Football
Trojans open arsenal in win over Vikings




All hands were on deck in Mililani's 62-18 state tournament win over Hilo at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium Friday night. 

The Trojans, ranked third in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division I Power Rankings, accumulated 576 yards of total offense in their victory over the Vikings in the first round of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii Athletic Association Division I Football Championships. 

Six Mililani players finished with over 50 yards from scrimmage to help the Trojans bounce back from a 20-7 loss to Kahuku in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I title game. The Trojans' lone score in that contest was on a fumble recovery. 

"We had a good practice this week and we just executed great today," said slotback Makana Tauai, who had his best performance of the season with six receptions for 109 yards and two scores. 

Tauai also added 21 yards on the ground and had two punt returns for 25 yards to finish with 155 all-purpose yards. Kalakaua Timoteo caught eight passes for 87 yards and a score, Bryson Ventura had three receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns and Rico Sallas registered four catches for 57 yards.

Running back Vavae Malepeai rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in less than two quarters of work and Nicholas Culp added 10 rushes for 61 yards and a score in a wildcat package. 

The Trojans also welcomed back quarterback McKenzie Milton to the fold in the win over Hilo. The 6-foot senior was playing in his first game since suffering a shoulder injury on Sept. 26. Milton, the 2014 All-Hawaii Offensive Player of the Year, completed 14 of his 19 pass attempts for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

"Now that McKenzie is back everyone's back in a groove where the ball can be spread out more," said Ventura. "In the past few weeks the ball has been more to Kalakaua and Vavae because they're the only ones that can get the ball singlehandedly from the young quarterbacks. Now we have an experienced guy that can get the ball out to each and everyone of us.

"It definitely does help help having a good leader in McKenzie come back. You can't go to war without a leader and having him in the backfield gives everyone confidence." 

Culp, who spent time as the scout quarterback preparing for the Kahuku matchup, saw time behind center when the game was out of reach. Although the Trojans did not possess the same size and strength advantage as the Red Raiders, Culp was able to engineer two scoring drives with his speed and blocking of receiver-converted fullbacks Jarod Alama and Jacob McLaughlin. 

"I like that offense, it's very effective," said Culp. 

The Trojans also had a handful of young players contribute in starting roles in the win. Freshmen quarterback Cy Kuboyama-Hayashi started in his first ever varsity game and completed seven of his eight pass attempts for 76 yards and two scores.

"He did a very good job for a freshman handling the pressure of varsity football," Ventura said. 

Sophomore cornerback AJ Burris forced two turnovers, an interception and forced fumble, that led to two scoring drives and Micah Tuilemotu was a solid presence on the defensive line with 3.5 tackles, one for loss. The Trojans also started sophomores Noah Williams and Scottie Agasiva on the interior of the offensive line. 

"Everybody's progressing at the right time," said Ventura. "Everybody's doing a great job of stepping up."



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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