Moanalua to meet Mililani in battle of unbeatens for first OIA title

SALT LAKE – And then there were two. 

The inaugural season of girls’ high school flag football in the OIA almost has a champion. The Mililani Trojans (7-0) and Moanalua Na Menehune (7-0) each clinched a spot in the OIA girls flag football title game with hard-fought victories over Campbell (6-2) and Nanakuli (5-2) in Wednesday night’s semifinals. 

Campbell and Nanakuli will meet first on Thursday in the third-place game with the opening snap scheduled for 5:15 p.m. with Mililani and Moanalua to follow immediately after (approx. 7 p.m.). Both games will be played at Mililani High School. 

Campbell v. Mililani (OIA Semifinal #1) 

The Mililani Trojans were the first team to secure a spot in the first-ever OIA championship game, taking down the Campbell Sabers in the league semifinals at Moanalua High School on Wednesday night, 25-14. 

Sophomore QB Zenn Nelson led the way for the Trojans, completing 10-of-19 passes for 86 yards and two scores while rushing 22 times for a game-high 128 yards and two more touchdowns. Nelson was also intercepted twice but had an interception of her own on the other side of the ball. 

Mililani’s Xailey Robinson got the first score of the game with 1:27 left in the opening half, hauling a four-yard pass from Nelson to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead going into the break. Robinson finished the night with three catches for 23 yards in total  

Nelson added the first of her two scores on the ground on the opening drive of the third quarter, twisting through the defense for a two-yard rushing touchdown and following it up on the other side with an interception less than a minute later. 

Needing some momentum, Campbell found sparks after the interception with a pick of their own. Sabers senior QB Maya Gonsalves followed up the stop with a 60-yard bomb of a touchdown pass to sophomore WR Jyzelle Gorion to make it a one-score game with 3:02 left in the third quarter. 

Campbell junior Jaynalyn Sotelo quickly built on that momentum with a pick-six on the first play immediately following the touchdown, giving the Sabers their first lead of the day with under a minute left in the third quarter. 

Nelson fired a laser to the front-left pylon with 7:57 left in regulation, connecting with Nahealani Choy Foo for the first time in the OIA playoffs to push the unbeaten Trojans back ahead for good, 19-14. Nelson added her second rushing touchdown of the game with 1:45 remaining, putting the cherry on top of the semifinal win for Mililani. 

Campbell QB Maya Gonsalves ended the night completing 16-of-32 pass attempts for 178 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Junior WR Aiesha Deweever led the Sabers with five receptions for 39 yards while Jyzelle Gorion finished with 61 yards and a score across three catches. 

Nanakuli – Moanalua (OIA Semifinal #2) 

The second and final spot in the 2025 OIA girls flag football championship game was secured by Moanalua Na Menehune after figuring out a way past a stout Nanakuli Golden Hawks squad on Wednesday at Moanalua High School. 

Nanakuli’s defense managed to do the impossible to begin the game, holding Moanalua’s high-powered offense without a point in the opening quarter – the first time all season Na Menehune entered a second frame without any points.

Star Moanalua quarterback Zaira Sugui finally got Na Menehune on the board with time winding down in the first half, twirling through the Nanakuli defense for a 6-yard rushing touchdown with 1:45 left before the break. The junior followed it up with an interception on the defensive side less than a minute later and then found Kaia Borjes-Peeples with five seconds remaining in the second quarter to send Moanalua into halftime leading 12-0. 

The Nanakuli defense stepped to the task again in the second half, holding Moanalua scoreless throughout the third quarter before Sugui connected with freshman receiver Lofa Simanu on a 23-yard touchdown pass to open up the final quarter. Simanu snagged the two-point conversion as well for Moanalua, putting the top seed from the East up three scores with just over eight minutes to go. 

Na Menehune’s defense clamped down on the Golden Hawks from first to final whistle, allowing 52 yards of total offense to Nanakuli while notching the team’s second shutout of the season. Moanalua also shut out Roosevelt in the opening game of the season. 

Nanakuli freshman QB Charyssa Asinsin finished the night completing 6-of-17 passes for 27 yards and an interception, getting sacked twice as the Golden Hawks offense struggled to get going on the offensive side of the ball. Fellow freshman Styralynn Reyes had 3.0 sacks in the loss as Nanakuli showed off a bright future in a strong effort against one of the state’s top teams. 

Moanalua QB Zaira Sugui went 13-for-20 passing for 154 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while tacking on her third rushing score of the year and leading Na Menehune with 49 rushing yards. Freshman WR Jodie Keo had seven catches for 85 yards to lead Moanalua while Simanu and Borjes-Peeples each hauled in touchdowns in the victory.