Flag Football
M&Ms to meet in inaugural OIA flag football championship


Stacy Kaneshiro | ScoringLive
April 17, 2025, 5:21am

  

Wed, Apr 16, 2025 @ Moanalua [ 5:30 pm ]

Campbell

14

Mililani

25

Final 1 2 3 4 T
Campbell 0 0 14 014
Mililani 0 7 6 1225
Zenn Nelson 86 yd 2 TD
Maya Gonsalves 178 yd 1 TD
Zenn Nelson 128 yd 2 TD
Maya Gonsalves 15 yd
Xailey Robinson 23 yd 1 TD
Jyzelle Gorion 61 yd 1 TD



SALT LAKE - Way before any of these girls were born, when Mililani played Moanalua in boys football, the match was known as the M&M game. One of these teams will taste sweetness of success when they meet for the inaugural Oahu Interscholastic Association flag football championship 7 p.m. Thursday at John Kauinana Stadium.

Both teams are already qualified for the first state tournament April 29-May 2 with the winner drawing the seeded berth, which comes with a first-round bye.

Moanalua advanced by beating Nanakuli, 20-0, while Mililani dropped Campbell, 25-14, in Wednesday's semifinals at Moanalua. Campbell will play Nanakuli at 5:30 p.m. for third place. The Golden Hawks beat the Sabers, 7-6, during the regular season.

"It was a hell of a win," Mililani coach Brad Scanlan said. "The girls wanted to get there, they worked their butts off."

The spotlight will be on both teams' dynamic quarterbacks. 

Na Menehune (7-0) are led by the strong-armed, two-time state champion wrestler in Zaira Sugui, while the Trojans (7-0) are anchored by the shifty Zenn Nelson, an OIA West second team selection in basketball. Their athleticism will be on display statewide on Spectrum OC16.

The key will be which defense can contain the versatile girls, who also play defense.

"I always emphasize defense," Moanalua coach Ladd Mokiao said. "Defense wins championships. If you can stop the team and figure out what they're doing, it puts stress on the coach on the opposite side."

Moanalua will need to contain Nelson, who as dangerous a rusher as she is a passer. Nelson passed for two TDs and rushed for two more in the Trojans' win against the Sabers.

After a scoreless first quarter, Nelson hit Xailey Robinson on a 4-yard TD pass. Brooke Kurasaki caught the 1-point conversion pass to give Mililani a 7-0 lead that it took into the half.

The Trojans opened the second half when Nelson rushed to the end zone from 2 years, but the 1-point pass play failed to keep the score 13-0.

But the Sabers struck back. First, Maya Gonsalves threw short pass to Jyzelle Gorion, who dodged flag pursuers en route to a 60-yard scoring play. Gorion then caught the 1-point pass from Gonsalves.

Then lightning struck when the versatile Jaynalyn Sotelo, the OIA West basketball player of the year returned an interception 21 yards for the game-tying TD. It was her fifth interception of the season and third pick-six. The Gonsalves to Gorion connection for the 1-point try gave the Sabers a 14-13 lead with 1:15 left in the third quarter.

The Trojans answered on their ensuing series with Nelson's 3-yard TD pass to Choy Foo. Nelson failed on he 2-point try on an incomplete pass.

Mililani secured the game with 1:45 left on Nelson' s 8-yard TD run.

Nelson and Choy Foo led their defense with six pulled flags each. Choy Foo had two interceptions and Nelson had one.

Meanwhile, Moanalua's Sugui was a double-threat herself in Na Menehune's shutout. She passed for 154 yards and two TD and rushed for 49 yards and one TD.

"Honestly, she knows what she's doing," said receiver Jodie Keo, who had a game-high seven catches for 85 yards. "She's really good on the field. She's really athletic."

Another Swiss-army knife for Moanalua is receiver/rusher Kaia Borje-Peeples, a first team All-OIA East soccer forward/midfielder. She caught two TD passes from Sugui, Borje-Peeple also had an interception and three flags pulled.

She will be an integral part in trying to limit damage by Nelson.

"Mentally, I think we just gotta push through. Sore, injured, whatever, we have to push through," she said.

In consolation-bracket games, for the final three OIA berths for the state tournament, Waianae edged Castle, 7-6, and Leilehua beat Kahuku, 12-6. Waianae and Leilehua will play at 5:30 p.m. for fifth place, while Castle and Kahuku will meet at 7 p.m. for seventh place and the final state berth. Both games are at Farrington.


Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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