By Mary Conner
[email protected]
After their loss against the Liberty Patriots in Las Vegas, the MHS varsity football team came back strong with a 54-6 win against Aiea High School at the Homecoming Game on Sept. 12. The Trojans were able to showcase their abilities against Aiea, as well as against Farrington High School the following week with a 71-28 win; despite these victories, the season is far from over.
“I feel great, but we have a lot of work to do,” said Running Back Senior Vavae Malepeai. Head Coach Roderick York added, “They just need to improve on the fundamentals, each and every day, doing the simple things like tackling and catching the ball, blocking.” The Trojans’ loss to the Liberty Patriots was a wake-up call to the players and coaches alike. “We actually learned a lot because Liberty, the team we played in Las Vegas, is actually a really good team,” said York. “Definitely going against a team like that, the experience that our kids had on the field, they got to experience going against a really good team, so now, when we face Farrington and the Kuku’s, they won’t be as big and intimidating.”
Though Aiea scored a touchdown within the eighth minute of the first quarter, they quickly lost momentum and MHS’ defense kept Aiea off of the scoreboard for the remainder of the game, as well as completing five sacks and two interceptions. MHS’ offense responded to Aiea’s early score and pushed for 67 yards in only four plays. Along with Quarterback Senior McKenzie Milton’s four completed touchdown passes, Defensive Lineman Senior Elias Pritchard’s interception and touchdown run gave the Trojans a 34-6 lead at the end of the first half. “Every play led up to this victory, but like I said, we have a lot to work on,” said Malepeai.
The atmosphere of the game was lively and empowering from start to finish. The stands were filled with nearly 2,500 supporters from both schools. “It’s all very exhilarating,” said Junior Andrew Olson. The Trojan Marching Band kept fans loud and proud, leading cheers throughout the game and performing a well-prepared interpretation of this year’s show at halftime.
Though the game was a big win for MHS, the team was flagged 25 times, resulting in a total loss of 255 yards in penalties.“We made a lot of mental errors and had a lot of penalties, so we need to try to be more disciplined as a team, and just do better in all facets of the game,” said Malepeai.
Despite the errors made at the Homecoming Game, York believes another chance at winning the state championship is possible for the team. “We need to make sure each practice counts and that we’re being efficient and that we just keep working on the fundamentals,” said York.
The Trojans’ next game will be against the Moanalua Menehunes on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Moanalua High School. They look forward to an action-packed game and hope to do as well as they have in the past.
