ranked Campbell played, arguably, its best football of the season, pulling away from No. 2 Mililani for a 41-20 win at John Kauinana Stadium on Saturday.
Senior quarterback Jaron- Keawe Sagapolutele was nearly perfect, completing 23 of 31 passes for 350 yards and six touchdowns. His offensive line allowed no sacks while he was in the contest. Two of the scoring tosses came on fourth down, bringing finality.
“When we get that one-on-one look we want, we know who’s going to win,” Sagapolutele said. “It’s the offensive line. They gave me time.”
Sagapolutele’s lone turnover was an interception by Mililani safety Kayden Anzaldo, who he called Mililani’s most underrated player before the battle.
Campbell takes command of the rugged OIA Open Division with a 4-0 mark (6-0 overall). The Sabers also ended a 16-game losing streak to Mililani. Campbell’s last previous win over the Trojans was in 2011.
“We had the fire, a different fire tonight. We took this game personal. They always got the one up on us,” said Campbell senior linebacker Zechariah Alualu-Tuiolemotu, who had two of his team’s three sacks. “I was telling the boys, remember who took us out of the playoffs last year. Mililani’s always got tricks up their sleeve, but we were prepared for anything. We were prepared for Kini to come back.”
Kini McMillan, Mililani’s All-State quarterback, has been out with a collarbone injury since week one. On Saturday, he said his comeback is still on hold.
After a plethora of delay-of-game penalties on each team, Mililani threatened to score first. A 40-yard run by Nakoa Kahana-Travis set up the Trojans at the Campbell 15, but after a big sack by Alualu-Tuiolemotu, Kekoa Koong’s fourth-and-long pass was deflected by Aisiah Paogofie to end the threat.
The visitors then drove 70 yards in eight plays as Sagapolutele deftly eluded pass rushers to complete four passes. He stepped up in the pocket and found Tyson Ball near the right pylon, and Ball came down with the football in traffic for a 14-yard touchdown. The Sabers led 7-0 with 1:19 to go in the first quarter.
JV call-up Dallas Carter then entered and led the Trojans to their first TD. He found Tuan Pettaway, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior, for a catch-and-run 55-yard gain, and Kahana-Travis capped the drive with an 11-yard gash up the middle. The PAT kick was blocked, and it was 7-6 with no time left in the first quarter.
Campbell converted on a fourth and inches with an 8-yard dart from Sagapolutele to Zayden Alviar-Costa to keep the next series alive. Sagapolutele threw an easy 4-yard TD pass to running back Brystin Sansano in the flat. The PAT kick missed, and it was 13-6 in Campbell’s favor with 5:56 left in the first half.
Sagapolutele had completed eight passes in a row before his quick toss to Rusten Abang-Perez went astray. His next throw over the middle was picked off by Anzaldo, who made a diving grab while covering Abang-Perez. It was only the second interception thrown by Sagapolutele in 144 attempts.
Five plays later, Carter’s star-is-born moment arrived. He launched a perfect spiral deep to Lehiwa Kahana-Travis near the right pylon, just over the outstretched arms of a defender, for a 34-yard TD. The game was tied at 13 with 2:11 remaining in the first half.
That was more than enough time for the Sabers to regain the lead. Sagapolutele stepped up in the pocket again, possibly as a fake scramble, then spiraled a pass to Abang-Perez in stride as he crossed the goal line between the hashmarks. The 30-yard TD gave Campbell a 20-13 lead with 33.8 seconds before intermission.
Alualu-Tuiolemotu’s second sack derailed Mililani’s opening series of the second half. Moments later, Sagapolutele found Abang-Perez on a deep post route, and the wideout displayed some hang time on the 31-yard TD. Campbell led 27-13 with eight minutes left in the third stanza.
Carter’s poise and passing touch were crucial during Mililani’s ensuing 15-play, 56-yard scoring drive. Nakoa Kahana-Travis’ 1-yard wildcat keeper over the goal line cut the lead to 27-20 with 1:53 to go in the third quarter.
Perhaps the most pivotal play of the game came on the final play of the third period. On fourth and 1 at the Mililani 42, Sagapolutele launched a bomb to Alviar-Costa, who was in stride down the left sideline as he hauled it in near the goal line, crashing past the pylon for another Sabers TD. Campbell led 34-20 entering the fourth quarter.
With a fourth and 1 at the Mililani 9-yard line, Sagapolutele again went to Alviar-Costa, who hauled in the lob to left corner of the end zone for his second TD catch. The Sabers led 41-20 with 6:16 remaining.
“The O-line did it for us,” Alviar-Costa said. “Without them, we would be nothing.”
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No. 6 Kamehameha 31, No. 4 Saint Louis 28
Senior quarterback Pono Kahaulelio came off the bench and scored on a 24-yard touchdown run on fourth and 10 with 18 seconds remaining to give the Warriors (5-2, 2-1 ILH Open) a win over the Crusaders (4-3, 2-1).
Saint Louis led 28-24 after quarterback Nainoa Lopes threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Roxten Popa- Hernandez with 4:27 remaining.
The Warriors responded with an 80-yard drive to beat Saint Louis four weeks after losing to the Crusaders 37-7 at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Saint Louis had won the previous seven meetings between the two schools.
McKinley 9, Kaimuki 7
The Tigers (1-5, 1-3 OIA Division II) snapped a 34-game losing streak dating back to Sept. 7, 2019, with a win over the Bulldogs (0-4, 0-4) at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.
The last win for the Tigers came when they defeated Kalaheo 6-3.
Radford 44, Aiea 27
Zeke Schulz rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns and recovered a fumble for another, leading the Rams to victory over Na Alii.
Quarterback Afi Togafau also ran for two touchdowns, while throwing for 144 yards and another score to help power the offense for the Rams (4-2, 3-1). Elijah Mendoza passed for 306 yards and three touchdowns to lead Na Alii (3-3, 1-3), with two scores going to Jhermie Cacpal, who finished with four catches for 154 yards.
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NO. 1 CAMPBELL 41,
NO. 2 MILILANI 20
At John Kauinana Stadium
Campbell (6-0, 3-0) 7 13 14 7 — 41
Mililani (6-1, 2-1) 6 7 7 0 — 20
CAMP—Tyson Ball 15 pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Jadyn Parker kick)
MIL—Nakoa Kahana-Travis 11 run (kick blocked)
CAMP—Brystin Sansano 4 pass from Sagapolutele (kick failed)
MIL—Lehiwa Kahana-Travis 34 pass from Dallas Carter (Gaige Pascual-Folster kick)
CAMP—Rusten Abang-Perez 30 pass from Sagapolutele (Parker kick)
CAMP—Abang-Perez 31 pass from Sagapolutele (Parker kick)
MIL—N. Kahana-Travis 1 run (Gaige Pascual-Folster kick)
CAMP—Zayden Alviar-Costa 42 pass from Sagapolutele (Parker kick)
CAMP—Alviar-Costa 9 pass from Sagapolutele (Parker kick)
RUSHING—Campbell: Sansano 15-30, Sagapolutele 3-13, Valoia Amitoelau 3-12, Brayden Medeiros 1-(minus 9). Mililani: N. Kahana-Travis 21-117, Prince Tominiko 3-15, Carter 4-3, L. Kahana-Travis 1-4, team 2-(minus 5), Kekoa Koong 1-(minus 13).
PASSING—Campbell: Sagapolutele 23-31-1-350, Medeiros 0-0-0-0. Mililani: Carter 11-19-0-139, Koong 1-3-0-2.
RECEIVING—Campbell: Alviar-Costa 6-116, Abang-Perez 6-111, Ball 4-46, Shaison Kupukaa 1-44, Sansano 4-20, Tainoa Lave 2-13. Mililani: Tuan Pettaway 3-81, L. Kahana-Travis 3-37, Gaige Pascual-Folster 2-26, N. Kahana-Travis 2-0, Luke VanAntwerp 2-(minus 3).
MCKINLEY 9, KAIMUKI 7
At Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium
McKinley (1-5, 1-3) 0 3 0 6 — 9
Kaimuki (0-4, 0-4) 0 7 0 0 — 7
KAIM—Zechariah Kuratsu-Cook 12 run (Bryant Tacotaco Meyerhofer kick)
MCK—FG Gregory Givens 31
MCK—Alyza Taufa 12 run (run failed)
RUSHING—McKinley: Jerome Arten 11- 55, Taufa 8-24, Givens 3-11, JohnEly Laroco 4-(minus 2), Iosua Sefo 1-(minus 4), TEAM 1-(minus 6). Kaimuki: Kuratsu-Cook 19-136, Iosua Letuli 3-12, Gabriel Logan 5-(minus 21).
PASSING—McKinley: Taufa 7-13-0-25. Kaimuki: Logan 4-16-0-47.
RECEIVING—McKinley: Givens 4-19, Tanner Hiromasa 1-7, Aukai Lyman-Aea 2-(minus 1). Kaimuki: Elijah Ungeni 2-21, Talan Domingo 1-18, Ezekiel Kuie-Matias 1-8.
RADFORD 44, AIEA 27
At John E. Velasco Stadium
Aiea (3-3, 1-3) 0 13 6 8 — 27
Radford (4-2, 3-1) 13 10 14 7 — 44
RAD—Zeke Schulz 0 fumble return (2-pt failed)
RAD—Afi Togafau 4 run (Luke Barner kick)
AIEA—Andreas Adams 63 pass from Elijah Mendoza (kick failed)
RAD—FG L. Barner 34
AIEA—Jhermie Cacpal 79 pass from El. Mendoza (Dominic Okada kick)
RAD—Schulz 12 run (L. Barner kick)
AIEA—Cacpal 2 pass from El. Mendoza (2-pt failed)
RAD—Schulz 62 run (L. Barner kick)
RAD—Michael Robinson 36 pass from Togafau (L. Barner kick)
RAD—Togafau 3 run (L. Barner kick)
AIEA—Jeremiah Hill 25 pass from Evan Mendoza (CJ Ioapo run)
RUSHING— Aiea: Ioapo 8-38, Cacpal 1-20, Taylor Chuck 3-1, El. Mendoza 3-(minus 23). Radford: Schulz 13-126, Tofafau 9-35, Kaniela Hao-Hose 3-13, Jacob Sullivan 5-10, Collin Murphy 1-0.
PASSING—Aiea: El. Mendoza 17-29-2-306, Ev. Mendoza 2-4-0-40. Radford: Togafau 11-20-0-144.
RECEIVING—Aiea: Cacpal 4-154, Adams 2-69, Hiki Kim Choy Keb Ahlo 4-41, Hill 1-25, Chuck 3-23, Ezra Kila Spencer 2-21, Ev. Mendoza 3-16. Radford: Sullivan 5-56, Robinson 2-41, Brad Yoakley 2-38, Murphy 1-7, Hao-Hose 1-2.
Also:
No. 3 Kahuku 48, Waipahu 0
Castle 42, Kalani 21
Kailua 33, Nanakuli 0