What a game!
In case you missed it, Waianae held off Mililani 36-33 in the OIA quarterfinals at John Kauinana Stadium on Saturday night. Game of the year in this book.
The Seariders bulldozed to a 23-point, 29-6 halftime lead before Mililani buckled down on defense in the second half and came up with crucial stops to halt the Seariders in their tracks.
As a result, the Trojans’ offense got more time on the field and started working its magic.
Mililani sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who finished with 319 passing yards, hooked up with Andrew Valladares for a total of four touchdowns — three during the second-half comeback bid — and a school-record 215 receiving yards.
That offensive outburst after the halftime break gave the Trojans a short-lived 33-29 lead with 9:06 left.
If you’ve been to a Seariders football game, you know there is only one thing on everybody’s mind if it’s a close game near the end: “This is OUR fourth quarter,” the Waianae players and fans believe.
You rarely see Waianae outplayed in that final period, and that type of history was working against the Trojans on this night.
“Our coach pulled us in and said it was either going to be that they step all over us or we rise to the occasion and ball out,” said Waianae running back Javen Towne, who scored three first-half touchdowns.
And so, despite being totally outplayed in the third quarter, Waianae came through in the end. They drove 83 yards for the winning score, with Rico Rosario going up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown with 4:23 to play.
It was defensive back Sam Freeney, however, who saved the win with an alert break on a Gabriel pass after the Trojans marched past midfield. He sprinted and dove to intercept the pass with 3:06 left, and the Seariders ran out the clock.
Rosario finished with 197 yards rushing behind a firing offensive line.
Jalen Olomua was a big force behind Mililani’s defensive stand after halftime with two tackles for loss. In the first two quarters, the Seariders found holes with no problem, but they hit a brick wall after that.
Here’s a look at how the Seariders’ first four second-half possessions ended:
>> 1. punt
>> 2. punt
>> 3. lost ball on downs at their own 49
>> 4. lost ball on downs at the Trojans’ 43
Boom, boom, boom. Olomua’s 3-yard TD run and Gabriel TD passes of 75, 18 and 54 yards to Valladares turned that 29-6 deficit into a 33-29 lead.
Mililani head coach Rod York said his team’s untimely penalties on Waianae’s winning drive were unfortunate.
“Penalties continue to hurt us,” he said. “We’ve got to eliminate them, but I don’t know how we are going to eliminate them.”
Going into the game, York said his thoughts were: “Open is our only option. Division I is not an option.”
He was referring to the fact that the winner of the game moves to the highest tier, the Open division, at the state tournament and the loser goes to D-I, which is where the Trojans (5-3) are headed.
Waianae quarterback Jorell Pontes-Borje, filling in for injured starter Jaren Ulu, ran the Wing-T offense nicely.
“He took control and led us to victory,” Towne said.
Waianae, ranked fifth in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10, plays at No. 1 Kahuku next Saturday in the OIA semifinals. The Seariders (8-2) lost to the defending Division I state champion Red Raiders 28-0 on the North Shore on Aug. 26.
The winner of that game will play the winner of Saturday’s Farrington (7-2) game at Kapolei (8-1) the following weekend for the OIA championship.
Seariders head coach Walter Young downplayed the Open division berth that the Seariders clinched by beating Mililani.
“We’re not really thinking of that (the Open),” Young said. “We’re going to try to get this OIA thing going before we can get anything else. We’re going to enjoy this one and get back to the drawing board and get ready for the Big Red Machine.”
Anybody still thinking Waianae can’t go toe to toe with St LuLu or Puns???
Didn’t think so. Don’t know would win those matchups, but I guarantee they’ll be a LOT closer than say…iolani??
After all that manipulation, looks like ILH going Oh-fer in States again this year…cuz if you think iolani can beat mililani you ish cray cray…
And we all know who’s winning the Open Division.
HA!!!!!!!!
RRFL!
If waianae plays how they did in the first half against mililani, they could beat kahuku. Lets go waianae!
Great game Waianae on beating us fair and square..we practices hard trying to get ready for your run game..but running backs was on point last night.we didnt know that your backup QB(pontes-Borge) could pass the ball as well has he did , but we knew he could run..hats off pontes-Borge great job! Your guys defence could some work against the pass but on the money on the run!. Pif you guys play the way yoy did in the first half, you guys got kahuku.. Go luck waianae go get them#! Millilani in the house..westside pride!..
Good win for Waianae. I was actually hoping for Mililani to win just to see them play Kahuku.
I don’t see how Waianae can beat Kahuku. I think for Waianae a moral victory would be to at least put points on the board and get into the open tourney healthy.
Waianae went into this game with total confidence and ended with the win. However Kahuku is totally a different animal compared to Milz. They played once and their run was stopped with the arsenal of RB’s. Going be a good game but Kahuku will have the edge on this one again..
It’s funny how everybody is jumping on waianae’s band wagon after they barely beat mill-ville; da same team kailua beat! Now people saying they can beat Kahuku and hang with STL & Pun. Lol..
since when is millilani “Westside”??
Mililani looked the better balanced team with the young lefty slinging the ball to wide open receivers. Wonder how many more times Reggie Bush Rosario’s helmet will fly off the next couple games. Any D1 or open Div equipment mgr in the OIA? Kokua please!
Will be a solid hard fought game between Kahuku and Waianae next week. Play strong both teams!
@??? Well the bad thing about being on top is that it hurt alot when you fall!!. This is the bests of the bests in the playoffs and all 4 teams no matter how that got here! Theirs the best in the oia. And on Any given game day any team can win, its who wants it more that nite!!. And all you shit talkers downing other team. saying your team is going to win, well just a reminder when your team took another team lightly!!!( kahuku vs bishop gorman, waianae vs cambell, kapolei vs waianae, govs vs millilani). So all you sideline coaches, rude fans, and think there better then there coaches!! Just remember that our kids are playing the game not you!!.. So just injoy the game cause no matter what…it is just a game…GOOD LUCK BOYS# kahuku- waianae- kapolei- farrington.
Aaaahhh shaduup… Kahuku did not take Bishop Gorman lightly. Both teams came to play and Bishop Gorman was better. This is a sports forum and all the shit talk here is just friendly banter. You want to preach go do it at Hope Chapel at one of the High Schools. If not shut the Faak up and move along
88 WHY DO YOU TALK SO MUCH JUNK WITH NO EVIDENCE? YOU MAKE ASSUMPTIONS WHICH MAKE YOU LOOK FOOLISH WITHOUT EVEN TRYING TO FIND THE ANSWER. YOU CAN CALL THE HHSAA OFFICE AND FIND OUT THE TRUTH. BUT INSTEAD YOU GET ANGRY. YOU MAKE EXCUSES. YOU BLAME. HOW ABOUT SHOWING SOME GRIT INSTEAD OF GETTING ANGRY AND POINTING FINGERS. HOW ABOUT BEING ACCOUNTABLE? IS THIS WHAT YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN?
If Ulu is out indefinitely, Pontes-Borge is serviceable. I was impressed at how calm and played he was, considering that’s his first start in a while in a big playoff game with a lot on the line. There was one play where he ran the option to the right, faked the pitch and gained about 15 yards.
What the hell is your bipolar @$$ talking about? What excuse, blame or assumption did I make? I asked about tournament seeding and I get a novel of how butt hurt you are that you sacrificed so much of your time on a committe that no one appreciates. Take your pills dude.
At least Mililani has a great chance at the D1 championship. The Waianae coaches need keep the pedal down when getting a big lead. Mil was double stacking the box in the 2 ND half. One thing, Rico Rosario is the best running back in the State.
@Manley agree Rosario has to be in that discussion with the best in the state. They need to feed him the ball more, and get him to tighten his chin strap. Haha Hernandez made a point of him being off the field when it’s 3rd down after his helmet would come off. He’s an every down back.
88 JUST PROVES EVERYONE’S POINT AGAIN. HE IS ANGRY. HE IS RUDE. HE ISN’T ABLE TO FIND OUT INFORMATION ON HIS OWN. HE ASSUMES INSTEAD OF TRYING TO FIND THE TRUTH. HE BLAMES EVERYONE BUT HIMSELF.
KAHUKU COMMUNITY, I REALLY HOPE THIS INDIVIDUAL ISN’T ALLOWED TO COACH YOUR CHILDREN. HE HAS REAL ANGER ISSUES. I HOPE YOU GET HELP BUDDY.
88, ONCE AGAIN YOU MAKE ASSUMPTIONS AND ACCUSATIONS WITHOUT NO EVIDENCE. WHEN PEOPLE POINT OUT YOUR ANGER YOU ATTACK WITH MORE ANGER. I AM NOT BIPOLAR AND I FIND IT OFFENSIVE THAT YOU WOULD STOOP TO THAT LEVEL TO CALL SOMEONE BIPOLAR. THAT IS A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT CAN BE CHALLENGING TO LIVE WITH. THESE COMMENTS JUST SHOW YOUR IGNORANCE AND LACK OF COMMON COURTESY. I FEEL FOR ALL THE PARENTS THAT DO HAVE CHILDREN WITH THIS CONDITION. IT CLEAR THAT YOU LACK THE SENSITIVITY TO EVER BE AROUND KIDS. I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU BLOG. IT’S THE CLOSEST YOU WILL EVER GET TO COACHING. I GET IT NOW.
Wow I come back from vacation and the same Kahuku crybabies are at it again led by their mistress 88.
@TooMeke, where you at son?
SpockUlater- I was wondering hynit popped off so many times, kinda like St. Louis’ helmets in the final game of 2015.
Waianae wants to score on Kahuku they need to use an empty back field and have one man go in motion with a quick trap and passing.
Good luck. I don’t see them scoring on Kahuku at all. The team is peaking at the right time.
Waianae 14 kahuku 7