Hawaiian Electric Game of the Week
No. 5 Waianae rallies to beat No. 9 Mililani, 36-33


  



Sat, Oct 15, 2016 @ Mililani [ 6:30 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Waianae (9-5-0) 14 15 0 736
Mililani (9-3-0) 6 0 21 633

MILILANI – Hawaiian Electric's Game of the Week turned out to be an electrifying event.

No. 5 Waianae squandered a three-possession first-half lead only to rally for a late touchdown to turn back No. 9 Mililani, 36-33, in a Saturday night thriller at John Kauinana Stadium.

The Seariders' quarterfinal win in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I tournament lands them a rematch with No. 1 Kahuku in Saturday's semifinals at Aloha Stadium. Waianae (8-2) also secured a berth in the new Open state tournament.

The Trojans (5-3) will face Leilehua in a fifth-place semifinal on Friday. A win will put them in a fifth-place game for the OIA's top seed in the Division I state tournament.

"I'm proud of my kids," Waianae coach Walter Young said. "Offense, defense, we never quit. We played to the end. It shows the character they got. Never gave up. We needed a play, we made a play."

The play was Sam Freeney's lead-preserving, diving interception with 3:06 left in the game after the Seariders regained the lead.

"I just tried my hardest to get there," Freeney said of Mililani QB Dillon Gabriel's pass that was sinking way before his intended receiver. "It was pretty close (to the ground). What helped me out was my receiver skills."
Freeney, whose brother Isaiah is a receiver, was a receiver last season, he said.

Waianae dominated the first half by taking advantage of Mililani turnovers to take a 29-6 lead into the break. But relentless Mililani fired back quickly the second half with three touchdown passes by Gabriel and a rushing TD by Jalen Olomua to take a 33-29 lead with 9:06 left in the game.

But the Seariders, aided by personal foul and pass interference penalties, marched 83 yards in nine plays with Rico Rosario scoring on a 10-yard run, to take a 36-33 lead with 4:23 left. Rosario was the workhorse with 25 carries for 205 yards. Javen Towne scored three TDs on 14 rushes for 54 yards.

Mililani's attempt to rally again was dashed by Freeney's pick.

Gabriel completed 19 of 27 passes for 325 yards and four TDs, all to Andrew Valladares. The completion percentage (70.4), yards and TDs were season highs for him.

"You know how it goes? When you're flowing, you're flowing," Gabriel said of his strong second half and the last pick. "I just made a bad read and didn't finish it."

But the interception wasn't the reason the Trojans lost.

The Trojans lost a muff on a pooch kickoff to start the game, giving Waianae the ball at Mililani's 20. Four plays later – on fourth-and-1 from the 11 to be precise – Towne dashed his way into the end zone. Tate Ebel's PAT gave Waianae a 7-0 lead just 1:36 into the game.

The Trojans responded by scoring on their next series on Gabriel's 7-yard TD pass to Valladares. But Damien Santiago's PAT was blocked, leaving the Seariders still with the lead.

After Waianae's third TD – Towne's 2-yard run – a botched snap from center on the PAT resulted in Kade Ambrocio picking up the loose ball and taking it to the end zone for the 2-point conversion to make it 22-6.

After the teams traded fumbles, it appeared that Mililani was going to make the Seariders pay. The Trojans started at Waianae's 22 and eventually faced third-and-goal from the 1, but a false start pushed them back to the 6. After Gabriel threw behind a wide-open Valladares, the Trojans lined up for a 23-yard field goal. But a delay of game penalty moved Mililani back to the 11. The Trojans lined up for a 28-yard try, but went for a fake and holder Valladares' pass to the end zone was incomplete, as Mililani lost the ball on downs.

When the Trojans took the lead early in the fourth quarter on Gabriel's 54-yard TD strike to Valladares, the Trojans were penalized for a false start twice on the PAT; Santiago's 30-yard try failed.

On Waianae's game-deciding drive, personal foul and pass interference penalties aided the Seariders, who eventually scored on Rosario's 10-yard run with 4:23 in the game.

The Trojans committed 12 penalties for 115 yards, four for personal fouls.

"Penalties killed us," Mililani coach Rod York said.

Waianae was tagged 15 times for 143 yards, including three personal fouls and an unsportsmanlike against Young.

"We gotta still work on that," Young said. "I have to work on that, too. If I want my kids to keep their cool, i have to keep my cool."

The Trojans adjusted on offense and defense in the second half. Defensively, the Trojans stuck to their assignments and were not lured out of position by the Seariders' offensive schemes that include traps and counters. Offensively, Gabriel was able to click with his receivers, especially Valladares, who had seven catches for 215 yards, including TD receptions of 7, 75, 18 and 54 yards.

"He just had to settle down," York said of Gabriel's better second half performance. "Guys were wide open (in the first half)."

After Sam Freeney's pick, the Seariders still had to work off the final 3:06. They did by converting three first downs.

Waianae QB Jaren Ulu did not play because of a fractured collarbone sustained in last week's game against Kailua. Jorell Pontes-Borje, who also plays RB, started at QB. He completed a modest 5 of 9 passes for 95 yards, four to Isaiah Freeney for 74 yards.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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