Baldwin beats Mililani

WAILUKU, Maui » It's a combination that produced 16 touchdowns during the regular season. Now add three more to that total.

Quarterback Jordan Helle and wide receiver Chase Nakamura -- both juniors -- combined on scoring plays of 36, 43 and 14 yards last night as Baldwin rallied to a 22-17 win over Mililani in a quarterfinal of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Division I Championships.

The victory at War Memorial Stadium improved Baldwin's record to 10-0-1 and earned the Bears a berth in Friday's semifinals against Kahuku at Aloha Stadium. Mililani finished with an 8-4 mark.

"It was a great win," said Baldwin coach Jimmy Morimoto. "Both teams fought hard and our defense picked it up in the second half to help us win the game."

Helle completed 22 of 33 attempts for 258 yards and increased his state-leading total to 29 touchdown passes. He threw two interceptions.

Nakamura had six catches for 111 yards, and increased his state-leading total to 19 scoring receptions.

As impressive as Baldwin's high-powered offense performed, an improved defensive effort in the second half played an equally significant role in the Bears' comeback from a 17-9 deficit.

Mililani overcame an early 6-0 deficit as Jordan Torres scored on a pair of 1-yard runs sandwiched around a 41-yard field goal for a 17-6 lead with 1:31 left in the second period. Torres finished with 125 yards on 25 carries, including 81 on 10 attempts in the first half.

Baldwin drew closer on a 19-yard field goal by Dane Fernandez, his seventh of the season, as the first half ended.

"We just needed to clean up our defense. We made too many little mistakes in the first half," Morimoto said. "Offensively, we were right there. The line did a great job of giving Jordan time to throw the ball."

That's when the Bears tightened up their run defense, doing a more effective job of containing the elusive Torres and getting their offense into high gear.

Baldwin pulled to within 17-15 less than 2 minutes into the third quarter on Nakamura's acrobatic 43-yard grab, the 6-3 receiver tipping the ball up for himself while well covered and tucking it away as he backed into the end zone. The 2-point try failed.

The Helle-to-Nakamura combination worked again to help give Baldwin a 22-17 edge with 10:21 left in the game.

"Helle and the line were on all night," Nakamura said.

With time running down, Mililani found itself with a second and 6 on the Baldwin 25, but three straight passes by Trojans' quarterback Rustin Funakoshi were off target as the Bears picked up their defensive rush.

Baldwin gave the ball back to the Trojans on their own 43 with 22.3 seconds remaining in the game. Funakoshi connected on passes of 16 yards to Colin Lund and 12 yards to Scott Burns. But, on first and 10 and only 4.1 seconds left, Funakoshi was forced to throw into the end zone and his pass was picked off by safety Jared-Lee Keahi as time expired.

DIVISION II
Waipahu 27, Kamehameha-Hawaii 12

Matt Soueira, who touched the ball just four times on offense, scored on a run and caught a pass from Gil Fernandez for a 51-yard touchdown in the second quarter to lead the Marauders over the Warriors.