On Friday night, Aug. 30, the Mililani football team played against Liberty High — a division two team from Henderson, Nev. The last time the two teams faced each other was Sept. 4, 2015, with Mililani losing 53-76. Mililani achieved victory this time with a final score of 34-22. 

     “No matter if we are down or not, there is always more time to improve ourselves,” said wide receiver Kanoa Gibson.

     Although Mililani had a rough start, the team was able to rally their forces and rise to the occasion. The Trojans came back from a 16-point deficit in the first quarter, scoring seven points in the second, 14 points in the third, and 13 points in the fourth.  “I feel like we did what we had to do and it just felt really satisfying because we deserved it, after all the hard work we put in,” said running back Makena Alcover. 

     Gibson and Alcover set the pace of the game. Gibson started the comeback, scoring two touchdowns and claiming 145 yards while Alcover covered 100 yards and two touchdowns. “I feel it’s pretty good, we won against a top ranked team, so it feels good,” said Gibson.

     The game concluded with linebacker Micah Kim rushing a quick touchdown of 10 yards; Mililani stopped Liberty from claiming points on their final possession. Even though this is a big win for Mililani, the Trojans are focused on the future season and many games to come. “From now on we are just going forward, because that’s a top ranked team and we have more top rank teams coming. We are just waiting for more teams, this for sure boosts our confidence,” said Gibson. Alcover added, “(I plan to) just work hard. Do things for the team and take the championships.”

     Mililani’s next game is against the Waianae Seariders on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Waianae High School.