Three M’s — McKenzie Milton, Vavae Malepeai and Rex Manu — went full throttle on Thursday night, and Mililani belted Campbell 47-15 in the OIA Division I semifinals at Aloha Stadium.
The Trojans (10-0) advanced to play Kahuku for the OIA title on Halloween night.
Malepeai, a junior running back, finished with 154 yards rushing, including 108 in the first half, and he scored twice.
"We were able to run the ball," Mililani coach Rod York said. "And when we needed to pass, it was there for us. Shutting down their running game was key."
Milton, a junior quarterback, was on target with strikes and lobs and kept the Campbell defense honest with keepers and whatever else it took to keep the efficient Trojans offense moving. He completed 22 of 29 passes for 263 yards and four TDs.
"The offensive line did a great job getting to their second level, the ‘backers," Milton said. "They do an awesome job giving me time to get the ball out. Sometimes (the passes) are high or low, left or right, but the receivers do a great job making plays."
Timoteo Kalakaua and Kainoa Wilson gathered in two scoring passes from Milton each.
"Mililani is an awesome team with that running and passing game," Sabers coach Amosa Amosa said. "We were trying to put pressure on him (Milton), but he was too fast."
The Trojans scored early and often and went up 34-0 with 4:42 left in the first half.
Manu, the senior defensive lineman, spurred the dominant Mililani defense with a fumble recovery, tackle for loss and was an all-around major inconvenience to the Campbell offense. He and his mates put a stranglehold on the Sabers’ normally powerful running game.
"We did our assignments and did our jobs the way we’re supposed to," Manu said. "Our coaches work really hard on breaking down the film to help us.
"We really enjoyed playing at the stadium in this environment. Everything we practiced is exactly what happened. It turned out well."
Campbell’s biggest offensive plays, including Terell Johnson’s 72-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter to make it 34-7, came against the Trojans’ second string.
Campbell (7-3) scored its final touchdown with six seconds left on backup quarterback Anthony Pablo’s 14-yard pass to Noah Esprecion.
The Sabers play Farrington for third place and a berth in the state tournament.
"We are fortunate that we still have at least one more game and that we’re in a situation where we can make states," Amosa said. "I hope the kids realize it."
Mililani will be playing in its third straight OIA title game and going for its second championship in a row.
"The kids understand the situation. It’s playoff time," York said. "It’s grind time. I’m proud of them. They played really well and we move on to next week. And we’ve got to bring it next week."
At Aloha Stadium
| CAMPBELL (7-3) |
0 |
7 |
0 |
8 |
— |
15 |
| MILILANI (10-0) |
21 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
— |
47 |
MIL—Vavae Malepeai 5 run (kick failed)
MIL—Kainoa Wilson 21 pass from McKenzie Milton (Malepeai run)
MIL—Kalakaua Timoteo 13 pass from Milton (Marc Matas kick)
MIL—Malepeai 3 run (Matas kick)
MIL—Timoteo 47 pass from Milton (kick failed)
CAMP—Terell Johnson 72 run (Kona Reiny-Aloy kick)
MIL—Milton 9 run (run failed)
MIL—Wilson 10 pass from Milton (Jerrod Cunningham kick)
CAMP—Noah Esprecion 14 pass from Anthony Pablo (Jayce Bantolina pass from Reiny-Aloy)
RUSHING—Campbell: Johnson 6-86, Austin May 11-58, Jenesus Tago 2-35, Pablo 8-20, Ezra Savea 2-0. Mililani: Malapeai 22-154, Milton 5-74, Cheyne Constantino 7-25, Jaden Bantolina 2-2, TEAM 3-(minus-5).
PASSING—Campbell: Savea 4-11-0—40, Pablo 1-1-0—14. Mililani: Milton 22-29-1—263.
RECEIVING—Campbell: Johnson 2-24, Esprecion 1-14, Jayce Bantolina 1-9, Reiny-Aloy 1-7. Mililani: Kalakaua Timoteo 7-102, Wilson 4-42, Bronson Ramos 3-57, Luani Matagiese 2-15, Malepeai 1-27, Roman Tovi 1-9, Isaiah Manding 1-4, Bryson Ventura 1-3, Joshua Butac 1-2, Constantino 1-2.
