Aside from another stout performance from its steady defense, a pair of 10th graders on the other side of the ball were a big reason fourth-ranked Mililani survived a scare from No. 6 Campbell on statewide TV Saturday night.

Quarterback McKenzie Milton overcame an up-and-down first half to finish 19-of-27 passing for a career-high 208 yards with two touchdowns and running back Vavae Malepeai rebounded from a rough start to end up with a career-high 29 carries for 136 yards with a touchdown.

Milton, who beat out senior Robert Faleafine for the job after the two split time early this season, threw an interception on his very first pass attempt of the night, but completed 12 of his next 14 throws — including seven straight.

After Campbell took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Milton completed all four of his pass attempts — three going for first downs — on the Trojans' first scoring drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Dayton Furuta.

Milton's final pass attempt of the first half resulted in his second interception — which Solomon Matautia returned for a 100-yard pick-six with just five seconds left — that gave the Sabers' a 21-7 halftime lead.

After his team received the kickoff to start the second half, Milton connected on three of five passes (all for first downs) on the drive — including a touchdown pass to Preston Sinn that made the score 21-14 — for 61 yards.

Mililani pulled within a point after Milton scampered down the right sideline for a 46-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. The PAT, however, was no good and the Trojans trailed until the first play of the fourth quarter when Milton hit Bronson Ader on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Milton then found Furuta on the ensuing two-point conversion.

Milton threw the ball 10 times on first down and completed six of them to five different receivers. On third downs, he completed three of his five pass attempts — to three different players, all for first downs — for 31 yards, including the 7-yard touchdown pass to Sinn. Milton completed his lone fourth-down pass attempt for 10 yards and a first down to Kainoa Wilson.

Malepeai gave a yeoman-like effort in his return from a rib injury that forced him to miss the Trojans' last game. A bye week leading into the showdown with the Sabers gave him even more time to recuperate.

After fumbling on his third carry of the game, Malepeai redeemed himself with 125 yards on 26 attempts the rest of the way. He broke off a 17-yard run on his next carry — one play after a 57-yard Campbell touchdown pass — and had five runs longer than 10 yards in all.

Malepeai accounted for six of Mililani's 11 first downs by rush, including a 12-yard touchdown run on a third down and also extended a second-quarter drive with an 11-yard pick-up on a fourth-and-1. He also caught a 5-yard pass for a first down in the second quarter.

For the season, Milton has completed 62 percent of his passes for 867 yards with nine touchdowns against three interceptions. He ranks third in the OIA Red in passing yardage, behind Moanalua's Micah Kaneshiro and Campbell's Isaac Hurd.

Malepeai is averaging 6.2 yards per rush and 124.2 yards per game and has run for 621 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2013. He is second behind Farrington's Sanele Lavatai in rushing yards in the OIA Red.