'Aiea's Hunter Va'a carries the ball against Mililani. Robin Sakamoto | Special to SL

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092411133__MG_0716.jpg - Robin Sakamoto | Special to SL

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AIEA - Aiea's Trevaun Sparrow-Dennis rushed for Aiea's only touchdown as a battle of defenses took place as the Na Ali'i defeat the Mililani Trojans in an OIA matchup on Friday night.

The Na Ali'i improves to 1-4 (2-4 Overall) record with a victory on Homecoming night at the Aiea High School Stadium.

"It feels great," said running back Trevaun Sparrow Dennis. "We've been working hard all season. We just look forward many more victories."

"Defense stepped it up for us," said Aiea Head Coach Wendell Say. "They did a good job. Our offense still needs some work, but overall we did a good job."

The Aiea defense forced a Mililani three and out on their first drive. Aiea drove down the field after the punt, but unable make the field goal on fourth down.

Mililani got the ball back, but once again the Aiea defense stepped up and forced another three and out.

On the ensuing drive with 3:50 left in the first quarter, a hand off to senior running back, Sparrow-Dennis gave the Na Ali'i their first points. Sparrow-Dennis cut his way through the Trojan defense for a 32 yd score.

"It felt really great," said Sparrow-Dennis. "I really thought I was going to go down. The defense had me but I just saw the cut back lane and I took it."

Sparrow-Dennis finished the game with 8 carries for 42 yards and one touchdown.
"He runs hard," said Say. "He shows a lot of heart every week."

The Trojans were able to capitalize on an Aiea mistake in the second quarter. A blocked punt set up Mililani inside Na Ali'i territory and Mililani quarterback Jarin Morikawa connected with wide receiver Deshawn Duncan-Benson for a 15-yard catch and run.

The score was 7 to 6 in favor of Aiea after a missed PAT by Mililani following the score by Duncan-Benson. The score remained the same until the end of the game. Mililani had a chance to take the lead on one of their final drives, but an interception thrown by Morikawa gave Aiea the ball with 1:05 left in the game.

"Got to give credit to 'Aiea," said Mililani Head Coach Rod York. "'Aiea did great, they won the game."

"It was a good win for us, said Say. "Our goal was to get better every week and we did a good job."

Aiea moves on to play next week against Radford while Mililani, dropping to 1-4 (2-4 Overall), plays Kapolei at John Kauinana Stadium.