Punahou's Kanawai Noa, leaps up to make a catch between two Mililani defenders. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou WR Luke Morris makes the first touchdown reception of the game at the top of the second quarter. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Mililani's Vavae Malepeai moves past Punahou defense for extra yardage. Amber Popovich | Special to SL

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Punahou defender Joseph Saula celebrates with a teammate after stopping Mililani running back Vavae Malepeai just before the goal line. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Mililani's Bronsen Ader and Punahou's Dakota Torres pounce on a fumbled ball after a Mililani punt return. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Mililani QB McKenzie Milton makes a pass attempt to teammate wide receiver Bronsen Ader. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Punahou RB Kotoni Sekona collides with Mililani CB Mata Leota near the sideline. Evan Asato | SL

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Thu, Aug 15, 2013 @ Mililani [ 7:00 pm ]

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Punahou

24

Mililani

14

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Punahou (11-0-0)	0	14	10	0	24
Mililani (11-2-0)	0	7	0	7	14

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

McKenzie Milton 56 yd

Larry Tuileta 255 yd 2 TD

Vavae Malepeai 143 yd 2 TD

Kotoni Sekona 97 yd 1 TD

Bronsen Ader 49 yd

Luke Morris 85 yd 1 TD

MILILANI – The score was closer this time, but the result was the same.

Larry Tuileta passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns to lead Punahou to a 24-14 win over Mililani in a non-league game before a crowd of about 2,000 at John Kauinana Stadium.

It was the season debut for the Buffanblu (1-0), who returned to the field for the first time since losing to Kahuku in the Division I state title game last November. The game was also a rematch of a state semifinal last year, which Punahou won, 49-19.

“The kids played hard, we gave a lot of our kids an opportunity to play, which is nice, and against a quality opponent like Mililani you're always happy when you can get a win and still learn things,” Buffanblu coach Kale Ane said.

Punahou racked up 402 yards of total offense, including 141 from its rushing game. Kotoni Sekona carried 15 times for 97 yards with a touchdown and Wayne Taulapapa added 84 yards on 14 attempts.

“Their defense really gave us fits, but the line picked it up, Tui bought some time on some passes – he did a very good job keeping his poise under pressure – and we were able to run it well, I thought,” Ane said.

Mililani's pass rush proved effective, sacking Tuileta six times, including four by defensive end KK Padello. However, it was the other side of the ball for the Trojans that failed to produce.

The Trojan offense accumulated 256 yards of total offense, including just 59 passing yards. Quarterbacks McKenzie Milton and Robert Faleafine combined to complete just seven of their 18 pass attempts without a score.

“Horrible,” Mililani coach Rod York said of his passing offense Thursday. “That's it – just horrible.”

Despite their passing woes, the Trojans were able to run the ball efficiently on the legs of Vavae Malepeai, who finished with a game-high 143 yards on 24 attempts. However, Mililani was unable to convert on most of its drives – including a pair of turnover on downs in the red zone.

“That hurt us on the scoreboard, obviously, and with the momentum,” York said.

After a scoreless opening quarter, Punahou got on the board with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Tuileta to Luke Morris just 63 seconds into the second. On the scoring play, Tuileta scrambled away from pressure and found Morris wide open in the back of the end zone.

Mililani answered on its ensuing drive with a 26-yard touchdown run by Malepeai, who started right on the play before cutting back to the middle of the field and crossing the goal line. Mark Matas' PAT tied it at 7 with 8:44 left in the quarter.

The Buffanblu came back with another score seven plays later – on a 14-yard scoring strike from Tuileta to Trent Sitar – to reclaim the lead, which held until halftime. Tuileta finished 20-of-31 passing without an interception.

The Trojans had a chance to answer on their next possession, but it ultimately stalled at the Punahou 1-yard line after a goal line stand by the Buffanblu. Nose guard Joseph Saula was among several Punahou players who stuffed Malepeai before he could cross the plane of the end zone.

Punahou extended its lead to 17-7 early in the third quarter on a 33-yard field goal by McDonald and 24-7 a few minutes later on a 7-yard touchdown run by Sekona.

Malepeai closed out the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown run with five minutes and 36 seconds to play to cap a 13-play, 70-yard Mililani drive.

“We played a great team and I thought it was really good to get reps against this team because they're a good team,” Tuileta said of the Trojans. “They're good defensively and they gave our young guys some good varsity experience.”

Punahou, which travels to the mainland next week for a game at Helix (La Mesa, Calif.), played without defensive end Canton Kaumatule.

Mililani (1-1), which alternated between Faleafine and Milton for most of the game, travels to Kapolei Friday to open defense of its Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West title from a year ago.