Dillon Gabriel didn’t think much of his performance on Friday night.
Chances are the Mililani quarterback was in the minority in his assessment.
Gabriel completed 26 of 39 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns and the Trojans captured the OIA Open Division championship with a 27-7 victory over three-time defending champion Kahuku at Aloha Stadium.
“I didn’t do my part, but luckily we came out with the win,” Gabriel said after the victory. “Kahuku is a great team, but I think we had less mistakes and kind of took advantage of theirs, but at the same time, they played a helluva game.”
Gabriel probably had his two first-half interceptions on his mind in that moment, but he did more than enough to overcome the rare miscues — as did the Mililani defense — to help the Trojans claim the OIA title that had eluded them the previous three years, including last year when Kahuku rallied late for a 35-31 win.
“Hats off to the kids. The kids sacrificed so much and they worked so hard. I know they were disappointed last year and to see them work hard from Feb. 1 and come in and finish tonight’s game, I’m proud of them,” Mililani coach Rod York said.
The Trojans effectively put the game away in the third quarter when Gabriel lofted a throw to Reichel Vegas for a 47-yard touchdown and Mililani became the first team to beat Kahuku twice in a season since Leilehua in 1973.
Gabriel is already the all-time career passing record holder as he stretched his total to 9,470 yards with 104 touchdowns with at least one game remaining.
He surpassed 3,000 yards this season for the first time in his career, becoming the 11th quarterback on Oahu to do so.
Bright future for Sabers, Govs freshman QBs
Two promising freshman quarterbacks emerged on the Hawaii football scene in the same game Friday night at Aloha Stadium.
Campbell’s Blaine Hipa was a surprise starter over senior Krenston Kaipo, and he delivered in a big way, throwing for 241 yards and four TDs in the Sabers’ 42-26 victory over Farrington to secure the OIA’s final bid into the Open Division of the state tournament.
On the opposing side, another ninth-grader — Richard Tagataese — came in for senior starter Chris Afe-Alaivanu late in the second half. He guided the Governors to three TDs, including two scoring throws, to turn a 35-6 halftime deficit to a 35-20 game with 6:43 left.
“You want to talk about two freshman quarterbacks playing good,” Campbell coach Darren Johnson said. “A lot of that praise and them being good is what JPS (Junior Prep Sports youth football) has done for the state of Hawaii as far as integrating these kids and putting intermediate teams together. Both of these guys came out of great JPS programs and it actually shows. Man, it shows.”
With the victory, Campbell (8-4) placed third in the OIA Open Division and will play OIA champion Mililani in the semifinals of the state tournament on Nov. 16. Farrington (2-10) is done for the season, but as coach Daniel Sanchez said, the Govs’ offseason program starts today.
“These quarterbacks are some real positives for both programs moving on,” Sanchez said. “They’re young and they’re going to get better, so there should be some shootouts in the future.”
Hipa, who is 6 feet and 170 pounds and came up from the JV squad recently, did not learn until Wednesday that he was going to start. According to Johnson, his son Kawe (the offensive coordinator) made the decision based on which of the team’s three quarterbacks (senior Kaniala Kalaola is the other one) was having the best week of practice.
“I just had to go out and play and not be scared,” Hipa said. “My O-line was the biggest part. They supported me the whole week and today they had my back, making sure I was doing my job and making sure I was all right. My wideouts and running backs were making good plays.”
Division I and II state tourneys begin this week
The First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships begin this weekend with games in Division I and Division II.
On Friday, OIA champion Waipahu hosts ILH representative ‘Iolani, while MIL champion Maui travels to the Big Island to play BIIF winner Hilo for a spot in the D-I title game on Nov. 24.
Saturday, OIA D-II champion Roosevelt hosts Pac-Five in its first state tournament game in 11 years. The Wolfpack will play in states for the first time ever after replacing St. Francis, which was forced to forfeit its season because of an ineligible player.
The winner of that game will travel to play two-time defending state champion Lahainaluna at War Memorial Stadium in the semifinals on Nov. 17.
In the other D-II quarterfinal, BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii will host OIA runner-up Kaimuki, with the winner heading to Kauai to face Kapaa on Nov. 17.
