Mililani QB Dillon Gabriel stands tall following a 5-yard scamper for a score in the third quarter against Kapolei. Spencer Honda | SL

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After accounting for three first-half turnovers Friday night, Mililani quarterback Dillon Gabriel did just about everything he could to make up for it in the second half.

Gabriel rallied the third-ranked Trojans from a 21-20 deficit late in the second quarter to a convincing 42-21 win over host Kapolei Friday night.

The junior southpaw finished with a season-high 398 passing yards and three touchdowns, but struggled to take care of the football early on.

Gabriel's first interception came near the midpoint of the first quarter, when he was picked off Kapolei's Christian Broome in the red zone. However, the Trojans defense held for a three-and-out to negate the giveaway.

After Kapolei scored on a long pass play to pull within 20-14 of Mililani, Gabriel was flagged for intentional grounding on first down, which resulted in a net loss of 17 yards and two plays later — following 51-yard completion Reichel Vegas — Gabriel fumbled on a quarterback draw.

The loose ball was picked up by Hurricanes' defensive lineman Junior Tuia, who scored on the 54-yard fumble return.

Gabriel's final pass attempt of the first half resulted in his second interception thrown. This time it was in the end zone by defensive back Saige Mactagone-Kuhaulua.

After the final whistle Friday, Mililani coach Rod York said the interceptions were a result of incorrect routes by the receivers on the play, but Gabriel was having none of it.

"I don't like saying that. I think I gotta put the ball in the right position, looking at the receivers, so I take full responsibility for that, but at the same time we'll get back and we'll see what the real problem was; whether it was mine or theirs, we'll fix it." Gabriel said.

One play after Gabriel was picked off by Mactagone-Kuhaulua, however, the Trojans defense returned the favor — and then some. Defensive end Shane Kady snatched the football from mid-air after it slipped out of Kapolei quarterback Lonenoa Faoa's hands on an attempted screen pass.

The result of the play was a Mililani touchdown and a five-point lead heading into halftime, instead of a one-point deficit.

"That was a great play. The defense played lights out today," Gabriel said. "Shoutout goes to them, but we just gotta get back to the film room, get back in the weight room and keep working."

The second half was all Mililani.

Gabriel led scoring drives on its first three drives of the second half. His 5-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal gave the Trojans a 35-21 lead with 4:48 left in the third and his 13-yard scoring strike to Ryan Chang on another third down made it a 20-point margin with 10:03 remaining before Damien Santiago added on the PAT.

"Credit to Mililani. They played a great game on defense, they outcoached us and they outplayed us in the second half," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. "They made great adjustment, they stopped us offensively, they were moving the chains; they did a great job."

Gabriel was 19-of-28 passing for 280 yards in the first half. He attempted just 16 passes after halftime and completed 11 of them for another 118 yards. In all, Gabriel had completions to nine different pass-catchers.

Still, it was the sloppy first half that was on his mind after the final whistle.

"I fumbled the ball, I threw some interceptions and you can't do that. If you want to play against a good team, you really gotta cut down the turnovers and be able to just produce, not only scoring on the one quick play, but moving the ball and taking some time off the clock," Gabriel said.

The Trojans also got a second-half boost from sophomore running back Raysen Motoyama, who filled in admirably when starter Kilifi Malepeai went down in the first half with an injury.

"It's just bruised ribs," York said of Malepeai. "He took a shot. He could have went in, but we kept him out and we went with Raysen. He gave us a hell of a boost. Gotta give it up to the o-line, first of all, for getting a push, and then Raysen for his first, second, third, fourth efforts. He's a beast."

All 12 of Motoyama's rush attempts came after the intermission. He finished with a game-high 69 yards (5.8 per carry) and also had a 15-yard reception to move the chains on a third-and-4 situation.

"We were trying to stop the run, but we weren't able to do that," Hernandez said. "They were successful running the football. We were trying to make them one-dimensional and we were unable to do that, so live and learn and get better."

The win pushed Mililani to 6-0 on the year and solidified their spot atop the Oahu Interscholastic Association's Division I Red Conference at 5-0.

Kady said at least part of the reason for the team success has been due to their mental preparation.

"Our whole team has just been working on executing and our mindset has just been so much better and we just gotta work and that's what we did and we came out with the W," Kady said.

Gabriel and the Trojans will look to continue the trend Saturday when they host Nanakuli on homecoming night.