Mililani's defense forced five sacks in a win over Waianae. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Sometimes box scores are misleading. 

Despite giving up three scores, Mililani's defense did a solid job in containing Waianae's rushing attack in the team's 45-20 Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I semifinal win Friday night.

Anyone who did not see the game live will be quick to point out that the Seariders accumulated 195 yards rushing on 47 carries against the Trojans' defense. However, majority of those yards came on a 41-yard touchdown run by Jurick Valdez and a 55-yard touchdown run by Javen Towne. If you take those two big plays away, the Seariders would have averaged 2.2 yards per carry. 

"Whenever we play Waianae you got to bring your four chin straps and your two mouthpieces," said Mililani coach Rod York. "We let up a little big plays here and there, but overall we're getting better."

The Seariders tested the middle of the Trojans' defense early with a double fullback I-formation set, which was a different look from the wing-T that they normally run. Mililani's defense withstood the challenge and held Waianae to just three yards of total offense in the first quarter. 

"All week in practice we knew that Waianae was going to come up the middle," said defensive end Kaimana Padello, who had six tackles. "All we did in practice was working on shutting down that fullback up the middle. It worked out pretty good."

Waianae was forced to punt on its first four possessions while Mililani scored on four of its first five possessions to jump out to a commanding 28-0 lead. 

The Trojans' defense also made a couple of key stops on fourth down in the second half. After cutting Mililani's lead down to three scores after Towne's touchdown run, the Seariders went for it on fourth-and-1 on their own 31-yard line. Padello stuffed Towne for a 2-yard loss and Waianae turned it over on downs. This would lead to the Trojans' final touchdown of the night. 

"We knew they were going to come up the middle, it was no secret," said Padello. "All we did was crash the inside and big plays happened."

Mililani had another critical fourth down stop early in the fourth quarter. The Seariders faced fourth-and-1 at the Trojans' 6-yard line and were threatening to score. A false start penalty pushed Waianae back five yards before Mililani's Vinson Gerona sacked Waianae quarterback Jaren Ulu for an eight-yard loss.

Gerona's sack was one of five total sacks for the Trojans. Elias Pritchard had two and Maa Tanuvasa and Padello had one each.

"We love to pass rush," said Padello. "It was one-on-one battles pretty much for us. That's what we live for as a defensive lineman. When its a one-on-one matchup, let's go eat."

Mililani's run defense will be put to the test once again when it takes on Kahuku next Friday in the league title game. 

"Kahuku has a stronger team so we have to work twice as hard to patch up every mistake," said Pritchard. "We cannot make mistakes or else they're going to make us pay for it."