Kahuku dominates in OIA Open Division semifinal win over Mililani

MILILANI – Revenge. 

The Kahuku Red Raiders (7-4) clinched a return to the OIA Open Division championship game on Friday night, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back in a dominant 35-6 victory over the defending OIA Open Division champion Mililani Trojans. The victory sets up a rematch with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and the top-ranked Campbell Sabers, who went to the North Shore and beat Kahuku two weeks ago in the regular season finale, 21-13.

The Trojans, who saw longtime starting QB Kini McMillan finally return after rehabbing an injury suffered on August 10, started slowly on offense as the Kahuku defense got consistent pressure against Mililani (8-2) and forced a punt on the game’s opening possession. That wasn’t the case for the Kahuku offense after star senior ATH Mana Carvalho returned the Mililani punt 47 yards inside the Trojans’ 20 and then caught new QB Matai Fuiava’s first pass for a 13-yard gain to put the Red Raiders eight yards from paydirt. 

Malosi Fiatoa put the first points on the board two snaps later as he scampered in from six yards out to put Kahuku up 7-0 with 7:48 left in the opening frame. The Red Raiders took everyone by surprise on the ensuing kickoff, recovering an onside kick and keeping McMillan and the Mililani offense off the field for an extended period as Kahuku drove 42 yards and tacked on a 22-yard field goal to make it a 10-point game with three and a half minutes left in the first quarter. 

Mililani was unable to muster more than 25 yards of total offense in the first quarter but quickly found more success after the frame flipped as McMillan connected on three straight passes for first downs and a defensive holding call against Kahuku set up the Trojans at the Red Raiders’ 14-yard line. The Washington-commit looked like himself again to close the drive, firing a strike to Derek Tsuchiyama on the left sideline for a 10-yard touchdown that pulled Mililani back within a score, 10-6. 

Kahuku responded right back, going 56 yards in five plays for a score of their own as Fuiava found Aiden Manutai in stride on 4th-and-5 for a 34-yard touchdown to make it 17-6 in favor of the Red Raiders with just under eight minutes to play in the first half. Manutai added his second touchdown of the night to close out the half, picking off McMillan for his 17th career interception and returning it 34 yards for the score to give Kahuku a 25-6 lead going into the break. 

Mililani looked like it had taken back some momentum late in the third quarter when Jonah Togafau-Tavui picked off Fuiava with his back against his end zone, but Kahuku snatched the ball right back with a forced fumble and recovery putting the Red Raiders on the Mililani 28 with a fresh set of downs. Fuiava did the rest, finding Kea Lerner for a 27-yard touchdown with 3:35 left in the third quarter to make it a 26-point game. 

The Red Raiders added on one final time with a 29-yard field goal to open the final 12 minutes, flexing a dominant defense and an offense that played complimentary football to knock off Mililani and advance to the OIA Open Division Championship with a 35-6 win. 

Matai Fuiava finished the night completing 19-of-32 passes for 176 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for Kahuku, who sets up a rematch with top-ranked Campbell next weekend at Farrington High School. Mana Carvalho led Red Raiders receivers with eight catches for 40 yards while Aiden Manutai totaled a team-high 50 yards and a touchdown on just three receptions. 

Kini McMillan settled in as the night went on against an elite Red Raiders defense, completing 16-of-28 passes for 137 yards while tossing a touchdown and an interception before Mililani waved the white flag and pulled him for the final eight minutes to keep him healthy for next weekend’s win-or-done third place game against fourth-seeded Kapolei. 

University of Hawai’i-commit Brandon Gaea, who transferred recently from Bishop Gorman (NV), made his Mililani debut with three catches for 23 yards. Onosai Salanoa-Emosi led all Trojans with five catches for a game-high 58 yards receiving while Derek Tsuchiyama finished with 22 yards on four receptions and hauled in the only score of the game for Mililani. 

Kahuku and Campbell will play to crown a new OIA Open Division champion next weekend, though both have already clinched spots in the 2024 First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championship tournament later this month. Mililani will take on fourth-seeded Kapolei for the lone remaining berth from the OIA Open Division next weekend.