Mililani takes to the air to deflate Waipahu

With one of its primary ground threats sidelined, Mililani found enough production through the air to pull away from Waipahu on Friday.

The Trojans went into the OIA Red West matchup without running back Vavae Malepeai and scratched out a 10-point lead going into halftime.

They hit another gear in the second half as quarterbacks McKenzie Milton and Robert Faleafine both threw touchdown passes after the break to lead Mililani to the 39-12 win at the Marauders’ field.

"Vae’s a big impact, but we believe in our other guys," said receiver Bronsen Ader, who caught seven passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

Kainoa Wilson caught six passes for 120 yards and Milton and Faleafine combined for 178 passing yards.

Malepeai, who had rushed for 486 yards and nine touchdowns in Mililani’s first four games, sat out Friday’s contest with bruised ribs suffered in last week’s win at Waianae. He is expected to be ready for the Trojans’ home game against Campbell following a bye week.

Mililani had just four possessions in the first half as Waipahu managed to put together lengthy drives that chewed up time but came up short of the end zone.

The Trojans capped their second drive of the game with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Milton to Ader and settled for a field goal after a Waipahu fumble gave them the ball at the Marauders’ 11 midway through the second quarter.

"Waipahu played us tough," Mililani coach Rod York said. "At the same time we were undisciplined, and that is on me and we’ll get that corrected."

Mililani put up points on its first three drives of the second half, with Dayton Furuta scoring on a 12-yard run followed by Ader’s second touchdown catch, this time from Faleafine, and Milton hitting Kalakaua Timoteo to extend the lead to 32-6 late in the third quarter.

"They threw the ball well," York said. "It starts up front and the O-line gave them a lot of time and we were able to hit the open spots."

Mililani also lost a starter on defense when linebacker Jacob Afele was ejected on Waipahu’s second play from scrimmage for coming in high on a hard hit on Marauders quarterback Kai Mercado-Aiona.

The Trojans still preserved the shutout going into halftime … barely.

Waipahu ended the half with an 18-play drive to the Mililani 1. But the Marauders couldn’t get another play off before time expired.

"That’s what we tried to do, sustain drives," Waipahu coach Eric Keola said. "It worked in the first half where they weren’t on the field as much … and the second half, the opportunities they had they capitalized on."

Waipahu broke the shutout in the third quarter when Mercado-Aiona scored on a quarterback sneak. Backup quarterback Gavin Marques capped the scoring with a 2-yard run late in the fourth quarter.