Mililani rallies past, then holds off Campbell, 35-30

HS Football

Oct 1

By Wes Nakama

MILILANI -- In an intense and hard-fought OIA Open Division showdown that lived up to its hype, Mililani overcame an early 10-0 deficit Friday night and rallied past visiting Campbell, 35-30.

A standing-room only capacity crowd of about 3,000 at John Kauinana Stadium watched Hunter Fujikawa complete 17 of 25 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception, and also rush for two more TDs to help the Trojans stay unbeaten at 7-0 overall, 3-0 in the OIA. Dallas Carter finished 16 of 24 for 283 yards and four TDs (with one interception) for the Sabers, who fell to 5-2, 2-1.

Senior linebacker Toa Satele had a spectacular performance in leading the Mililani defense with 13 tackles -- 10 solo -- including two for loss, one sack, one pass breakup and one blocked punt.

"This school, this football team, is amazing," Satele said. "We can do such special things. Shout out to all the people, the coaches ... They're just all family, we're all one family. Just blessed."

Campbell made a very strong statement after the opening kickoff, marching 80 yards in 17 plays and eating 10 minutes, 44 seconds off the clock culminating in Dallas Carter's 5-yard pass to Landyn Tamayo. Mitch Lifto's extra point made it 7-0.

"We needed more drives like that," Sabers coach Darren Johnson said.

After the Trojans suffered a three-and-out and errant punt snap on the ensuing possession, the Sabers capitalized nine plays later on Lifto's 36-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 10-0 with 7:19 remaining in the second quarter.

But on the following kickoff, Mililani's Damen Nakagawa gathered in a fumbled short-hop at the left hashmark, reversed field, made one inside cut and then bounced outside and sprinted untouched all the way to the end zone for an electrifying 84-yard return. Matthew Bolibol then converted the PAT to cut the lead to 10-7.

"That gave us a lot of momentum," Satele said. "Shout out to Damen, he's a hard worker, just proud of him and everything he has done for this team."

Fujikawa said the quick score was a much-needed spark for the team in general.

"Damen's runback was a momentum-changer," said Fujikawa, who had run only five plays from center up to that point. "Campbell had a great game plan coming into this game to keep our offense off the field, I think a lot of people know we have an electric offense."

That electric offense finally got untracked late in the second quarter, when the Trojans covered 77 yards in just six plays, capped by Fujikawa's 11-yard scoring pass to Ashton Grace. Bolibol tacked on the extra point to give Mililani its first lead at 14-10 with 36 seconds to go before halftime.

The Sabers took the lead back four minutes into the second half, traveling 63 yards in only five plays, finishing it with Carter's 19-yard touchdown throw to Tamayo on fourth-and-6. Lifto's extra point put Campbell ahead, 17-14.

The Trojans went three-and-out on their next possession, but when the Sabers faced fourth-and-8 on their ensuing series, Satele flew in and blocked the punt, giving Mililani the ball on the Campbell 30. Five plays later, Fujikawa ran it in from six yards out to put the Trojans back in front. Bolibol's PAT made it 21-17 with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter.

The Sabers responded with a 10-play, 80-yard drive culminating in Carter's 3-yard pass to Chase Yamashita on a flare route, and Lifto converted the extra point to give Campbell a 24-21 lead with 7:10 left to play.

The Trojans answered by traversing 70 yards in seven plays, capped by Fujikawa's 12-yard pass to Grace on a crossing route to put Mililani ahead for good, as Bolibol tacked on the PAT to make it 28-24 with 5:40 showing on the clock. On the ensuing possession, Chantz Bollig made a diving interception to give the Trojans the ball back on the Sabers' 42, and Fujikawa scored on a 6-yard keeper seven plays later and Bolibol's PAT extended the lead to 35-24 with 1:08 left.

Campbell made it interesting by closing it to 35-30 with 22 seconds remaining on Carter's 56-yard TD pass to Shaison Kupukaa, but the two-point conversion pass failed and Mililani recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the victory.

Mililani won each of its previous five games by at least three touchdowns, but Fujikawa said the Trojans drew upon the confidence gained from their 31-24 comeback win over Mainland powerhouse Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) back on Aug. 14.

"This is only going to make us better as the season goes on," Fujikawa said. "That's something we want to continue to improve on, is showing up in challenging games, where our backs are up against the wall and we have to drive down the field and get a score."

Photos: Lori McKeown