By Wes Nakama
MILILANI -- Rebounding in a big way from a humbling loss at Kapolei three weeks prior, Mililani rallied past visiting Kahuku, 26-15, last Friday night to set up a rematch against the Hurricanes for the OIA Open Division championship game.
An estimated crowd of about 2,200 at John Kauinana Stadium watched Hunter Fujikawa complete 26 of 34 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns as the Trojans overcame a 15-12 third-quarter deficit to improve to 9-1 overall. The Red Raiders fell to 7-5 and will return to Kauinana Stadium at 4 p.m. Saturday to face Campbell (7-4) for third place and a state tournament berth.
That game will be followed by Mililani vs. Kapolei (8-1) for all the marbles at 7 p.m.
The Hurricanes stunned the Trojans, 25-7, on Oct. 10 to earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. But Fujikawa said he and his teammates learned valuable lessons from that defeat and have worked on fixing mistakes and getting better.
"The Kapolei (loss) stung for sure, we were undefeated going into our last regular season game, the boys wanted that one bad," said Fujikawa, a junior who made a verbal commitment Monday to attend Stanford University. "But it happens, though, and that was the best time to lose, honestly -- it exposed us and we had three weeks to prepare and fix things, and add new things in, and we're trying to continue working hard."
Last Friday, Mililani got on the board first after a seven-play, 70-yard drive culminating in Fujikawa's 6-yard pass to Zion White with 5:11 remaining in the second quarter. The extra point attempt was blocked, but Kahuku lost the ball on downs on the ensuing possession and the Trojans capitalized with a seven-play, 71-yard scoring march capped by Fujikawa's 13-yard touchdown throw to Hayden Bajet with 37 seconds left. The two-point conversion pass attempt failed, but Mililani took the 12-0 lead into halftime.
Late in the third quarter, the Red Raiders recovered a fumble at the Trojans' 18-yard line and cashed in five plays later on Blazyn-Brave Nunuha's 3-yard run to paydirt, followed by Ryder Green's PAT to cut the deficit to 12-7 with 3:44 remaining. Kahuku created another big break on the ensuing possession with a partially blocked punt that was recovered on the Mililani 9. Nunuha bounced outside and fought his way to the left pylon from 12 yards out two plays later, and Lucky Suguturanga ran in the two-point conversion to push the Red Raiders ahead, 15-12, with 2:45 still to go in the third quarter.
The Trojans responded, however, with a quick six-play, 71-yard drive ending with Fujikawa's 29-yard scoring pass to Bless Cabrera-Hopkins. Matthew Bolibol tacked on the extra point to put Mililani back in front for good at 19-15 with 20 seconds left.
The Trojans then effectively sealed the victory after Fujikawa's 19-yard TD throw to Bajet with 2:04 remaining in the game.
"Striking back was huge, we knew the momentum was shifting quick," Fujikawa said. "We had two three-and-outs, penalties killed us, and they had two short fields -- punch and scores. Striking back was huge for us, we got our momentum going, kept our defense off (the field) and allowed them to do their film (review), and also allowed us to make adjustments."
Depth also appeared to play a factor, as Mililani welcomed back injured starters like running back Toa Sam, receiver White and standout linebacker Toa Satele.
"Getting those guys back was huge," Fujikawa said. "The guys who stepped in are still playing a big part, we're trying to continue working hard on what we have, and trying to add new things in to complement our players."
Satele, who injured his lower back in the third quarter of the Kapolei loss, was back in the starting lineup last Friday and finished with eight tackles (seven solo) and one pass breakup.
"It's really just the culture that we have, whenever there's good plays or bad plays, I feel like we just stick through it," Satele said. "Sometimes we might point fingers, but through it all we still come together as one team and just dominate the next play. That's the mentality that we have."
Fujikawa and Satele both said they are looking forward to the rematch with the Hurricanes.
"This is a lot of motivation," Satele said. "That loss that we had against Kapolei, it really shocked us. I'm glad it happened during the (regular) season, so next week we're just going to come ready, mentally and physically prepared and give it all we've got."
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