You can’t beat Mililani unless you find a way to stop Jalen Olomua first, and ‘Iolani learned the hard way.
Yes, the Trojans’ intricate passing game is a worry against defenses, but dealing with Olomua is no picnic — on both sides of the ball. At running back, Olomua romped for 98 yards on 11 carries in Mililani’s 31-20 victory over the Raiders for the Division I state championship Friday night.
Olomua, who scored two rushing touchdowns in the win, also caught three passes for 59 yards. Yardage is one thing, but the attitude he carries about not going down is even more important. He hit ‘Iolani hard every time he touched the ball and many times it took a gang to tackle him.
It was like a punch to ‘Iolani’s solar plexus, especially in the second half, when the Raiders (5-8) were trying to fight back from a 17-10 deficit. Olomua’s 37-yard run on Mililani’s first drive of the second half set up his 28-yard TD run for a 24-10 lead.
“Offensively, it all starts from the trenches, you know,” the 6-foot, 210-pounder said. “The defense, all credit to the DBs because they held it down in the back and they let us have the time to get sacks.”
Oh … wait … Olomua also had two sacks on D for an unbelievable night that the junior is likely to remember forever.
After the game, Olomua (or “Petersen,” which was printed on the back of his No. 35 jersey throughout the whole second half after his “Olomua” No. 10 jersey ripped before the halftime break) appeared to be teary-eyed.
When asked if he was crying, Olomua said, “No. It’s going to hit me tomorrow. Or it might hit me on the bus ride back home.”
As for his powerful running style, Olomua said, “Just try to get as many yards as I can because I’m trying to not get yelled at from Coach (Rod) York and all the coaches. All the credit to our O-line for the job they did for me and the quarterback (Dillon Gabriel, 190 passing yards) and the other running backs (including Darius Muasau, 103 yards on 22 carries).”
York, who has now led Mililani (9-3) to two Division I championships in the last three seasons, chimed in about the big two-way standout:
“We are so proud of Olomua. He has made changes in his life and it shows in his grades and attitude toward his academics. Thus, it has affected his play on our team. Jalen is our workhorse on defense and offense and his running ability and vision was key in this game. He is our MVP for this final game.”
Calling this win a “championship” in the same breath as two years ago championship is a discredit to alloast D1 winners. Put an asterisk next to this win. I hope their koa trophies are not the same size, so when they put it next to their legitimate championship trophy they will know it is actually 7th place.
* seventh place.
No really care for Iolani either but whatever the results..No hate…congrats to Mililani and all the student athletes that played. Hopefully this exposure will help them get to the next level.
Man this kid was a beast at kahuku, congratulations Jalen.. Never to late to come home haha jk
The HHSAA should ask the powerful OIA teams to declare abstaining from the D1 championship at the beginning of the season. That way Iolani has a better chance.
despite the idiotic decision by the ilh and hhsaa to force this 3 tier format on everyone in the middle of the season, congrats to mililani and all players n coaches involved in the post season this year. the ilh people talk about competitiveness but i dont see them making changes to volleyball, baseball and all the other sports that they been dominating for decades.
Great Job Jalen! Great job Trojans! Trojans football continues to thrive thanks to great student athletes like you! Next season can’t come soon enough!
As for HHSAA, now that a big change was done for football, please put the shot clock in basketball games! The games are in arenas with shot clocks so why is money a factor?