Mililani QB Kini McMillan evades a Kahuku defender in the second half of the OIA Open Division championship game. Michael Lasquero | SL

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The Mililani Trojans pose for a photo after winning the OIA Open Division championship over the Kahuku Red Raiders Michael Lasquero | SL

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Mililani QB Kini McMillan fires a pass against Kahuku in the first quarter. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Sat, Nov 4, 2023 @ Farrington [ 7:30 pm ]

---

Mililani

28

Kahuku

21

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Mililani (11-2-0)	7	14	0	7	28
Kahuku (12-2-0)	7	0	7	7	21

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Tulilele Tagovailoa-Amosa 193 yd 2 TD

Treston McMillan 272 yd 3 TD

Tulilele Tagovailoa-Amosa 62 yd

Treston McMillan 108 yd 1 TD

Diezel Kamoku 141 yd 1 TD

Derek Tsuchiyama 86 yd 2 TD

KALIHI — Over a span of three hours Saturday night, Kini McMillan exorcised a couple of years' worth of frustrations. 

McMillan threw for 272 yards, ran for a season-high 108 yards and had a hand in all four of his team's touchdowns as No. 2 Mililani topped nationally-ranked Kahuku, 28-21, in the championship game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Open Division tournament. 

A capacity crowd of about 2,500 fans at Farrington's Edward ‘Skippa' Diaz Stadium at Kusunoki Field saw the Trojans (10-1) lay claim to their fifth league title and first since 2018.

"It feels great," McMillan said. "It's everything to me. I'm just so blessed and grateful."

The Mililani Trojans pose for a photo after winning the OIA Open Division championship over the Kahuku Red Raiders Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

The junior quarterback completed 20 of his 37 pass attempts and was not intercepted. McMillan threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Derek Tsuchiyama and also connected with Onosai Salanoa on a scoring strike before the intermission. 

"Honestly, it's just the chemistry that we had. I told these boys from the get go that I had their back and they had my back through the ups and downs," McMillan said. 

It was his 1-yard sneak into the end zone with 6:32 left to play that proved to be the winning score. He averaged more than five yards per carry despite the fact that he was sacked thrice. McMillan accounted for six of Mililani's seven first downs by rush. 

Kahuku used five defensive backs for much of the night and opted not to mark a spy on McMillan. 

Trojans coach Rod York said containing the elusive McMillan is easier said than done. 

"Well, you cannot. What you gonna do? You gonna blitz, then we're gonna kill you. Play back? We kill you," York stated. "But the key was protection and Kini is the pylon king, man. We have it in the offseason, so I said, let's turn this game into a pylon game."

For his part, McMillan did not lack for self-confidence.

"Yeah, I mean, shoot, I grew up kinda rugged so if I see a hole, I'm just gonna take it and keep going and get as much yards as I can," he said.

McMillan was masterful in his execution of the offense, which finished with 378 total yards and zero turnovers. York disclosed that McMillan had full control of the reins Saturday night. 

Mililani QB Kini McMillan fires a pass against Kahuku in the first quarter. Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

"Kini called every single play. I didn't call anything, he called it. The o-line blocked for him, gave him protection and I wanted to just trust our kids. I had Dillon (Gabriel) and Dillon is the same way as Kini, so this time around I said, ‘You know what, man? Let's see what the kids can do,' so I left it to Kini and he called every single play," York said. 

York's trust in his quarterback was evident early on, when he opted to keep his offense on the field to try and convert a fourth-and-3 inside the Kahuku 10-yard line. However, McMillan was stopped a yard short of the gain to line on a quarterback draw and Kahuku took over on downs. 

The Red Raiders eventually recycled the stop into a seven-play, 94-yard drive that culminated with Kaimana Carvalho's 31-yard touchdown run on a direct snap. Television replays appeared to show Carvalho's right elbow was down after a short gain, however, no whistle was blown and Carvalho eventually broke free down the left sideline for the game's opening score about midway through the first quarter. 

After Kahuku turned it over on downs near midfield, Mililani evened the score five plays later with McMillan's 16-yard TD pass to Tsuchiyama, who was left wide open in the back right corner of the end zone. 

The score remained tied at 7 until the Trojans scored twice in a span of 80 seconds late in the second quarter. 

McMillan and Tsuchiyama hooked up for a 32-yard TD pass with 1:32 until the half. Tsuchiyama drove his defender up the right seam, then went up and snagged a rocket from McMillan on the TD play. 

The Red Raiders failed to convert a fourth-and-2 at their own 28-yard line and instead gave McMillan and company the ball back at the Kahuku 25-yard line. Mililani needed just two plays to score. On the scoring play, McMillan unleashed a pass down the left seam for Salanoa, who leapt in front of the defensive back to snatch away the pass for a 25-yard touchdown. 

Lyric Sarae added the extra point to double up the Trojans' lead, 21-7, with 12 seconds until halftime. 

Kahuku cut it to a one-score game at the 4:02 mark of the third quarter. Diezel Kamoku pulled down a long pass from Tulilele Tagovailoa-Amosa, then broke free from a couple of Mililani defensive backs for a 66-yard touchdown. 

After a special teams snafu that saw punter Davyn Joseph pick up just five yards on a run out of the punt formation on fourth-and-19, Kahuku capitalized on the short field. Tagovailoa-Amosa found Kache Kaeo on a 9-yard TD pass two plays into the fourth quarter and Manoa Kahalepuna tacked on the PAT to tie it at 21. 

Mililani drove on the Kahuku 1-yard line on its ensuing drive, but McMillan was ruled short of the end zone on a fourth-down quarterback sneak. However, the Red Raiders lost a fumble five plays into their next possession. Brock Birgado-Gasper jarred the ball loose from the grasp of Vaaimalae Fonoti and Tysic Puni recovered for the Trojans, who took over at the Kahuku 28 after the turnover. 

Tysic Puni (@Tys1c) had the defensive play of the game to set up Mililani's go-ahead score over Kahuku. pic.twitter.com/7iDhz0D0cW

— Michael Lasquero (@MichaelLasquero) November 5, 2023

"I went for the tackle because I know he breaks a lot of tackles and he's a good runner, he's a heavy runner so I just wanted to secure it," said Puni, a senior defensive back. "I had a bad game last week not wrapping up, so that was my job, just wrap up and secure the tackle and surprisingly the ball fell out and I recovered it."

It was the lone turnover for either team all night and just the break that McMillan and the Trojans needed to complete the upset. 

"That was big. I mean, shoot, with an opportunity like that you just gotta take it and never look back," he said. 

McMillan did just that; He picked up 27 yards on a run — his longest of the night — on the very next play to set-up first-and-goal from a yard out. McMillan kept it on an option on play later for the go-ahead score. 

"Like I've said, we hang our hat on our defense. The turnover was big for us and our o-line did a great job protecting Kini and Kini proved to everyone what I've been saying, that he's the best quarterback in the nation," York proclaimed. 

McMillan was appreciative of the trust that his coach has in him.

"I just thank him and I'm blessed. I mean, he gave me the keys to the car and I just took it and ran with it," McMillan said. 

Entering the game the Red Raiders had allowed an average of just 64 rushing yards and 175 total yards by opposing offenses. They had not allowed a 100-yard rusher all year. 

"I'll take all responsibility," Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. "It was my fault tonight. I made some bad calls. Mililani was the better team, hats off to Mililani. They played a great game and they deserve it. We just have to get back to the drawing board. Good job to Mililani. We'll get better."

Kahuku ran for 138 of its 331 yards of total offense. 

Fonoti was held to 31 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Kaimana Carvalho was limited to only three touches on offense all night (two carries for 36 yards and one reception for 17 yards). Tagovailoa-Amosa finished 13-of-25 passing for 193 yards; He was not intercepted. Kamoku tallied eight catches for 141 yards in the loss. 

It was the sixth consecutive year that the Trojans and Red Raiders faced off for the OIA Open Division title, but the first taste of the championship game for McMillan, who suffered season-ending injuries in each of his first two seasons. In both his freshman and sophomore campaigns, McMillan was relegated to being an observer of the title game, which made Saturday's triumph that much more enjoyable for the third-year starter. 

"I was hungry. I didn't give my team a chance two years in a row, so I was hungry for this," McMillan expressed. "I wanted it. I wanted it all."

It was the first meeting between the teams since last year's OIA championship game. Kahuku recorded three interceptions and blocked a pair of punts en route to a 35-0 win over Mililani, which was held to a season-low 150 yards in the loss. 

The Red Raiders (10-2) were seeking their 30th league title in program history.

Mililani, which has won its last 10 games since a season-opening loss to Punahou, will play No. 3 Campbell in the semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Championships on Nov. 17. The nightcap of the doubleheader at John Kauinana Stadium that evening will feature Kahuku taking on No. 4 Punahou at 7 p.m. 

The semifinal winners will advance to the state championship game on Friday, Nov. 24.