Mililani rallies past Campbell

A defensive duel turned into a scoring shootout, but in the end, No. 2 Mililani delivered the knockout punch.

Down 28-22 in the third quarter, the Trojans roared to a 57-28 win over No. 6 Campbell on Friday night, spoiling the Sabers’ homecoming.

Mililani did it without its usual big-play passing game, and for most of the way, Campbell’s defense stifled playmaking quarterback McKenzie Milton. But the Trojans turned to Vavae Malepeai, who had his biggest workload of the season with 29 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, safety Tielu Mamea came up with three interceptions, taking one to the house. The Trojans were highly opportunistic, driving for touchdowns after Mamea’s other picks.

"My coaches always said to stay over the top, and that’s what I pretty much did," Mamea said. "We knew that Campbell’s a passing team. I give respect to Campbell because they’re a great offensive team."

Down 28-22, the Trojans got a 60-yard kick return from Bronson Ramos to set up another quick, no-huddle march. Malepeai scored on a 9-yard run to give Mililani a 29-28 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

A booming 54-yard punt by Abiel Taito pinned the Trojans at their 5-yard line, but Milton came up big. After being bottled up to that point, he broke loose on a keeper and sprinted up the hashmarks for a 74-yard touchdown. That gave the Trojans a 36-28 lead early in the fourth quarter, and after Mamea’s interception ended the next Campbell series, they put it out of reach.

Milton found Ramos on a corner route for a 14-yard TD strike and a 43-28 lead with 8:17 remaining.

It was an Oregon-esque finish for the Trojans, who came into the game averaging 52 points per game, but struggled and failed to score in their first three possessions against one of the top defenses in the OIA.

The win keeps Mililani (6-0, 5-0 OIA Blue) tied with Farrington in the division. Campbell took its first loss after four league wins.

"Our attitude, I hope this loss helps with that," Sabers coach Amosa Amosa said, referring to some fourth-quarter penalties after his team fell behind.

"We needed to play a perfect game, and we almost did until that fourth quarter."

Mililani finished with 394 total yards, including 254 on the ground (7 yards per carry). Campbell tallied 378 total yards, including 143 on the ground by speedy Terrel Johnson. He scored on runs of 35 and 41 yards. However, four interceptions and two fumbles by the Sabers were costly.

Kaimana Padello and Rex Manu were persistent up front for the Trojans defense. Padello had all four of his sacks in the first half.

"I can’t explain it. I do one thing and it worked, so I kept doing it," Padello said.

The Sabers had momentum for much of the first half, scoring first on an Austin May 1-yard blast up the middle with 6:09 to go in the first quarter.

Camp–Austin May 1 run (Kona Reiny-Aloy kick)

Mil–Vavae Malepeai 2 run (Jerron Cunningham kick)

Camp–Jayce Bantolina 47 pass from Ezra Savea (Reiny-Aloy kick)

Mil–Tielu Mamea 42 interception return (Malepeai run)

Camp–Terrel Johnson 35 run (Kona Reiny-Aloy pass from Savea)

Mil–Kalakaua Timoteo 11 pass from McKenzie Milton (Cunningham kick)

Camp–Johnson 41 run (kick failed)

Mil–Malepeai 9 run (Cunningham kick)

Mil–Milton 74 run (Cunningham kick)

Mil–Bronson Ramos 14 pass from Milton (Cunningham kick)

Mil–Bryson Ventura 15 pass from Milton (Cunningham kick)

Mil–Jacob Botello 47 interception return (Cunningham kick)