Kahuku holds off Mililani, 8-6, in state semifinals

MILILANI — Despite being held to two points on offense, Kahuku held off Mililani, 8-6, Friday night in tight and tense First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championship semifinal action.

A capacity crowd of about 3,500 at John Kauinana Stadium watched Aiden Manutai block a field goal attempt and then return the ball 70 yards for the Red Raiders’ only touchdown as Kahuku improved to 9-4 and advanced to the Nov. 29 title game against Saint Louis (8-3). Mililani scored its lone TD with just 24 seconds remaining, but its two-point conversion pass was broken up and fell incomplete to end the Trojans’ season at 9-3.

“We’re excited, but we know the standard and what it takes,” said Manutai, a senior defensive back/receiver who has verbally committed to Cal. “We just gotta come back and keep working, starting tomorrow morning.”

Although the Red Raiders’ offense did not score a touchdown, it did do its part in helping to keep Mililani’s potent offense off the field. Kahuku took the opening kickoff and ate up 10 minutes — nearly the entire first quarter — before the drive finally ended with an interception near the goal line.

In the second quarter, the Trojans recovered a fumble and later advanced to the Red Raiders’ 21, lining up for a 38-yard field goal attempt. But Manutai broke through the right-side wall and reached up to block the kick, then twirled around to find the loose ball in front of him.

“I give all the credit to our defense for making that possible,” Manutai said. “We just took advantage of that opportunity. We worked on it throughout the week in practice and many weeks before, so it’s more just repetition and it opened up (today).”

Kahuku then lined up in a “muddle huddle” formation — with the snapper by himself and other blockers further to his left — and the ball was snapped directly to running back Chauncy Alo, who ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 1:57 remaining in the first half.

After a scoreless third quarter, Mililani advanced to the Red Raiders’ 29-yard line late in the fourth, but Faleali’i Atuaia made an interception to kill the drive with 4:20 remaining.

The Trojans did force a punt on the ensuing possession and started their final drive at midfield with 2:14 left. Then on fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line, quarterback Kini McMillan found Togafau Tavui open for a touchdown to close it to 8-6 with 24.9 seconds remaining. On the two-point conversion attempt, however, McMillan was flushed out of the pocket to right, where he fired the ball toward a receiver near the goal line.

But the pass was broken up by Noa Bridges and fell to the turf incomplete.

“We basically had two lives … they scored (the touchdown), so we knew it was make-or-break there,” said Kahuku defensive back/receiver Mana Carvalho. “Being able to trust in each other to do our one-eleventh, we were able to close out the game.”

Kahuku was held to just 149 yards of total offense — including only 42 yards rushing on 31 carries. But the Red Raiders held an advantage in overall time of possession, 27 minutes and 42 seconds to 20:18.

Kahuku also made the game’s three key plays on special teams: Manutai’s block and return, Alo’s two-point conversion run and Bridges knocking away Mililani’s final pass. In addition, the Red Raiders extended two drives with fake punts, further helping to keep the Trojans’ offense off the field.

“Special teams is one of the biggest things for us,” Carvalho said. “We will make plays out of that.”