By Timothy Leoncio
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On Oct. 31, the Trojan varsity football team took their game to their opponent, the Kahuku Red Raiders, and Aloha Stadium, claiming the coveted Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) Division I title with a score of 20-7.
“I feel good that we got back-to-back OIA championships, so that’s definitely a great feeling,” said Quarterback Junior McKenzie Milton. “But we still got a lot more work to do to try and take it to states.”
The varsity team worked hard during the regular season in order to make it to the post-season games, posting a 10-0, undefeated record and a No. 2 seed overall. “(Going undefeated is) great, but I’m trying not to let it get to my head, just trying to think of it week to week. At the beginning of the (semifinals) week we are 0-0, at the end of the week we just want to be 1-0,” expressed Left Tackle Senior Antonio Ala.
Head Coach Rod York anticipated the challenge that Kahuku would pose because of their physicality and resolute grit on the field. “By far, they were the most physical, big and athletic; they matched up well with us,” he stated. “Normally we win on the matchup, but those guys were just as athletic as we were. So it was a little tougher.”
With this in mind, and with the Mililani fans cheering them on, the varsity team went after Kahuku full force right from the kickoff. “All of the Kahuku fans were waving their towels, doing their chant, but our crowd was just as good,” said Milton. York added, “We just played a numbers game and we attacked them.”
MHS went on the scoreboard first, recording the first touchdown. However, in a surprising turn of events, Kahuku’s first string quarterback suffered a concussion early in the second quarter, forcing him to leave the game. “(Linebacker Senior) Sergio Urena made a great tackle in open field and unfortunately he got injured, but it changed the whole complexity of the game,” stated Milton.
The team capitalized on this and closed down on defense to prevent the blitz. “They were now one-dimensional, they couldn’t pass the ball, they had to run the ball,” said York. “It was not that big of an advantage, but it definitely disrupted their momentum, which we pounced on.”
The resulting victory marked Mililani’s third OIA championship and yet another chance to go after the state championship, with the Farrington Governors standing in their way at the semifinals. “Farrington’s going to be ready to go. They got a lot of good guys and it should be a good one,” said Milton. “If they give us the underneath passes, we’ll take that. They’ll probably give us the one-on-one matchup so we got to win there and just pound them the way we usually do with (Running Back Junior Vavae Malepeai) and the O-Line.” Ala agreed, “We’ve played them before, we’ve seen what they like to do and we’re just coming in with the exact same game plan as last time. If everybody does their jobs and as long as we all go hard and practice good this week, I think we’ll be just fine.”
The team looked back on the successes and was grateful for the support they received along the way. “The big thing about football is that it involves a lot of the other sports and the other extracurricular activities which is big,” said York. “I feel that’s why we’re successful, because of the support. And you throw in the friends and family of course.”
The community presence at the games also contributes to MHS’ triumphs. “They’re going nuts,” said Ala. “Everyone’s always asking me about the next game, when it’s going to be, who we’re going to play, when it’s going to be. It’s pretty crazy.” York added. “Nobody wants to come to watch a team thats 0 and 8, they want to watch a team that’s 8 and 0. You put it all together and that’s why there is so much pride in the Mililani Trojans. (It’s a) great time to be a Trojan.”
The varsity team hopes to keep up the winning spirit and, after beating Farrington in the semifinals on Nov. 15 with a score of 17-14, now have a shot at claiming the state finals for the first time.
