Kamehameha stifles Mililani to return to the big game

Kamehameha is back in the championship game.

The Warriors limited Mililani quarterback Hunter Fujikawa to 111 passing yards, shutting down potential winning drives twice in the final four minutes for a 10-7 win on Friday night at the Trojans’ field.

ILH champion Kamehameha (5-5) will take on top seed and OIA champion Kapolei on Nov. 21 in the Open Division final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships.

OIA runner-up Mililani closed the season 9-3.

The Warriors ran regular offense in the first half, but for most of the second half, relied on defense, special teams and their jumbo offense. It worked well enough to keep Mililani’s explosive offense on the sideline. Fujikawa finished with a modest 24 pass attempts and was sacked five times. Esaiah-Joseph Wong and Linkin Apana totaled two sacks each as Kamehameha’s defense put on a masterclass on defense.

“We knew it would come down to the end,” Warriors coach Kaeo Drummondo said. “Mililani is a good team. Really well-coached team. Talent everywhere. That was the message all week. The team that plays the most poised tonight, doesn’t let their emotions take over, plays the cleanest game, will play for the state championship.”

They resembled peak Baltimore Ravens. Long, physical, athletic, fast and, above all, intelligent. Chess masters on the gridiron.

“That’s your only hope to beat Hunter. You’ve got to get him off his spots. You’ve got to have somebody who can run him down. If you let Hunter stay in the pocket, it’ll be a long night for the defense. You can’t blitz all game, but you have to keep him thinking and maybe he pulls the trigger a half-second slower and we can cover better. We had a game plan, and we executed it,” Drummondo said.

The final minutes were pure drama. Mililani got the ball back after a Kamehameha punt with 4:31 left at its 31-yard line. The Warriors brought the heat with back-to-back sacks: Wong and Evan Cazimero, then Apana. After an incomplete pass by Hunter Fujikawa, Mililani punted with less than three minutes left.

Kamehameha ran the ball three times and was flagged for a personal foul with 1:01 remaining.

The championship game will kick off 6 p.m. a week from today at Ching Athletic Complex.

The Trojans opened the game with a steady diet of Toa Sam right and left. He and Tritan Paaluhi combined to average 7.2 yards per carry on Mililani’s first five snaps.

Niamiah Samia batted a pass by Fujikawa and Apana hustled for the interception with seven minutes to go in the first quarter.

A 31-yard gain by RB Tyrus Kahoopii set up a 31-yard field goal by Tyler Fujimoto with 2:36 to go in the opening quarter.

An 18-yard punt return by Samia set up Kamehameha at the Mililani 45-yard line, but the Warriors went three and out. It could have self-destructed when the punt snap sailed over Fujimoto’s head. Instead, he hustled back 20 yards and turned it into a 37-yard net punt.

One play later, Nainoah Samia made a diving interception on a Fujikawa pass at the Mililani 28-yard line. Mililani’s defense made another stop, and Fujimoto’s 45-yard field-goal attempt was wide right with 8:04 left in the first half.

Kamehameha’s pass rush stymied Fujikawa. After an 11-yard sack by Wong pinned Mililani on its 5-yard line, the Trojans went three and out. A 12-yard punt return by Niamiah Samia gave his team another short field.

The Warriors drove 33 yards in six plays. A quarterback draw by Loea Keopuhiwa surprised the defense, and he dragged tacklers until he crossed the goal line for an 18-yard TD.

Kamehameha led 10-0 with 5:01 to go in the first half.

Mililani’s offense found a rhythm and drove to the Kamehameha 25-yard line, but Matthew Bolibol’s 42-yard field-goal try was wide left and short with 1:32 left in the first half.

Kamehameha inexplicably downed a high-bouncing Fujimoto punt near midfield with 27 seconds left in the first half.

Fujikawa found Bless Cabrera-Hopkins for a 12-yard gain, and a conduct penalty on Kamehameha’s Tyson Brody Wailehua advanced the ball to the Warriors’ 24-yard line with 14 seconds to go.

A pass interference call against Cabrera-Hopkins, however, derailed the drive. He came back for the ball while in the end zone as the defensive back did not play the ball, but pushed the DB in the process.

With 8:43 left in the third quarter, Mililani threw its challenge flag after Fujikawa’s completion to Cabrera-Hopkins on third-and-7. The ruling on the field stood, and on fourth-and-1, Sam ran left for a 38-yard gain.

On that play, Kamehameha lost Wailehua to injury, moments after losing Niamiah Samia to injury. Mililani stuck with its jumbo personnel, but Sam fumbled on the next snap and Lennox Chee-Anderson recovered the ball in a scrum for Kamehameha.

a 17-yard punt return by Shayzen Cabato-Machado gave Mililani prime field position. Mililani’s offense switched things up, using RBs Sam and Paaluhi on short routes to move the ball in for a TD in four plays. Fujikawa’s 14-yard scoring pass to Cabrera-Hopkins cut the lead to 10-7 with 3:55 left in the third quarter.

On fourth-and-6 near midfield, Mililani tried a fake punt, but the pass play was stopped short. After a personal foul by Mililani at the end of the play, Kamehameha unleashed its heavy personnel at the Mililani 35-yard line.

Another personal foul on Mililani (hands to the face) advanced the ball to the 14-yard line.

A personal foul call on Kamehameha froze momentum for the Warriors as the third quarter closed.

Kahoopii ran right and was brought down inside the 5-yard line, and on the measurement, he was ruled short by inches with 9:18 remaining. Mililani’s ensuing drive stalled after Fujikawa was sacked on third-and-5 by Wong and Iraia Manumaleuna.