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Kalani Takase | ScoringLiveOctober 20, 2017, 11:24pm
Fri, Oct 20, 2017 @ Aloha Stadium [ 7:30 pm ]
HALAWA — Jalen Tuivaiave-Olomua rushed for three first-half touchdowns to lead No. 3 Mililani to a resounding 42-6 win over No. 6 Waianae in the semifinals of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I tournament Friday night.
A crowd of about 5,000 at HawaiianTel FCU Field at Aloha Stadium saw the Trojans improve to 10-0 with a dominating performance on both sides of the ball.
Mililani used a balanced offense (186 rushing yards, 186 passing) and a stingy defensive effort — limiting the Seariders (6-4) to 135 yards of total offense.
"The boys did good. They executed, we won it up front on both sides of the ball. That's what happens when the boys do a good job," Trojans coach Rod York said.
Tuivaiave-Olomua led all rushers with 67 yards on seven carries. He scored on runs of 2, 15 and 28 yards to help the Trojans build a 35-0 lead by halftime.
"That was key, being able to run the ball, especially when we want to and they know we're running the ball, so hats off to the kids," York said.
Mililani rode its veteran offensive line, which opened up gaping holes for its backs and gave quarterback Dillon Gabriel ample time in pass protection.
"It was just that everybody had to be in sync, from the o-line to us," Tuivaiave-Olomua said of the front five. "Everything starts from the line, so that's all we needed, our five o-line strong, all four quarters."
The Trojans averaged a gaudy 7.4 yards per rush and gained positive yardage on all but one of their 26 rush attempts (the only other run went for no gain).
"(The o-line) worked so hard throughout the whole season. They never gave up and they already know what's up from last year. This is our championship game, so that's how we treated it," said Tuivaiave-Olomua, who recorded a season-high in rushing yards in the win.
Tuivaiave-Olomua's second TD run saw him shed four would-be tacklers, including a couple he took with him across the goal line.
"Jalen was just a beast. He's been wanting to run the ball the whole time, (but) every time we put him in, he gets hurt, he gets injured — he's been injured for quite some time — so we finally got him back full strength and that's what that kid can do," York said. "On that one, he took like three guys, four guys with him, so Jalen is a special guy."
The 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior said he found motivation in his coaches and teammates on the play.
"In my head, I was just saying ‘don't give up,' because I know the coaches wouldn't want me to give up, so I did this for them and the o-line — because they push so hard — that's all I needed to do," Tuivaiave-Olomua said.
Gabriel factored into all three of Mililani's other scores. He threw a 20-yard TD pass to Mystic-Josiah Sampaga in the first quarter, ran in a 1-yard score just before halftime, and hooked up with Cy Kuboyama-Hayashi for an 11-yard scoring strike early in the third. He was not sacked.
"It starts in practice: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays — those are the game days — coach taught us that from the beginning of the season. Those are where the games are fought and won, all in practice," center Noah Williams said.
Gabriel threw just one pass after halftime and finished with 186 yards though the air on 15-of-24 passing with one interception. He also rushed six times for 41 yards.
Waianae's lone score came on a 25-yard run by Kaai Tambaoan-Kaeo late in the third quarter.
Darius Muasau led the Mililani defense with seven tackles. Spencer Santos added six stops with an interception, Shane Kady added four tackles, including a sack, and Storm Sua also had a pick.
Paul Fano and J-zen Napierala-Rose made five tackles each to lead the Seariders defensively.
It was Mililani's largest margin of victory over Waianae. The previous mark came in the 2012 regular season, when the Trojans beat the Seariders, 35-7.
Each team had one player ejected over the course of the game.
Waianae defensive back Sam Freeney was tossed four plays into the game for a targeting penalty on a hit against Trojans' wide receiver Ryan Chang. Mililani defensive end Tasi Malepeai was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for throwing a punch in the third quarter and consequently disqualified.
Tuivaiave-Olomua said seeing Chang, the team's leading receiver, leave the game after the devastating hit fueled the team the rest of the way.
"That's our key receiver and that's our brother, so we had to do this for him, as well as the community," he said.
Both players are ineligible for their respective team's next immediate contest, unless their ejections are appealed and overturned by the OIA league office.
York said Chang had a "mild headache," but that he expects him back in practice next week.
The Trojans avenged a 36-33 loss to Waianae in the quarterfinals of last season's OIA tournament. They will face No. 2 Kahuku in the league final on Nov. 4 and also qualified for the four-team D1-Open state tournament.
"We weren't looking forward to the payback, we were just treating them as another team we had to play and our main goal was to focus on us, get the attitude straight, make sure we were executing and everybody was doing their jobs and then with all that we came out with the win. It feels good," Williams said. "Good props to Waianae, too. They played, they battled and they fought."
Waianae running back Rico Rosario did not play in the second half due to a "small injury," according to coach Walter Young.
"He's going to go to the doctor tonight and we'll find out, but I'm pretty sure he'll be okay for the next game," Young said.
The Seariders will play No. 7 Campbell in the third-place game, also on Nov. 4, for the OIA's final spot in the D1-Open field.
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