Trojans get another shot at OIA rivals in flag football final

The Mililani flag football team’s high-octane offense was stalled Friday, but Trojans pass rusher Alizae Royelle Maialoha was in full gear.

Maialoha had five sacks, and Zennalenn Nelson had a receiving touchdown and a rushing score as Mililani beat No. 4 Baldwin 13-7 in the semifinals of the Hawaii Dental Service/HHSAA Girls Flag Football Division I State Championships at Mililani.

Royelle Maialoha said she strained her right hamstring against Nanakuli in April, then made it worse by playing soccer.

“I started off pretty rough because I was coming off injuries,” Royelle Maialoha said. “I’m finally feeling better. I’m finally feeling at my best. I know I can get there and that’s all I think about during games.”

Mililani, the OIA’s fifth-place team, will play Moanalua for the title today at 7 p.m. at Mililani.

Moanalua beat Mililani

31-13 on May 1.

“We just have to execute on both sides, offense and defense. Hopefully, we can do that and we’ll see what happens,” Mililani coach Edwin Cera said.

The Trojans averaged 32 points in their past four games. They gained 271 yards of total offense against Baldwin but struggled to make big plays.

“We don’t know what happened,” Cera said of Mililani’s offense. “We’ll try our best and find something that works.”

Mililani’s Royelle Maialoha and Sophie Foster were able to pressure Baldwin’s Kailea Moniz.

The Trojans took a 6-0 lead with 8:44 remaining in the first half on Hayden-

Elyzabeth Ka‘ahanui-Cera’s 10-yard pass to Nelson on fourth down.

“Hayden trusted me with the ball and throwing it up there for me,” Nelson said.

She finished with seven rushes for 44 yards, went 10-for-17 for 93 yards and caught six passes for 40 yards.

Mililani (10-6) had 145 yards of total offense and Baldwin gained 78 in the first half.

The Trojans went up 13-0 with 5:05 left in the game on Nelson’s 1-yard plunge. Nelson hit Ka‘ahanui-Cera on the conversion.

“I just powered in there because recently the rules changed for diving because now you can’t dive,” Nelson said. “I just jumped in for the touchdown.”

Baldwin (9-2) got within 13-7 on Moniz’s 19-yard pass to Sanairee Hasegawa with 2:03 remaining.

The Trojans were able to run out the clock by relying on Nelson’s running.

The Mililani flag football team will look to join the Trojans baseball and softball squads, both of whom recently won HHSAA Division I titles.

“I heard a lot of people telling us we’re going to be the next. I just hope so,” Nelson said.

Baldwin, the MIL champion, gained 196 yards of total offense. Moniz went 20-for-34 for 211 yards. The Bears had 13 rushes for minus-15 yards.

Hawaii Prep World

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