Chase for the Championship
Mililani seeks first ever football state title




It's been a journey for the Mililani Trojans and it culminates at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium for all the marbles on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Trojans are seeking their first ever football state championship and will face Punahou, in a highly anticipated No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup, for the second straight year. Last year, Mililani lost to the Buffanblu in the title game, 28-22 and this season, both teams prevailed in the semifinals and happen to meet each other again.

"Punahou is humble and well-coached and it doesn't matter who it is, it could've been anyone," said Mililani coach Rod York. "Our goal was to get to this game and what matters is we had to beat Farrington to get to this game and the team we play happens to be Punahou. It's not about redemption."

"It's going to be a tough one for sure, but we're looking forward to it. We are grateful for the opportunity to be in it again," said quarterback McKenzie Milton, after the Farrington game on Saturday.

Despite the magnitude of the game, the Trojans are trying to treat it like any other week.

"We've been to the big show before and the experience helps, but we treat each week like it's a championship week. I told the kids during the regular season game against Farrington you can't lose or else you fall in the standings. Even in the second round of the OIA playoffs, you lose and you're out. We got some big games under our belt and the experience will help, it's not the first time and the kids understand and keep it in perspective," said York.

The Trojans have been ranked No. 2 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Power Rankings all season and they entered each game with a business-like approach. They beat No. 3 Saint Louis in the preseason, 63-47 and ran through the Oahu Interscholastic Association Blue Division regular season undefeated (7-0) and the first two rounds of the OIA playoffs averaging a little over 49 points per game.

However, their toughest tests came late in the season against Kahuku, 20-7 in the OIA championship game on Oct. 31 and Farrington in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championship semifinals last week Saturday. The Trojans grinded out a victory over the Govs, 17-14 to get to the title game.

"It feels great, we got the victory, it doesn't matter if we win by 3 points or 30 points, we win and move on," said York, after the game.

So far this season, Mililani's defense has held their opponents to 16.7 points per game and 259.4 yards of total offense. In their semifinals victory over the Govs, the defense sacked Montana Liana five times. Rex Manu recorded two sacks and Kaimana Padello had two sacks and two tackle-for-losses.

"Kaimana is a big part of our game plan and what we do and he's also a quiet, humble kid," said York.

"It's a whole team effort-- linemen, backers, secondary. So when they break through, everyone was there to mop up. It's starts with scouting and ultimately coming out strong," said defensive lineman Rex Manu, on preparing defensively.

"Our defense did a heck of a job and just grinding it out. They got drives going, but they sucked it up and got us the ‘W'," said Milton, on the defensive performance against Farrington.

Knowing how dangerous Kanawai Noa is, the Trojan defense looks to collectively contain him and slow him down. York mentioned that they have to play their style of defense and create the turnovers like they did all season.

The Trojans run a fast-paced, uptempo offense and they average 471.9 yards of net offense -- 274.3 yards passing, 197.6 yards rushing this season. Milton has thrown for 2,971 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. Kalakaua Timoteo leads the receiving corps with 49 receptions for 908 yards and seven touchdowns. Other receivers such as Bronson Ramos, Bryson Ventura and Kainoa Wilson step too to help the offense make plays.

"Our skill guys do a good job making plays, and the o-line does a good job giving me time to throw the ball," said Milton.

Vavae Malepeai leads the Trojan rushing attack with 1,248 yards and 24 touchdowns and Milton added 770 yards and 12 touchdowns so far this season. Farrington held Mililani to its lowest rushing output of the season (43 net yards) and Punahou is formidable up front. The Trojans would love to run the ball, but like the semifinals game if that doesn't work, they will take what the defense gives them.

WHAT: 16th Annual First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division I Football State Championships
WHO: Mililani Trojans (12-0, OIA champion) vs. Punahou Buffanblu (8-0, ILH champion)
WHEN: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium
TICKETS: Adults $9, students (grades K-12) $5, seniors (62-and-over w/ID) $5
PARKING: $3 (no tailgating permitted)
TV: Oceanic Time Warner Cable pay per view (channel 260 or digital 1260) $39.95 on Oahu, $19.95 neighbor islands; l/ive web stream available for purchase on game day only (Oceanic.com) $10 [Note: All proceeds will go to Hawaii High School Athletic Association]
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1500 (Oahu)
State tournament history—Mililani: Seventh appearance (2003-2004, 2006, 2010, 2012-2014), 3-6 overall, 0-1 in championship games. Punahou: Sixth appearance (2005, 2008, 2011-2014), 9-3 overall, 2-3 in championship games. Head-to-head: Series tied at 2-2.

"It comes down to the o-line and they are the reason why you hear about Vae and McKenzie. We expect to run and throw, we'll take what they give us and go from there," said York.

Special teams is often overlooked, but it's still a big part of the game. This season kicker Jerrod Cunningham kicked 35 extra points and hit a 24-yard field goal in the game against Farrington in the semifinals. The Kahuku/Punahou game showed how important special teams is.

"Every week we talk about it, usually there are four to five plays that affect the game, it doesn't come down to a single play. Special teams is very important-- that kick return in the beginning started things off for them," said York, referring to Noa's opening kickoff return for a touchdown against Kahuku.

Mililani prides itself on execution and they were frustrated with the number of penalties from the Farrington game. The Trojans were penalized 12 times for 132 yards and it is something they look to address and correct this week in practice.

"It's a lot of little things," said Milton. "We're getting into the red zone and I think we got a fourth-and-65 on one of our possessions and that's unacceptable. We dropped the ball here and there and it's little things we have to fix."

"Every time we got something going, there was a flag. We got to work on our penalties and it killed us, there were two or three drives where it was second-and-30 or 40," said York.

"We were killing ourselves and we have to eliminate the mistakes, penalties and all the mental errors. It's mainly the tempo, whenever we control the tempo things ran more smoothly. But once we got penalties and mental errors, things started to slow down," said Malepeai.

The Trojans are 12-0 overall and as they prepare for the upcoming championship week, several players talked about improving and getting better in order to reach their ultimate goal.

"We got to step up and we're moving to the next level, but we got to keep working. We got to get our minds right and come to practice with the right mindset, right attitude. We have to step it up on all angles of the game, special teams, offense and defense. We have to improve everywhere and there is always room for improvement," said Malepeai.

"We have to do our jobs and execute, that's what it comes down to in the end. We have to take it day-by-day from here and hopefully we get better," said Timoteo.

When asked about possibly winning the school's first ever football state championship, Manu replied, "It would mean a lot to us and the whole Trojan Nation."

"That would obviously be awesome, we look forward for the opportunity for sure," added Milton.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].




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