Mililani's Jacob Afele tackles Kahuku's Soli Afalava. Joshua Lopez | Special to SL

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HALAWA – It was a pick your poison kind of a game for the Red Raiders' offense all night long.

The Mililani Trojans got standout individual games from all three levels of the defense. Defensive end Keli'i Padello, linebacker Jacob Afele, and safety Ian Namu all had key defensive contributions to hold off Kahuku, 37-22, in the first OIA Red semifinal game at Hawaiian Airlines Field Thursday evening.

"Awesome, defense is our big brothers," said Mililani coach Rod York. "They stepped up and they led the way; when they play well, we play well. (Defensive coordinator) Roland Mason and the defensive staff have done a great job (for us) all year long."

The final stat sheet will show that Kahuku gained 351 yards of total offense, but don't let that stat give you the impression that the game was a shootout. Mililani's defense was in firm control for most of the game, forcing the Red Raiders to drive the entire length of the field with small gains over the big play.

"They played great," said Mililani defensive coordinator Roland Mason. "We had a good week of practice even though it was a short three days. We talked to them all week about executing the game plan, and we did that tonight."

"Game plan was stopping Kahuku's run (game), to force them to pass," continued Mason. "It was a little bit shaky in the beginning, (but) we were able to execute and get them to pass in the second half."

A big reason why Mililani was able to force Kahuku to pass was the performance of Afele. The 6-foot, 220-lb senior linebacker had a game high 12 tackles in the win. Afele also had a sack late in the game to help stymie the Red Raiders' late rally.

"I'm only getting better," said Afele on his performance. "I'm just taking it one game at a time."

Afele, a captain for the team, knew that he and the defense had to fill the void of linebacker Dayton Furuta in order for the defense to be successful. Furuta, another captain of the team, is dealing with a high-ankle sprain that he suffered in the Trojans' regular season finale against Aiea.

"We knew that Dayton was (going to be) out," said Afele. "We played without him last week so we knew we had to execute on all cylinders of the ball (in his absence). We needed to eliminate the turnovers (on offense) and force three-and-out (situations) on defense."

Even though Kahuku gained 211 rushing yards in the bout, they were forced to pass often since they were forced to play catch up after trailing early in the first quarter. This paved way for Padello to wreak havoc in the Red Raiders' backfield. The 5-foot-11, 200-lb senior defensive end brought down Red Raider quarterback Tuli Wily-Matagi four times, unofficially giving him 16 sacks so far this season.

"I just wanted to get the ball (back) for our offense," Padello said on his big performance. "We just had to shut down the run (to) make them pass long (on offense)."

Padello also had four quarterback hurries and six total tackles to add to his final stat line. Four sacks and four quarterback hurries is real impressive considering the fact that Kahuku only completed 11-of-20 passes. The sack artist was used in a variety of ways, lining up in different spots on the defensive line.

"I got to give it to our coaches, they prepare so well," said Padello on lining up in different spots. "We just have a wonderful program here at Mililani; we give all the credit to our coaches. We just try to make up new schemes so that (opposing offenses) doesn't get used to our defense."

While Padello paid frequent visits into the opposing backfield, Namu made sure no one scored on him. The 6-foot-1, 175-lb senior safety had several touchdown saving tackles to make sure that Kahuku didn't break off the big play. Namu finished with eight tackles, a forced fumble, an interception and a pass deflection.

"Words can't explain it," said Namu after the game. "There's nothing better in senior year than coming out and beating the state champs that reigned over everybody for the past few years. I can't really explain it; I'm just full of joy."

This was Mililani's first win over Kahuku on the gridiron in the two teams' history against each other. In the record books, the Trojans defeated the Red Raiders in the 2010 OIA Red championship game due to a Kahuku forfeit.

Even though the Trojans were able to get over the hump of beating Kahuku, they still know that they have bigger goals.

"We still have mental errors to correct," said Afele. "We just have to ball out and play our game (and style) next week in the championship."

"We're not satisfied, we want next week too," added York.

Mililani will await the winner in the night game of the double header between Farrington and Campbell. Kickoff for the OIA Red championship game is approximately 25 minutes after the OIA White championship next week Friday on Nov. 1.