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Waianae countered an energetic Mililani comeback, rallying for a late go-ahead touchdown to defeat the Trojans 36-33 at John Kauinana Stadium on Saturday night.
The fifth-ranked Seariders (8-2) grabbed a 29-6 halftime lead and looked like they were going to finish off the Oahu Interscholastic Association quarterfinal game easily. But the sixth-ranked Trojans (5-3) got a second wind, dominated most of the second half and took the lead, 33-26, with 9:06 left.
“Our coach pulled us in and said it was either going to be that they step all over us or we rise to the occasion and ball out,” said Waianae running back Javen Towne, who scored three first-half touchdowns.
With the victory, the Seariders qualified for the inaugural Open Division of next month’s state tournament.
“It’s crazy,” Towne said. “We’re going to be competing against the best in state and I’m glad we can be there. All credit goes to our coaches and our linemen who carried us all the way.”
Waianae was without senior starting quarterback Jaren Ulu (shoulder injury), but fellow senior Jorell Pontes-Borje climbed into the driver’s seat and filled in seamlessly.
In the first half, Waianae ran rambunctiously behind an exploding offensive line. Rico Rosario ran for 112 of what turned out to be career-high 197 rushing yards by game’s end and Towne added those three touchdowns.
But Mililani, behind quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Andrew Valladares, stormed back. The Trojans defense, which stopped Waianae in its tracks until the late stages, allowed the Trojans to do their thing on offense.
Gabriel found Valladares for three second-half touchdowns (of 75, 18 and 54 yards) to go along with the scoring pass they connected on in the first quarter. Valladares finished with a school-record 215 receiving yards.
The 54-yard strike with 9:06 left gave the Trojans a 33-29 edge. It was their first lead and it didn’t last long. The Seariders took up the challenge and drove 83 yards for what turned out to be the winning touchdown. Rosario finished the march off with a 10-yard touchdown run for the 36-33 lead with 4:23 to go.
The running of Darius Muasau got the Trojans past midfield, but Waianae’s Sam Freeney intercepted a Gabriel pass with 3:06 remaining. The Seariders ran eight plays and picked up two first downs to run out the clock.
“Sam made a good jump on that and made a great read,” Waianae coach Walter Young said about that key interception. “Mililani is a helluva team. They came back and made some plays. Times got a little tough and we needed to get our energy back. It came down to where we had to make a play and our kids were right back up and made the play. The tide turned and it was in their favor, but we were able to overcome that.”
Waianae will play No. 1 Kahuku (8-1) in the OIA semifinals next weekend.
“We’re going to enjoy this one and get back to the drawing board and get ready for the Big Red Machine,” Young said.
The Trojans (5-3) are not done. They will join seven other teams statewide in the Division I state tournament next month.
“We could have done better defensively in the first half,” linebacker Jalen Olomua said. “It is what it is. We just gotta come out way harder. No excuses. We didn’t do our assignment, but we did come out explosively in the second half.”
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