Mililani has a little more reason to take pride in protecting its home field these days.

The No. 10 Trojans christened the new artificial playing surface at John Kauinana Stadium on Saturday with a season-opening 31-21 win over visiting Moanalua.

"This field means a lot to our school and our community," Mililani head coach Rod York said. "We told the boys the (school) emblem is right in the middle and we’re going to defend home turf. … We told the kids, ‘What more can we ask for? It’s a blessing to be out here.’ "

The field was completed on July 17, just before the start of practice. The Trojans had been using a nearby YMCA field for their summer workouts while the surface was being installed to replace the well-worn grass field.

In their first game on the field, the Trojans defense set the tone early and quarterback Jarin Morikawa threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as Mililani built a commanding lead in the second quarter and held off Moanalua in the second half.

Morikawa went 4-for-10 over Mililani’s first three possessions, then completed 12 of his next 15 attempts. He hit eight of nine throws for 68 yards on an 11-play drive that ended with Mililani’s first touchdown of the game, a 2-yard run by Dayton Furuta.

On Moanalua’s next possession, Mililani’s KK Padello forced a fumble on a sack and Rex Manu recovered the loose ball at the Moanalua 11. After an offensive pass interference penalty, Bronson Ramos took a short throw from Morikawa and raced to the end zone for a 21-yard score.

Morikawa completed an

8-yard touchdown pass to Colton Dayacos-Gaspar on Mililani’s next possession, and a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Carlomany gave Mililani a 24-0 lead at halftime.

"We were a little bit shaky to start the game. The defense really bailed us out in the first quarter; they played great tonight," Morikawa said. "They gave us good field position and that’s when we started going. We called some plays that were working. The flats were open, guys were getting to their spots and the O-line was giving me a lot of time."

Moanalua broke through midway through in the third quarter on Ishmil Scott’s 34-yard touchdown run.

Scott later set up another score with a 59-yard burst late in the third quarter. Mililani pushed Na Menehune back on the next three plays, but on fourth and 22, Moanalua backup quarterback Micah Kaneshiro lofted a pass down the left side to Donald Lambert, who made a juggling catch for a 29-yard touchdown. The extra point cut Mililani’s lead to 24-13 with 11:25 left in the fourth quarter.

Mililani pulled away again with 5:30 left when Morikawa kept the ball on a 4-yard touchdown run.

Moanalua closed to 31-21 on Kaneshiro’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Jason Sharsh, followed by a completion to Scott for the 2-point conversion. Mililani then recovered the onside kick to end Na Menehune rally.

"Mililani looks good — great size, great speed," Moanalua coach Arnold Martinez said. "We felt we could play with them, and if we were a little more disciplined we would have done a little better.

"The second quarter got away from us. We extended their drives three times with penalties. That crushes you. … I think we can play and we have enough physical talent. It’s just the execution has to be a lot better. The effort was tremendous."