MILILANI – The Waimea Menehunes used their powerful rushing attack to control the time and score of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II state championship game, running all over the King Kekaulike Na Alii defense en route to a 45-6 victory and the school’s first ever state championship.

Waimea ran for 443 yards on the night, as eight different players had touches in the run game and four of those players had over 50 yards rushing.

Kameron Apilado was the main workhorse for the Menehunes, as the running back racked up 228 yards on just 11 touches to go along with two touchdowns. Over 150 of those yards came on two of Apilado’s runs.

After Waimea jumped out to a 10-0 lead, King Kekaulike used a 15-play, 75 yard drive to cut the lead to 10-6 just minutes into the second quarter.

Waimea turned on the jets after that, scoring 35 points that would go unanswered by King Kekaulike thanks in part to a suffocating defensive performance from the Menehunes.

Aukai Emayo rushed 15 times for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Waimea. Kaili Arakaki chipped in a touchdown to go along with another 53 rushing yards for the Menehunes.

King Kekaulike’s lone score came on the only completion of the game from Kalelepono Wong, who hit Ahe Sumibcay for a 31-yard touchdown. Na Alii was held to just 189 total offensive yards.

It was a dominant performance by Waimea, who had a great turnout of fans at Mililani High School for the program’s first state title.