Mililani scored nine unanswered points in the fourth quarter to rally past Saint Louis. | Michael Lasquero

No. 4 Mililani rallies to stun No. 2 Saint Louis, 16-14

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED AUGUST 18, 2024

Mililani miracle.

The fourth-ranked Trojans scored nine unanswered points in the fourth quarter to dispatch of No. 2 Saint Louis, 16-14, in a non-league game at John Kauinana Stadium Saturday night.

Quarterback Kekoa Koong, playing in place the injured Kini McMillan, delivered the game-winning touchdown pass on third-and-long to Lehiwa Kahana-Travis with under three minutes to play in regulation to secure the win.

Mililani trailed for majority of the game until that moment as it faced a 7-0 deficit after the first quarter and a 14-7 deficit heading into the final period of play.

What helped ignite the Trojans’ comeback actually came off an interception on fourth down early in the fourth quarter. Instead of batting the ball down to give the Crusaders possession at their 36, a Koong pass was intercepted to give Saint Louis the ball at its own 4-yard line. A false start then pushed the line of scrimmage to the 2-yard line.

Saint Louis ultimately was able to get a first down after getting backed up in its own end zone, but a bad snap after the chains moved forced the Crusaders to kick it out of the back of their own end zone for a safety, making the score 14-9 with 9:33 showing on the clock.

Mililani struggled to get anything going on offense throughout the fourth quarter, but a Jonah “Tana” Togafau-Tavui punt fell on the back of a Saint Louis’ players head to give the Trojans possession. Kahana-Travis scooped up the loose ball and ran into the end zone for a potential TD, but officials ruled that the ball could not be advanced.

That didn’t matter in the end because Koong and Kahana-Travis was able to connect for the winning score.

Saint Louis had an opportunity late in the game with no timeouts to get into field goal position after crossing midfield, but a sack on first down followed by a spike on second down made things difficult. The Crusaders did complete pass short of the sticks on third down, but this led to an unfortunate spike on fourth down that essentially ended the game.

 

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL LASQUERO