Mililani honored a proven winner with a 55-37 victory over visiting Campbell in Saturday night’s OIA Open semifinal matchup at John Kauinana Stadium.
Two-time Super Bowl champion and Mililani alum Ma’a Tanuvasa saw his No. 55 jersey retired by Mililani at halftime, then stayed to watch the Trojans put up 55 points in a playoff win.
“We came out inspired by coach Ma’a. We put 55 points up there for Coach Ma’a,” Mililani head coach Rod York said. “I’m proud of the kids for working hard. Campbell is a dangerous team. Campbell is a great team, they can score at any time. They’re a well-coached team.”
Mililani quarterback Kini McMillan finished with 326 points on 15-for-25 passing. He threw four touchdowns without an interception, and ran another one in on the ground. Two Trojans receivers finished with over 100 yards, while another finished just under the century mark. Nakoa Kahana-Travis caught three balls for 103 yards and a touchdown and also had a rushing touchdown, while Onosai Salanoa added 103 yards on three catches with a score. Davyn Joseph added 94 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.
Joseph also returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.
After a Campbell punt to start the game, the next three offensive drives ended in touchdowns. On Mililani’s first drive, McMillan connected with Salanoa for an explosive 75-yard score to finish off a quick five-play scoring drive. The Sabers answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line.
McMillan responded with a six-play drive. He completed all four passes on the drive for 47 yards, including the 12-yard touchdown pass to Joseph. The Trojans defense forced a Campbell turnover-on-downs, setting the offense up for another score. McMillan scored with his feet this time, running it in from 2 yards out to cap a four-play drive.
Campbell got back on the scoreboard after a momentary speed bump. The Sabers drove 66 yards on seven plays, and Cristian Wyckstandt hit a 31-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-10.
Following the game’s first field goal, the final four drives of the half ended with touchdowns. The McMillan and Joseph combo connected for its second touchdown of the game on a 35-yard completion.
Sagapolutele scored his second touchdown on another 1-yard quarterback sneak. Campbell got the ball back after Xyler Jarra recovered Joseph’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The Sabers drove deep into Mililani territory. Sagapolutele lost his helmet and had to sit out a play. Backup quarterback Donny Faavi Jr. made the most of the opportunity. The sophomore completed a five-yard fade to Tainoa Lave for Campbell’s first passing touchdown. Faavi Jr.’s pass cut the deficit down to six points.
Joseph made up for his earlier fumble. With zeroes on the clock, Joseph returned the Campbell kickoff 94 yards for the buzzer-beating score and push Mililani’s lead back to 35-22.
Campbell forced a Mililani three-and-out to start the second half but failed to capitalize on the opportunity, as the Sabers punted it back to the Trojans just seven plays later. McMillan capitalized, finding Kahana-Travis on the first play of the drive for an 89-yard catch-and-run score. Lyric Sarae later hit a 34-yard field goal to give Mililani a 45-22 lead after three quarters.
The Sabers defense opened the fourth quarter with another Mililani three-and-out. The offense responded with a nine-play scoring drive. Sagapolutele threw his first touchdown pass, a 17-yard completion to Zayden Alviar-Costa. Mililani turned the ball over on downs on the next drive, and Sagapolutele capitalized with a 77-yard touchdown pass to Rowen-Ray Bucao.
After three straight scoreless drives in the fourth quarter, Mililani finally got back on the scoreboard with three minutes left to play. Kahana-Travis was stopped on the 1-yard line, but the Trojans offensive line pushed the pile into the end zone to make it 52-37.
On the very next play, Mililani’s Kayden Thomas Anzaldo picked off Sagapolutele. The offense drained over two minutes off the clock, then Sarae hit a career-long 50-yard field goal to all but clinch the win for Mililani.
The Trojans will advance to play No. 1 Kahuku in the OIA Open title game next week.
“It’s the one we’ve been waiting for,” York said about taking on Kahuku in the title game. “We’ve been preparing a whole year for them.”
NO. 2 MILILANI 55,
NO. 3 CAMPBELL 37
At John Kauinana Stadium
Campbell (8-3) 7 15 0 15 — 37
Mililani (9-1) 14 21 10 10 — 55
MIL—Onosai Salanoa 75 pass from Kini
McMillan (Lyric Sarae kick)
CAMP—Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele 1 run
(Cristian Wyckstandt kick)
MIL—Davyn Joseph 12 pass from Kini
McMillan (Sarae kick)
MIL—McMillan 6 run (Sarae kick)
CAMP—FG Wyckstandt 31
MIL—Joseph 28 pass from McMillan
(Sarae kick)
CAMP—Sagapolutele 1 run (kick failed)
CAMP—Tainoa Lave 6 pass from Donny
Faavi Jr (run failed)
MIL—Joseph 95 kickoff return (Sarae
kick)
MIL—Nakoa Kahana-Travis 74 pass from
McMillan (Sarae kick)
MIL—FG Sarae 34
CAMP—Zayden Alviar-Costa 16 pass
from Sagapolutele (Wyckstandt kick)
CAMP—Rowen-Ray Bucao 75 pass from
Sagapolutele (Alviar-Costa pass from
Sagapolutele)
MIL—N. Kahana-Travis 2 run (Sarae kick)
MIL—FG Sarae 50
RUSHING—Campbell: Sagapolutele
13-65, James Steffany-Fiame 9-28, Falaniko
Scanlan 5-15. Mililani: N. Kahana-
Travis 14-33, Derek Tsuchiyama 4-20,
McMillan 7-19, Joseph 1-(minus 2).
PASSING—Campbell: Sagapolutele
21-43-1-346, Faavi Jr. 1-1-0-6. Mililani:
McMillan 15-25-0-326, Lehiwa
Kahana-Travis 1-1-0-33.
RECEIVING—Campbell: Lave 6-132,
Bucao 5-117, Rusten Abang-Perez 5-54,
Caysean Melvin 2-17, Xyler Jarra 1-16, Alviar-
Costa 2-11, Tavale 1-5. Mililani: N.
Kahana-Travis 3-108, Salanoa 3-103, Joseph 5-94, Andrew Manivong 1-37, L.
Kahana-Travis 2-10, Tsuchiyama 1-8,
Makel Paiva 1-(minus 1).
