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WAHIAWA - In a game for the ages, third-ranked Mililani stormed ahead, fell behind and finally rallied behind quarterback Trent McKinney in a pulsating 42-35 double-overtime victory over cross-town rival Leilehua Saturday night to claim the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red West Conference title.

Before a crowd of about 1,200 at the Mules' Hugh Yoshida Stadium - and a statewide television audience watching on OC16 - McKinney threw the go-ahead score, a 20-yard scoring strike to DeShawn Benson in the second overtime to lift the Trojans to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in league play. The Mules, who entered the contest ranked fourth in this week's Scoring Live/OC-16 Power Rankings, saw their five-game win streak come to an end and fell to 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the Red West.

"I can't really say that we knew we were going to win, but we believed in our hearts that we were capable of it and we came out and did it," said McKinney, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior who accounted for 278 yards of total offense and five of his team's six touchdowns. "We came out fast in the first half, but didn't really fire out the way we wanted in the second half. They came back like we knew they would and we had to fight a little bit harder than we expected."

With the win, Mililani claimed the West's top seed - by virtue of head-to-head tiebreaker - in the upcoming OIA Red Tournament. Leilehua, which earned the West's second seed, will receive a first-round bye along with West no. 3 Wai'anae.

"It's a conference game and anytime you can beat Leilehua, let alone come in here, knowing what was at stake and beat them on their field, it feels awesome," said first-year Mililani head coach Rod York, a former Leilehua assistant. "Both teams played hard and with a lot of heart. Our kids just made a few more plays than they did and I'm very proud of our coaching staff and the boys."

The game was a tale of two halves, with the visitors dominating the first 24 minutes and taking a four-touchdown lead before the Mules reeled off 28 consecutive points to tie it late in the fourth quarter. The two teams combined for 808 yards of offense, 48 first downs and 11 touchdowns in the contest.

"What a great game. I think every single coach just wants their team to leave their heart on the field and that's exactly what I saw tonight so I'm proud of my kids," Leilehua head coach Nolan Tokuda said. "Congratulations to Mililani though. They're a well-coached team and they came to play. Both teams showed a lot of heart tonight."

After falling behind early, the Mules completed a miraculous comeback with just one minute and 23 seconds left in regulation when Darrien Shealy broke a short, wide-receiver screen pass into an 80-yard touchdown play. Timothy Momiyama added the extra point to cap Leilehua's 14 fourth-quarter points and send it into extra time.

The Mules took their only lead of the game at 35-28 in the first overtime after Sadanaga threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Fred Padrones on the seventh play of the drive, but the Trojans answered with a 3-yard McKinney TD run to send it into the second overtime tied at 35.

Mililani opened the second overtime on offense and needed just one play to find the end zone. Working out of the shotgun, McKinney pump faked a short pass to the left flat before airing it out to Benson, who was running a post route from the left side of the formation. The 6-foot, 180-pound junior receiver got behind a pair of Leilehua defenders, hauled in the pass - which was his only reception of the game - and secured the ball as he fell to the turf in back of the end zone.

"(Leilehua's defense) was playing outside, so the middle was open and they tried to man-up with our slots. I saw what I thought was a mismatch and I took it and (Benson) came up big with his athletic ability to make that catch," said McKinney, who completed all three of his pass attempts in the two overtimes.

Morikawa converted the PAT to give Mililani a 42-35 lead before Leilehua took its turn on offense. McKinney finished 19-of-28 passing for 205 yards with 70 rush yards.

The Mules picked up six yards on a first-down pass, but Sadanaga's second-down pass attempt fell incomplete and following a Mililani timeout, Trojans' defensive lineman Jaylin Fort sacked Sadanaga for a 10-yard loss on third down. On the play, the Mules' quarterback suffered an injury to his right ankle and was forced to exit the game.

Sadanaga's backup, Jordan Kalaau, entered on fourth-and-14 and with the game on the line and threw a long pass along the right sideline intended for Shealy, but it was ruled incomplete and the game was over. Shealy, who finished with a game-high of nine receptions for 160 yards, came down with the ball, but was determined to be out of bounds by the line judge who was standing nearby.

"I thought (Shealy) was in, but that's not to take anything away from Mililani," Tokuda said. "All in all, the game and that finish was very exciting."

Mililani scored on its first two offensive possessions on drives of 74 and 78 yards to take a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. The Trojans extended their lead to 28-0 by scoring 14 points in a stretch of one minute and 32 seconds, but the Mules got on the board with an 80-yard kickoff return by Jeremiah Andrade just minutes before halftime.

Leilehua cut the deficit to 14 points on a fourth-down TD pass from Sadanaga to Padrones early in the third quarter and made it a one-score game with 3:37 left in the game. On the scoring play, Kalaau tossed the ball back to his right to Austin Schmidt, who then threw it back to the left side of the field, where Kalaau was wide open in the end zone.

Mililani's ensuing drive stalled at the Mules' 47 and McKinney's punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback to give Leilehua the ball at its own 20. Sadanaga and Shealy connected for the tying score on the very next play. Mililani could get no further than its own 26 before the end of regulation.

Zachary Payomo rushed 30 times for 152 yards for the Trojans. Sadanaga, who was just 4-of-7 passing for 62 yards after the first half, finished with 362 yards on 23-of-36 passing.