WAILUKU >> If this were a year ago, Mililani wouldn’t still be playing.
The Trojans took their second chance to heart and persevered with three touchdowns in the final 5:11 to turn back No. 4 seed Baldwin 49-28 on Friday in the first round of the Division I tournament in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships.
Mililani (7-3), the highest-ranked team in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 not to qualify for the Open Division after losing in the OIA quarterfinals, scored 35 unanswered points after falling behind 28-14 in the third quarter.
Senior Andrew Valladares caught three of his four touchdown passes in the second half and quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for a career-high 397 yards in the win.
“We were definitely excited,” said Gabriel, who was 22-for-35 passing. “We can’t complain we’re not in the Open (Division) and we can’t dwell on it. This wasn’t a trip, this was a business trip and it was good we came out with a win in a hostile environment.”
Mililani entered a fired-up War Memorial Stadium against a Baldwin team that was seeded fourth despite winning the MIL with an 8-2 record coming in.
Kamaki Gouveia set a Baldwin state tournament record with 177 rushing yards and quarterback Chayce Akaka ran for two touchdowns and threw a 47-yard score to Bishop Wickers to give the Bears a 28-14 lead early in the third quarter.
Mililani adjusted on defense and held Gouveia, who had 217 total yards in the first half, to only 21 after intermission. Akaka threw for 135 yards but completed only six of 22 passes and was picked off twice.
“(Mililani) is explosive with that Gabriel kid and Valladares and we didn’t make enough plays on offense,” Baldwin coach Pohai Lee said. “We squandered some opportunities, took a couple of sacks and (Mililani) was playing us cover zero all game and attacking.”
Six Trojans had sacks, including junior Jalen Olomua, who added seven tackles and rushed for 96 yards and three touchdowns.
Valladares tied the game with a 57-yard touchdown reception on third-and-long late in the third quarter.
He capped a 95-yard drive with the go-ahead touchdown reception on a 17-yard pass with 5:11 remaining.
Mililani forced Baldwin to turn it over on downs with 3:51 remaining and Gabriel hit Valladares from 28 yards out on the next play.
Olomua added a 36-yard touchdown run after a punt for the final margin.
“Credit Baldwin. They’re a tough team,” Mililani coach Rod York said. “We had to come in and give it our all. We turned over the ball, gave away too many opportunities, and I’m proud of my guys for fighting back and my team showed heart.”
Mililani rolled up 604 total yards to win by 21 despite turning the ball over five times.
Valladares finished with his second 200-yard game in three weeks. He’s the only Mililani receiver ever to have 200 yards receiving in a game.
“We had two weeks to prepare and knew if we executed and did our job everything would fall into place,” Valladares said. “We weren’t ready to go home. We wanted to get that ‘W’ and make our community proud.”
The Trojans will play Leilehua in the semifinals next weekend. It will be the third time the two schools have played in 44 days, with Mililani winning the previous two 52-35 and 63-42.
