Zenn Nelson passed for 154 yards and four touchdowns as Mililani stymied Leilehua 27-6 on Tuesday night at Hugh Yoshida Stadium.
Coach Rod York’s Trojans finished OIA regular-season play 5-0 in the inaugural year of high school flag football statewide. Nelson was a blur from sideline to sideline as a scrambler, completing 13 of her 22 pass attempts without an interception. She also rushed six times for 24 yards and was sacked only once.
Nelson’s arm strength and agility were tough to match. The sophomore plays basketball primarily.
“I started playing flag when I was 8,” said Nelson, who had a spectacular 42-yard TD pass in the first half. “Today, my teammates helped me a lot by making sure I don’t dwell on my mistakes. I stayed more calm. Last game I was getting overwhelmed.”
She played flag football until she was 10, then returned to the sport this spring.
Alizae Manutai, a freshman, was a force on the defensive line with five of her team’s six sacks. That was enough to neutralize Leilehua’s dangerous sophomore quarterback, Cali Moniz-Kealoha.
“My mindset is always to get the next one,” said Manutai, who credited Nelson with preparing her for opponents during practice. “She’s always breaking my ankles. I grew up playing for fun with my brothers.”
It was a big task against a talented Leilehua passer.
“I was scared at first. Leilehua, Cali, the star quarterback,” Manutai said. “After my first sack, I thought, wait, we got this.”
Madi Powell led the Mules receiving corps with four receptions for 39 yards.
Sophie Foster had a team-high seven receptions for 54 yards. Brooke Kurasaki had five catches for 60 yards and Kamalani Marlier had five catches for 37 yards and two TDs.
Leilehua was 4-0 coming into the game with a chance to take sole possession of first place. Moniz-Kealoha, daughter of coach Bryant Moniz, completed nine of her 11 pass attempts for 82 yards, including a 19-yard TD late in the game.
Leilehua’s defense stifled Mililani on its first two series, but Nelson led the Trojans on a 27-yard scoring drive. She eluded the pass rush and fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Marlier for a 6-0 Mililani lead with 5:13 left in the first half.
The Trojans defense brought plenty of heat, rushing two linemen to limit Moniz-Kealoha’s pocket time. The sophomore was 3-for-3 for 10 yards, sacked twice in the first half.
Mililani drove 34 yards in the final two minutes for a second TD. Nelson did much of the work on scrambles near the sideline, gaining 19 yards on two runs. With no timeouts and the clock ticking down, Nelson drilled a bullet to Kurasaki in the center back of the end zone with :00 left in the first half.
After Nelson connected with Foster on the PAT, Mililani had a 13-0 lead at the half.
The Trojans began the second half as they did in the first with Kurasaki at QB. A couple of plays later, they switched back to Nelson, who fired a 15-yard pass to Kurasaki. On third-and-short, Nelson reared back and launched a 42-yard bomb to Mahealani Choy Foo down the left sideline for a touchdown.
After the Trojans celebrated by diving onto a large high-jump cushion behind the end zone, Nelson tossed the PAT pass to Foster and Mililani led 20-0 with 5:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Nelson found open teammates on short routes, including three in a row to Kamalani Miller. The third catch by Miller was a 2-yard TD near the left pylon. The Trojans led 27-0 with 10:47 left in the game.
Leilehua broke the goose egg on a 19-yard TD pass from Moniz-Kealoha to Maci Rivera with 1:12 remaining.
In the early game at Yoshida Stadium, Pearl City edged Radford in overtime, 12-6.
The OIA playoffs are scheduled for April 14-17.
The state championships are slated April 23-26.
