MILILANI — Big Red is back in the title game. 

No. 3 Kahuku flipped the script on No. 2 Mililani Friday night and came away with a one-sided 35-6 win in the late OIA Open Division semifinal at John Kauinana Stadium Friday night. 

The game was a rematch of both the OIA and state title games from a year, but unlike the 2023 league final and the most recent meeting between the teams in late September — which the Trojans won by a score of 14-10 — this one was all Kahuku. 

In typical Big Red fashion, they did it in all three phases of the game. Special teams set the tone, the offense, with St. John Bosco-transfer Matai Fuiava at the controls, created separation and the Red Raider defense shut the door to deny a Trojans a chance at a title defense next week. 

"We're coming into our own now, we're hitting our stride," Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. "Offense, defense, special teams was here tonight, but this is just the beginning, it's not over. We have a lot more we gotta do, a lot more football left, but this is a great start for the playoffs."

The win puts the Red Raiders (7-4) in Friday's OIA championship game, where they will face off against top-ranked Campbell. 

"I mean, it's always good to play for championships. That's what we prepare all offseason for, that's what we prepare the season for. We play top caliber teams to get to this point to play for championships and we're just grateful and thankful that we're able to play in a championship game next week," Carvalho said. 

The three-time defending state champs got it going early Friday night. After its defense forced Mililani to punt on its first possession, Kahuku's special teams set the table for an early score. 

Kaimana Carvalho's 47-yard punt return up the right sideline put the ball deep in Trojans' territory. The Red Raiders began their drive inside the red zone and needed just three plays to find the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown run by Malosi Fiatoa. 

After Manoa Kahalepuna kicked the extra point, he executed a well-placed onside kick toward the right sideline, where teammate Madden Soliai was able to recover the ball while diving to the turf. Kahuku got the ball near midfield and was able to turn it into points with Kahalepuna's 22-yard field goal from the left hash that gave his team a 10-0 lead with 3:39 left in the first quarter. 

Fuiava, who was playing in just his second game with the Red Raiders since his highly-publicized transfer from the private school powerhouse in Southern California, was grateful for the early boost from the special teams units. 

"They took the burden off our shoulders, for sure. They were balling," Fuiava said. 

Fuiava threw a pair of touchdown passes in the win. His first was a 34-yarder to Manutai that answered Mililani's lone score. Fuiava threw a lofted pass over a pair of defensive backs and into the hands of Manutai on the fourth-down play.

"They were in cover 2 (zone) and the safety was too low and I told him before, ‘Aiden, I'm throwing you the ball, you're gonna be open,' and I threw it and touchdown," Fuiava said. 

Manutai said the result of the play was hours of sweat equity with his quarterback on the practice field. 

"It was that chemistry that we've been building ever since he got here. He's a natural leader, he loves just out-working everybody and just getting extra work, so that's what helped us big time," Manutai said. 

Kahalepuna's PAT made it a 17-6 advantage with just under eight minutes to play in the half. 

Manutai swung momentum further in the favor of the Red Raiders with his 33-yard pick-six late in the first half. He jumped a pass from Mililani quarterback Kini McMillan — who was playing in his game back since he suffered a collarbone fracture in week 1 — and went untouched on the interception return for touchdown. 

"I seen a post (route), Kini's hand came off the ball and I jumped the route," said Manutai, a Cal-Berkeley commit. 

Carvalho praised his veteran cornerback/wide receiver/kick returner for his versatility. 

"Aiden is a stud. He can play both ways, special teams — we're just grateful that a player like him continues to work hard, but is humble — and I mean, his skills are off the chart," Carvalho said. 

The pick-six came with 19 seconds left in the half and gave the Red Raiders a 25-6 lead at the break. 

Kahuku's defense produced another takeaway at the 4:33 mark of the third quarter. Defensive lineman Chauncy Alo forced a fumble by a Mililani running back, which was recovered by defensive back Lono Solomon at the Trojans' 28-yard line. Two plays later, Fuiava found a wide-open Kea Lerner near the back right pylon for a touchdown. 

Fuiava was not on the team yet when the Red Raiders lost to the Trojans during the regular season, but said he studied film to get a better grasp of the concepts, coverages and personnel he'd be facing. 

"I watched the Campbell game against them because Campbell likes to throw a lot, so I knew that was our plan going in and I saw what they did, saw what they were good at, saw what they weren't and attacked it," said Fuiava, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior. 

Fuiava was just 12-of-27 passing for 174 yards in his previous start against Campbell in Kahuku's regular-season finale two weeks prior. He finished Friday's playoff game with a 19-of-32 line for 176 yards and one interception. 

"I feel like we're gelling really good. Like I said, we were gonna take that bye week very serous and we did. I got time to learn the playbook in and out. You see that we're doing a lot more motioning and just diving more into the playbook, so it was good tonight," Fuiava said. 

Carvalho liked what he saw from his quarterback Friday night. 

"He just needed time. Needed time to know the plays, know the players, develop the chemistry and what you saw tonight is just the surface of what we're capable of doing," Carvalho said. 

Defensively, Kahuku tallied eight tackles for loss, including four sacks on Mililani quarterbacks. McMillan, the reigning All-Hawaii Open Division Offensive Player of the Year and a University of Washington commit, was held to 137 yards on 16-of-28 passing. His 10-yard touchdown pass to Derek Tsuchiyama cut the Kahuku lead to 10-6 early in the second quarter, but the Trojans were held to a season-low scoring output thanks to a suffocating performance by the Red Raiders defensively. 

"We knew Kini was coming back, we knew he was the real deal, we just didn't take him light, that was pretty much it. He was out since the first game, but to us that didn't matter, you know, he's that guy," Manutai said. 

The Trojans (8-2) will play No. 5 Kapolei for the league's final spot in this month's state tournament.