Football
Long road led Mililani to D1 state championship game




Coming into the 2013 prep football season, this much was known about Rod York's Mililani squad: It was loaded with talent on defense, but would have to replace a record-setting quarterback on offense.

That was back in late July, when an heir to the departed-Jarin Morikawa had yet to be found and Vavae Malepeai was a relative unknown. Jump to mid-November and McKenzie Milton has firmly entrenched himself as the signal-caller of the Trojan offense and Malepeai leads all of Division I in rushing yards. As for the defense, well, it's more than lived up to its billing.

Add all of it up and the result has been the most successful season in school history and Mililani's second Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference championship in four years. Now, Mililani prepares for its toughest task yet on the state's biggest stage Saturday when it takes on top-ranked Punahou for all the marbles.

The Trojans (11-1), winners of their last 10 games, and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu-champion Buffanblu (10-0), the lone remaining undefeated team in Division I, will face off in the title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Championships.

MILILANI OFFENSE

The emergence of Milton, who was the starting JV quarterback a year ago, and Malepeai, a transfer from Saint Louis, has been well-documented, but York points back to the bruisers up front as the main reason why Mililani's offense has been successful.

"We preach team and a lot of the skills get all the publicity and the credit, but I would say our O-line, as well as our D-line, have been the steadiest unit," said York, who is in his fourth season at the helm of the program. "Those guys set it up for the whole team. Every game that we've won, they've played well up front and if we can win this one, it'll be because of them again."

The offensive line is made up of left tackle Derick Fetui-Suapaia (6-foot-2, 250 pounds, Jr.), left guard Taylor Fernandez-Dizon (6-0, 260, Sr.), center Brett Damato (5-7, 230, Jr.), right guard Andru Tovi (6-2, 300, So.) and right tackle Jordan Agasiva (6-4, 270, Jr.).

The unit has helped the Trojans average 191.7 rushing yards and 182.4 passing per game. They score more than 35 points per game and have totaled 115 points scored in their past three games.

Milton, who beat out senior Robert Faleafine for the starting quarterback job, has completed 60 percent (117 of 195) of his passes for 1,499 yards and 15 touchdowns against five interceptions. He has also proven to be an effective scrambler, ranking second to Malepeai on the team with 471 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Malepeai, who is also just a sophomore, has burst upon the scene with 1,317 rushing yards — 119.7 per game and 5.9 per rush — with 20 touchdowns. He has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in eight of the 10 games he played in this year (He did not play against Waipahu due to a rib injury).

The Trojans have also used Dayton Furuta (257 rush yards, 6 TDs) and Pakelo Lee (226 rush yards, 2 TDs) at running back this year.

The receiving corps is led by Bronson Ader (57 receptions for 615 yards, 4 TDs), Kainoa Wilson (35 rec., 518 yards, 3 TDs) and Bronson Ramos (19 rec., 323 yards, 0 TDs). Ryan Reedy (16 rec., 215 yards, 2 TDs) and Kalakaua Timoteo (12 rec. 133 yards, 6 TDs) have also emerged as reliable targets for Milton.

"We've been trying to find that go-to receiver, but when we've needed a play, all of those guys have made plays for us at one time or another this season, so we feel pretty good about our depth there," York said.

One player who hasn't shown up much on the stat sheets is senior slotback Preston Sinn, who has been sidelined for most of the season with a foot injury. He did play, however, in limited action versus Campbell last week and York expects him to be good to go for Saturday.

MILILANI DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS

The strength of the Trojans, however, remains on the defensive side of the ball, led by a terrorizing defensive line. Among the standouts there are senior defensive end Kelii "KK" Padello, who has a state-leading 19 sacks, and junior defensive tackle Rex Manu, who previously attended Punahou until transferring to Mililani as a freshman. Both Padello and Manu each had three sacks in last week's semifinal win over Campbell. The Trojans amassed 11 sacks against the Sabers last week and held them to just four yards rushing.

Padello is undersized at 5 feet, 11 inches and 200 pounds, but has burned offensive tackles off the edge with his speed and quickness off the snap of the ball, while Manu is an imposing force at 6 feet, 3 inches and 260 pounds and has the strength to power past most blockers. Others in the rotation on the D-line are Tamatoa Silva (6-2, 270, Jr.), Blake Kondo (5-10, 195, Sr.), Kaimana Padello (5-11, 185, So.), Marshall Urrutia (5-8, 230, Sr.) and Johnathan Harling-Gray (6-1, 245, Sr.).

Mililani's linebackers are amongst the most athletic in the state, led by the captain duo of Jacob Afele (6-0, 220, Sr.) and Furuta (6-0, 220, Sr.). Afele had a season-high 12 tackles in an OIA semifinal win over Kahuku nearly four weeks ago and has forced three fumbles on the year. Furuta had 10 tackles in a win over Waipahu back in week 5 and has successfully returned from a high-ankle sprain he suffered late in the regular season. Sheldon Aki Jr. (5-10, 215, Sr.) and Kaimana Wilson (5-10, 185, Sr.) will also see extensive time at linebacker.

Free safety Ian Namu, a third-year starter on defense and one of the fastest players on the team, is the leader in the secondary. Namu (6-1, 175, Sr.) played defensive end as a freshman, before moving to outside linebacker last year and finally safety this season. He is joined by strong safety Jaren Zadlo (6-0, 185, Jr.) and cornerbacks Jayson Cardines (5-7, 170, Jr.) and Mata Leota (5-8, 160, Sr.).

"The kids play well together," York said. "They're believing and gaining confidence every game. It doesn't matter if they're sophomores, juniors or seniors, they're playing on a whole another level. We have bunch of playmakers on both offense and defense and these guys have brought us this far."

The Trojans, who won their past two games by a combined 65 points, have not played many close games. Their average margin of victory is more than 32 points and they have allowed more than 14 points just four times this season. Mililani allows an average of 210.5 yards (76.8 rush, 133.8 pass) and 12.9 points per game. Farrington managed just 183 yards of total offense three weeks ago while Campbell could only muster 155 total yards last week.

Marc Matas (5-10, 175, Jr.) handles all of the kicking duties (kickoffs, field goals and extra points) and ranks second (on Malepeai) on the team in scoring with 58 points. He has made five field goals, including a long of 33 yards in a week 5 win over Waipahu. Matas also has converted 26 PATs. Reedy is the holder and Namu the long snapper. 

Aki is the punter, although he hasn't had many opportunities of late due to the high-scoring offense. Ader, Wilson and Ramos have all seen time at punt returner and Malepeai does most of the kickoff-returning duties. Wislon scored on a 54-yard punt return against Campbell last week and Malepeai had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Waianae.

SIZING UP THE BUFFANBLU … AGAIN

Back in mid-August, Punahou opened its season with a Thursday night visit to John Kauinana Stadium and a non-league showdown against Mililani.

The Buffanblu won that meeting by a score of 24-14, but both squads had a different look at that point in the season. Punahou played without its best player, defensive end Canton Kaumatule, and Wayne Taulapapa was the second-string running back behind Kotoni "KJ" Sekona. Meanwhile, the Trojans were undecided on Milton or Faleafine as the starting quarterback and the game statistics reflected as much.

Mililani generated just 59 pass yards on a combined 7-of-18 passing by the two quarterbacks. Malepeai, however, rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Larry Tuileta led Punahou with 255 passing yards and two touchdowns and Sekona and Taulapapa totaled 181 rushing yards on 29 carries.

"When we played Punahou, the next day after watching the film, we had to revamp our coaching," York said. "We needed to pay attention more to details and not let things go in practice and get on the kids about developing good habits. We realized we needed to go back to fundamentals. We worked on blocking, tackling, assignment football — just all of the little things that can make the biggest difference."

York said the loss — which at the time dropped his team to 1-1 — re-energized him and largely set the tone for its current 10-game win streak.

"That Punahou game was huge and it's showed on field," York said. "It made me a better coach and made me look at myself in the mirror and to not just go through the motions, but to leave no stone unturned, to cover everything. Looking at that game film, I felt like we executed at 10 percent and since that game, we've improved our percentage of execution in every game."

York has high praise for both the Buffanblu offense, which posted 402 yards of total offense against his team in the Aug. 15 meeting, as well as the defense, which held the Trojans to a season-low 14 points in that game.

"They're tough, they're big, they're physical, they're fast and they're balanced," York said of the Punahou offense. "The quarterback is a third-year starter and he's very experienced. He's taken them to the state championship game twice and they're loaded with talented guys around him so it's going to be a big task for us, but we're excited about it and looking forward to Saturday.

York said the Buffanblu run defense is greatly underrated.

"Their defense is deceiving because they run a 30 front (three down linemen), but a lot of teams can't run the ball on them," York said. "They play great team defense, they're fast and they fly to the ball. I know (defensive coordinator) Agenhart Ellis — he was a great player in his own right — and he's got them playing great ball."

Two key matchups Saturday will go a long way to deciding the winner, according to York.

"It would have to be (right tackle) Jordan Agasiva versus Kaumatule when we're on offense and (wide receiver) Kanawai Noa against our secondary on defense," York said. Noa had game-highs of seven receptions for 87 yards but did was held out of the end zone the first time the teams met.

THE FINALE

Saturday will mark the end of a long journey for the Trojans, who routinely have weight lifting sessions at 6 a.m. and weekend runs on the beach. Through it all, they have done it together, as "One Team, One Family," their motto for the season.

"Nobody knew where we would finish — I knew that this team was good and that we would finish well, but I don't think anybody could have said that we were going to be OIA champs and in the (state) title game," York said. "For us, every game is tough, we've had to fight with a lot of heart throughout the season and we've literally taken it one game at a time, tried not to look ahead, and I think the kids are focused. They're very confident, but anxious to prove people wrong. People aren't picking us, but the kids don't care what people think. They understand what it takes to get things done."

York pointed to the win over Farrington in the OIA championship game as the defining win of this season — so far.

"I hear it all the time that Mililani can't win the big game, so just winning that one was a confidence-builder for our kids and community," York said. "Definitely that game would be one of the bigger games in Mililani history."

That is, until Saturday, when the Trojans will try for the first state championship in school history.

"We're feeling a little bit of everything: nervous, anxious, excited and humbled," York said. "I tell the guys it's just another game, but at the same time, we know what is at stake and we want to finish this season right. We've been preparing for this game since we started and now we're here. Actually, it's kind of bittersweet, because it's the championship game, but this is the end. It gets kind of emotional sometimes because they don't want the season to end and neither do I."

Despite the magnitude of the game, York has simplified things into a one-game season for his bunch.

"Just like every other game this season, we've focused everything we have on our opponent for the week and we never look ahead or past anyone and it's the same thing again this week," York said. "Like I told the guys, we're 0-0 right now and all we want to do is wake up Sunday morning 1-0."

Kickoff between Punahou and Mililani is set for 7 p.m. at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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