OIA RED WEST
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Aiea's Bryan Echalas tried to break away from a pack of Mililani defenders last night.
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Mililani’s Torres runs over Aiea for 223 yards in key win
It was, as Aiea offensive coordinator Amosa Amosa said, an offensive coordinator's nightmare.
For the previously downtrodden Mililani Trojans, however, ruining Aiea's homecoming night was a dream come true. Jordan Torres made sure of it.
The senior running back ran wild for 223 yards on 25 carries, including three touchdowns, as the visiting Trojans marched to a 37-20 win last night at Aiea's field.
Mililani improved to 2-2 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West (4-2 overall) and showed the vigor that made the Trojans the preseason favorite to win the conference.
Aiea, decimated by injuries before and during the game, fell to 2-2 in conference play (3-3 overall). Na Alii lost starting quarterback Alfredo Higa recently (infected boil), then lost backup Keenan Naeole in the first half. "Disaster" quarterback Daniel Liilii fared well for a time, but eventually struggled against a swarming Mililani defense led by linebacker Josh Andrews.
"We have a bye week coming up, so this win helps us going into that a lot," Mililani coach James Millwood said. "We've had some rough times here, so this was a good win."
Even All-State wide receiver Lofa Liilii, who did not suit up, was tempted to put the pads on for Aiea at halftime. He has missed several games due to an ankle injury, but was cleared to play.
"I asked Coach (Wendell Say), but he didn't want to put me in yet," Liilii said. "It was weird to see my brother out there at quarterback."
Naeole, who was 10-for-15 with 92 yards passing and one touchdown, suffered a broken clavicle on a late hit.
"If we really wanted to, we could've suited Lofa up," Say said. "But we weren't gonna change our plan. We'll bring him back slowly."
The game didn't start until 7:47 p.m. due to pregame festivities that included the individual introduction of every player on the Aiea roster. By the end of the first half, three Na Alii went down with injuries, possibly because of a shortened warm-up time.
Mililani, which warmed up through the entire pregame ceremony, did not have a single injury in the first half.
Aiea got on the board with the opening possession. Naeole led Aiea on an eight-play, 80-yard drive and found James Buchanan on a 23-yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 lead.
Lyle Castanares gave the Trojans a boost by blocking a punt by Josh Chung. Castanares recovered the bouncing ball at the Aiea 8-yard line. Two plays later, Rustin Funakoshi fired a 10-yard strike to tight end Kawika Seguerre on a short pass play. Colin Lund's PAT kick gave Mililani a 7-6 lead with 3:56 left in the opening quarter.
"I was untouched. I knew, if we get this, we get momentum and things start going our way," Castanares said.
Mililani's defense came to life moments later. Andrews drilled Liilii, who had taken a handoff, and David Ishida recovered the fumble at the Aiea 27-yard line. The drive stalled, however, at the 6-yard line when Torres' halfback option pass to Funakoshi was short and dropped.
Torres got his satisfaction on the next series, capping his team's 65-yard drive with 2-yard burst off the right side to give Mililani a 14-6 lead with 8:30 left in the half.
Naeole, who battled a pair of injuries in nonconference play, suffered an injury on the second play of Aiea's ensuing drive. With Higa already out with an injury, Liilii switched to quarterback and directed Na Alii on an 80-yard march. Diving catches by Buchanan for 33 and 28 yards boosted the drive, and Lawrence Lagafuaina, a big freshman lineman, lined up at fullback to score on a 1-yard plunge.
No. 7 Waianae 28, Radford 0
Ben McQuown completed 11 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns as the Seariders shut out the Rams to remain undefeated in league play.
Joe Abell led Waianae on the ground with 47 yards on four carries and a touchdown.
Kapolei 33, Campbell 27
Mason Koa threw for 115 yards and ran for 102 yards as the Hurricanes defeated the Sabers.
Kamuela Foki rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Hurricanes.
Bronson Ellis-Rivera rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns for Campbell.
BIIF
Kamehameha Hawaii 56, Ka'u 7
Nick Miyasato passed for three touchdowns and ran for another score as the Warriors blew out the Trojans. Reece Alnas caught two TD passes for 90 yards in the first quarter, and Kamehameha-Hawaii never looked back. The Warriors led 49-0 at halftime.
Dallas Watson connected on a 48-yard pass to Jacob Edwards in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout for Ka'u.
MIL
No. 6 Baldwin 39, Pac-Three 14
The Bears jumped out to a 32-0 halftime lead behind the arm of Jordan Helle, who passed for three scores in that span.
No. 9 Lahainaluna 46, King Kekaulike 14
Jacob McCarthy rushed for two touchdowns as the Lunas beat Na Alii.
After King Kekaulike jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, Lahainaluna scored 40 unanswered points to put the game away.