Milillani comes up short against nationally ranked Mission Viejo

Brian Bautista | SL

Nationally ranked Mission Viejo used a balanced offensive attack along with a pressure defense to notch a 34-21 win over Mililani at John Kauinana Stadium Friday.

Kadin Semonza was solid at quarterback for Mission Viejo, completing 23 of 40 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, and added three yard rushing score to his evening tally as well.

His counterpart, Treston McMillan, threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in rally mode, but also forced three interceptions and picked up more than a handful of intentional grounding penalties due to the seemingly constant pressure put on by the Diablos defensive front.

The Diablos, ranked 30th according to MaxPreps, struck first on a Semonza strike to Jackson Holman from 19 yards out, then padded the lead to two scores on a Sermonza rushing TD. Then, early in the second quarter, Mission Viejo punched the ball in from two yards out, with Isaiah Carreon getting the honors at the goal line.

On the last play of the half, Mililani lined up in field goal formation before calling timeout and then opted to line up in an offensive formation. That decision ended up being a good call, as it resulted in a 16 yard scoring play from Treston McMillan to Gavin Hunter, getting the Trojans on the board heading in the break, 20-7.

In the second half, the Diablos capped off a drive with another rushing score, this one courtesy of Hinesward Lilomaiava, who rumbled in from three yards to make the count 27-7 with 7:44 left in the third.

Mililani countered minutes later as Lehiwa Kahana-Travis took a short pass near the right sideline, make a defender miss and accelerated down the field for a 74 yard score, his first of the season, that trimmed the lead to 13 midway through the third.

Chase Valousky extended the margin back to 20 on a 24 yard run to the end zone, which the Trojans answered back a minute later on a 41 yard hook up from McMillan to Davyn Joseph, closing out the scoring in both the third quarter and ultimately the game.

Lewiha Kanaha-Travis led all receivers with 87 yards, with Holman close behind tallying five grabs for 77 yards.

Mission Viejo held Mililani to negative yards on the ground, while racking up 163 rushing yards of its own.

Defensively, Mililani held its own, forcing an interception and sacking Semonza four times, twice by Jabiel Lauvao. The Trojans also registered 10 and a half tackles for loss, five of them courtesy of the aforementoned Lauvao.