Kahuku's Harmon Brown celebrates after a touchdown scored against Mililani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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HALAWA — Another title is headed to the North Shore.

Harmon Brown rushed for a game-high 113 yards with two touchdowns and Keala Santiago intercepted three passes to lift Kahuku to its league-leading 24th Oahu Interscholastic Association football championship with a 20-7 win over Mililani Friday night.

A crowd of about 10,000 fans on a muggy night at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium saw the Red Raiders improve 11-0 with their first OIA crown since 2012.

The Trojans, who won consecutive league titles the last two seasons, fell to 9-2. It was their first loss to an opponent from the state of Hawaii since they lost to Punahou in the 2013 state final.

"I'm shellshocked still; It's unbelievable," Kahuku first-year coach Vavae Tata said. "The kids deserve it. They put in the work in the spring and fall camp. First things, all hats off to Mililani. They play to the very end, they competed. It was a heavyweight bout."

Kahuku did not allow a defensive score and held Mililani's prolific offense to a season-low 180 yards and just nine first downs.

"They did a phenomenal job on defense against a high-powered offense in Mililani," Tata said. "I think it's the kids. The kids cherish that. They're so competitive. Hats off to all of them. It's well-deserved."

Mililani entered the game averaging a state-best 56 points and 530 yards per game offensively.

"It seems like every game we depend on our defense and they always come through," Brown said.

The Red Raiders recorded five takeaways, including four interceptions coming against three Trojan quarterbacks.

"We respected them and our coaches told us that it was going to come down to the wire and our defense needed to step up," said Santiago, a senior safety. "I feel like they did and we did a good job executing our assignments."

Kahuku's first score was helped in part by a Mililani miscue on special teams. Five plays after Pesa Lefau recovered a muffed punt return by Mililani's Rico Sallas, Brown bursted through the middle for a 26-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-3.

"That was huge," Tata said of the turnover and consequent score. "It changed the field position. Change of field position is huge."

Conversely, Mililani coach Rod York said the chain of events put his team in an early hole it could not afford to be in.

"We can't make mistakes against these types of teams," York said. "At the end of the day it's on me. I've got to do a better job."

The Trojans drove all the way to the Kahuku 2-yard line on their ensuing possession, but turned it over on downs on an incomplete pass.

Early in the second quarter, Mililani freshman quarterback Dillon Gabriel was injured on a third-down pass play with an apparent shoulder injury. He did not return to the game and was taken to a nearby hospital for further tests. Gabriel, who was making his third consecutive start in place of injured starter McKenzie Milton, finished 8-of-15 passing for 118 yards with an interception.

With Gabriel out, the Trojans were left with sophomore Kaysen Higa to run the offense, but he largely struggled against the Red Raiders' suffocating defense. Higa completed just three of his 13 pass attempts for one yard and was picked off twice, including once in the Kahuku end zone by Santiago.

"Basically we didn't have a quarterback after that," York said. "But, I'm very proud of our guys, all the guys that wear that Trojan helmet. They came out and played a hell of a game. Hats off to Kahuku."

The Red Raiders held a 7-0 lead at halftime. It was the first time the Trojans were held scoreless in a first half this year.

Mililani got its lone score midway through the third quarter when linebacker Jalen Olomua stripped Brown and defensive end Isaac Liva found the end zone on a 27-yard scoop-and-score. Isaiah Kuloloia tacked on the PAT to tie it at 7.

The Trojans picked up some momentum late in the third quarter when Ramsey Tacadena recovered a muffed Kahuku punt return. However, Higa was intercepted by Santiago on the very next play and the Red Raiders eventually got a 42-yard Kekoa Sasaoka field goal out of it to take the lead for good with 9:51 to play.

Brown made it a two-score game with a 2-yard touchdown run in the closing minutes and Sasaoka added a 37-yard field goal as time expired.

Kahuku relied heavily on Brown, whose 29 carries was a season high, especially after leading rusher Kesi Ah-Hoy left the game late in the first half with an ankle injury.

"Harmon pulled us through," Tata said of the junior running back. "He finished the game for us, especially with Kesi still nursing his ankle."

Brown, who now has 14 touchdowns on the year, said he was disappointed with himself after losing the fumble that led to Mililani's score.

"I was on the verge of breaking down but my boys — my o-linemen — they kept me up and in high spirits; I owe everything to them," Brown said. "Kesi is our offensive leader and when he went down I felt like I needed to step up and take that role."

The game was a rematch of last year's OIA final, which Mililani won by a score of 20-7.

Said Santiago: "This is what we worked for all year, all our lives for, to come here and win the OIA title for our community, for our families, for our teammates, for our brothers."