PEARL CITY—After uneventful opening-round wins, Campbell and Mililani saw their games go down to the wire.

The Sabers and Trojans survived late scares on the last plays of their respective quarterfinals to advance to Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal at John Kauinana Stadium.

Mililani beat Campbell, 25-24, in the OIA semifinals on April 16 at Moanalua.

This is how it all broke down.

Campbell's Jaynalyn Sotelo broke up a potential game-tying score to preserve the Sabers' 28-20 win against second-seeded Kamehameha in the second overtime period.

In the earlier quarterfinal,  Alizae Maialoha sacked Nanakuli quarterback Cheryssa Asinsin to stop a potential game-tying 2-point conversion with 45 seconds left in regulation.

The play came after Nanakuli pulled to 26-14 after Asinsin hit Carlee Sausi-Callejo on 14-yard TD pass with 45 seconds left in regulation. The Trojans had taken a 19-6 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Golden Hawks pulled to 19-12 with 7:31 in the third quarter on s 3-yard scoring pass from Sausi-Callejo to Asinsin, but the 1-point try failed.

But Mililani looked like it tacked on insurance when Zenn Nelson scored on a 3-yard run early in the fourth. On  the ensuing conversion try Nelson hit Nahealani Choy Foo for the 1-point conversion, but on the play, Nelson fell to the ground, needing medical attention. It appeared she injured her left shoulder/arm (non-throwing side) and she did not return to action.

The Golden Hawks scored on their ensuing series with an Asinsin 13-yard TD pass to Sausi-Callejo to pull to 26-18 with 7:38 left. Again, the PAT failed.

On Mililani's next series, Brooke Kurasaki, a receiver and DB, replaced Nelson at QB. The Trojans faced fourth-and-6 from the Nanakuli 28, but linebacker Helen Rabacal pulled Kurasaki's flag for a sack, giving the Golden Hawks possession at their 34. Seven plays later, Asinsin hit Sausi-Callejo for the third time in the game for a TD to pull Nanankuli to within 2, but Maialoha saved the day.

"I really wanted my team to win and if (the Golden Hawks) scored, then that was over for us," Maialoha said. "I made sure that I was keeping my outside because I wasn't keeping my outside (earlier), and made a lot of mistakes. I made sure to focus on the outside of the flag, so I  could get that."

It was the only sack the Trojans recorded on Asinsin.

It was an incredible team effort. Before leaving with the injury, Nelson was 18 of 23 for 171 yards and two TDs. She also rushed for two TDs. On defense, Choy Foo and Sophie Foster were all over Nanakuli ball carriers, pulling seven and eight flags, respectively.

Asinsin kept the Trojans' defense on its toes. She was 25 of 35 for 195 yards and three TDs, all to Sausi-Callejo, who returned the favor by tossing a 3-yard TD to Asinsin.

"They're a tough team, a really good team," Mililani coach Bruce Alphonso said. "I give that to them."

Alphonso said he did not know Nelson's status after the game.

In yet another barn burner, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Warriors rallied from a 13-0 deficit entering the fourth quarter to force double overtime.

Campbell took a 13-0 lead on a pair of TD passes by Maya Gonsalves, but her counterpart, Kamehameha's Hayden Kaahanui-Cera threw a pair of her own in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 13 with 26 seconds in regulation and send the teams into overtime..

In overtime, the offense starts from the defense's 20-yard line. The Warriors went on offense first, needing three plays with Kaahanui-Cera passing a 4-yard TD to Alexiarae Medeiros.  Kaanahui-Cera connected with Kapri Friel-Lacar for the 1-pt conversion to give the Warriors a 20-13 lead.

But Campbell scored on its ensuing series on Gonsalves' 8-yard TD pass to Aiesha Deweever. Gonsalves found Sotelo for the tying 1-point conversion to force the second overtime, in which, if a team scores, it has to go for the 2-point conversion.

It was Campbell's turn to go first, and Gonsalves hit Sotelo on 5-yard out route, Sotelo made a sliding catch near the sideline in the end zone. Shaleah Moore caught the apparent 2-point conversion pass from Gonsalves, but it was nullified by a penalty. But the duo repeated the play with success to make it 28-20.

In Kamehameha's series, it encountered fourth-and-goal at the 6. Kaahanui-Cera's pass to Lindyn-Aiko Arakawa in the end zone was knocked down by Sotelo to end the game.

"I saw La (Shaleah Moore) blitzing her and rushing (the QB) real fast," Sotelo explained. "She put the pressure, and I was able to anticipate it."

Kaahanui-Cera felt Moore's pressure all night long. Moore had only three flags pulled, but all were sacks.

Sotelo admitted disappointment after the Warriors tied the game.

"We were kind of down, but we were able to pick ourselves back up," Sotelo said, "and that's what we do best, and we were just made for that moment."

Besides throwing 3 TDs, Gonsalves made big plays on defense, pulling a game-high eight flags, and had one of three interceptions off Kaanahui-Cera (Cayden Parado and Jyzelle Gorion had the others).

"I have full trust and confidence in our defense," Campbell coach Will Naboa said. "I said all season our defense is the heart and soul of this team."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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