WAILUKU, Maui » When Baldwin converted a pair of turnovers into field goals in the first quarter to take a 10-point lead, Mililani fans couldn’t be blamed for thinking, "Here we go again."

Eight turnovers the previous week, including five in the first period alone, resulted in a lopsided loss to Kahuku in the OIA Red championship game.

But instead of folding, the Trojans regrouped Friday night, rallying from a 13-3 deficit to a 24-13 victory over the Bears in an opening-round game of the state Division I football tournament on a windy night at War Memorial Stadium.

"At this point in time, the teams are all pretty even. It comes down to which team has the most heart and makes more plays," Mililani coach Rod York of turning things around in the second half. "It was either that, or go home."

The win improved Mililani’s record to 10-2 and earned the Trojans a berth in Friday’s semifinals against second-seeded Punahou at Aloha Stadium.

Ironically, given Mililani’s status as the state’s top passing team, and its painful performance the week before in a 50-13 loss to Kahuku, it was the Trojans’ ground attack and a key takeaway at the expense of Baldwin quarterback Keelan Ewaliko that set the stage for their comeback win.

Leading the way for the Trojans was the versatile Dayton Furuta.

Offensively, the 6-foot, 215-pound junior rushed for 109 yards on 22 carries and two scores, doing most of his damage in the second half to give his team control of the game.

Defensively, the hard-hitting linebacker was one of several players responsible for enabling Mililani to contain Ewaliko.

It was Ewaliko who sparked the Bears’ promising start, personally accounting for all of his team’s points. The fleet-footed senior opened the scoring with an 18-yard run on Baldwin’s first possession and added the point-after.

Following a 31-yard field goal by Mililani’s Luani Matagiese, a pair of Trojans turnovers set up Ewaliko for field goals of 31 and 40 yards for a double-digit lead.

Furuta’s 2-yard run with 7:29 left in the second quarter enabled Mililani to close the gap to 13-10 at intermission.

Although he struggled with his passing accuracy, completing just six of 23 for 55 yards and one interception, Ewaliko finished with 116 yards on 20 carries.

York was highly complimentary of Ewaliko, noting that he piled up some big numbers against one of the top defensive units in the OIA.

"There’s a reason he’s getting a full ride from (the University of Hawaii)," York said.

He was also the victim of a game-changing turnover, when Dakota Turner stripped the ball from the Baldwin QB on a first-down play on the Mililani 15 late in the third period and the 6-3, 245-pound senior didn’t stop running until he was upended at the Baldwin 14.

A few plays later, Mililani’s Jarin Morikawa, the state’s most prductive passer, completed an 8-yard scoring toss to Ekolu Ramos for the go-ahead touchdown as the Trojans took a 17-13 lead with 3:20 left in the period. Morikawa finished with 17 completions on 31 attempts for 181 yards

Furuta added an insurance touchdown on an 11-yard run up the middle with 7:56 left in the game.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game," York said. "Baldwin is a team with a lot of heart, a team that brings it."