Mililani comes out on top in game brimming with emotion

Interest in Saturday night’s contest between Mililani and Kahuku was evident beyond the capacity crowd at John Kauinana Stadium.

San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo was on the sidelines, as well as Hawaii assistant coaches Jordan Pu’u-Robinson and Jared Ursua. Members of the California and Arizona State coaching staffs were present as well. All four programs had bye weeks. Kahuku has a pair of Cal commits in safety Aiden Manutai and defensive lineman LeBron Williams, while Mililani linebacker Isaiah Iosefa is committed to Arizona State.

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On the field, the game between the Trojans and Red Raiders was a contest brimming with emotion. The two teams split their two matchups in 2023, with Mililani winning the OIA title while Kahuku won the ultimate prize, beating the Trojans in the HHSAA Open Division championship game.

Prior to kickoff, Vavae Tata was locked in.

Tata went 24-2 as Kahuku’s head coach from 2015 to 2016, winning a state title in his first year before his tenure came to an unceremonious end after year two. He is now Mililani’s co-head coach, as well as the defensive and special teams coordinator.

Tata was sporting a hoodie and a hat that read “Make Football Violent Again” before changing into his game wardrobe. From there, he walked a handful of times around the field.

In a defensive battle for the ages, Mililani prevailed 14-10, improving to 6-0. The Trojans remained unblemished despite playing without reigning consensus state player of the year, quarterback Kini McMillan, who broke his collarbone in the team’s opener against Kailua. The team was also without receivers Onosai Salanoa and Derek Tsuchiyama.

“Oh my God, how about that game, huh? That’s why we play these big games,” Tata said after the game. “Great litmus test for these kids. Everyone else is battling adversity. We are. We have injuries, no quarterback, no (Onosai) Salanoa, no (Derek Tsuchiyama). My mentality was always next man up. These guys accepted the challenge. Phenomenal opportunity. Hat’s off to Kahuku. Back at it again next week. The No. 1 team, right? Can’t wait.”

If Mililani wants to return to the state title game, it will have to play at three postseason games to get there. With three regular season games left, the season is about halfway done for the Trojans. But Mililani did not look like a team saving anything for later on Saturday, pulling out all the stops to get the victory over the Red Raiders.

The Trojans took the lead for good on a jet sweep pass from Lehiwa Kahana-Travis to Jonah Togafau-Tavui. Kahuku threatened on the following drive with a one-handed catch by Mana Carvalho aiding the Red Raiders in getting to the Mililani 1. Applying the lessons from the man they call “Coach Vae,” the Trojans dug deep to force a turnover on downs, denying Kahuku’s best chance at scoring.

Afterwards, Mililani’s players appeared physically and emotionally spent.

“A lot of mixed emotions because we worked so hard for this,” standout edge rusher Chevy Robinson said. “We put our blood, sweat and tears in.

“Coach Vae implemented to use this week that it’s fourth and goal every day.”

After the final whistle, Tata gave a passionate speech to the team praising the Trojans for the efforts while instructing them to hydrate and go to church on Sunday.

“It’s bittersweet. I actually got a lei from one of my guys that I coached back in 2015,” Tata said of facing Kahuku. “Just looking forward to another week.”

During his time with the Red Raiders, Tata was lauded behind the scenes for his ability in getting his teams to execute simple concepts flawlessly, a notion that reared its head during Mililani’s last goal line stand.

“We just kept our base package out there,” Tata recalled. “Just kept it simple, because we knew that they were trying to get the edges. Sometimes, just keep it simple, right? Less is more.”

Added Iosefa, whose interception return to the Kahuku 1 set up Mililani’s first touchdown of the day: “Our coach, he did a real good job preparing us this week. Nothing too different. We prepare like how we prepare for every other team but Kahuku being the team that they are, they’re just a really tough team. Great coaches, great players, and I feel like he just prepared us very well.”

Next up for the Trojans is another home game, this time against No. 1 Campbell. The Sabers boast star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and an offense that has yet to score less than 40 points, averaging 51.2 points per game at 5-0.

“It’s quite a feat. It’s quite an opportunity. We treat every week like a different week,” Tata said. “It’s a different opponent so we’re gonna have to look at the tape, put a gameplan together and hopefully we can get that going on Monday.”

Tata acknowledged the grind of the season and how it forces teams to move on quickly. But on Saturday, he got to enjoy the moment, even if it was brief.

“Especially in these games, especially in this time of year, getting to October, November, you never know what to expect,” Tata said. “Unfortunately, somebody’s gonna come out victorious. I’m glad it was us.”