WAILUKU - In a battle featuring two of the best quarterbacks in the state, it was a defensive lineman who turned the tide in Mililani High School's 24-13 win over Baldwin in a First Hawaiian Bank Division I State Football Championship quarterfinal Friday night at War Memorial Stadium.
Defensive end Dakota Turner sacked and stripped Bears' quarterback Keelan Ewaliko on the Baldwin 15-yard line and returned the fumble 70 yards to set up the go-ahead touchdown in front of about 1,500 fans.
"At halftime, coach (Rod York) was saying we had to gang tackle and go in there and strip the ball," said Turner, who is listed as 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds and has verbally committed to a scholarship to San Diego State. "That's what I did, went in there and stripped the ball. The ball came loose and I just sprinted for my life trying to get to the end zone, but the guy caught me."
Article Photos
Baldwin High School’s Keelan Ewaliko is pressured by Mililani’s Dakota Turner as Alexander Ezera closes in during the first quarter of the Bears’ 24-13 loss to the Trojans on Friday at War Memorial Stadium in a state quarterfinal.
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
"The guy" was Zacharia Coloma-Mariano, a 5-5, 142-pound receiver, but the Trojans scored three plays later when Jarin Morikawa hit Ekolu Ramos for an 8-yard touchdown and 17-13 lead.
"Coach always says don't look back," Turner said moments after accepting his player-of-the-game trophy. "But he caught me from the side - I wasn't ready for him."
The Bears, ranked seventh in the state in the scoringlive.com poll, ended the season 7-3.
Fact Box
FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK STATE FOOTBALL
DIVISION I
Friday's Results
First round
Mililani 24, No. 3 Baldwin 13
Farrington 34, No. 4 Kealakehe 25
Friday, Nov. 16
Semifinals * At Aloha Stadium
No. 2 Punahou vs. Mililani, 4:30 or 7:30 p.m.
No. 1 Kahuku vs. Farrington, 4:30 or 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 23
Championship * At Aloha Stadium
Semifinal winners 7 p.m.
DIVISION II
Today's Games
First round
Radford at No. 4 Kauai, 3 p.m.
Nanakuli at No. 3 Konawaena, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17
Semifinals * At Aloha Stadium
No. 2 Lahainaluna vs. Konawaena-Nanakuli winner, 4 or 7 p.m.
No. 1 Iolani vs. Radford-Kauai winner, 4 or 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 23
Championship * At Aloha Stadium
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
"We played tough until the end," said Baldwin coach A.J. Roloos. "Like I said in the paper yesterday, turnovers were going to be big."
Third-ranked Mililani (10-2) will face Punahou next Friday at Aloha Stadium in the semifinal round.
"Coach needed us to step up and make a play - he asked the captain to step up," Turner said. "That's what I did, I stepped up and made a play. The whole team stepped up and made a play, not just me."
The Trojans put the game away with a 14-play, 95-yard touchdown drive the next time they had the ball, with Dayton Furuta carrying 10 times for 67 yards, including an 11-yard scoring run. Furuta finished with 109 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries - his previous highs for the season were 14 carries and 96 yards against Leilehua.
Mililani scored the final 21 points of the game.
"That one turnover we had down here, that cost us the momentum," Roloos said. "It's a momentum game. We were coming down and we were going to punch it in. If we didn't fumble or they didn't strip the ball it probably would have been a different outcome."
Morikawa passed for 183 yards and his 34th touchdown of the season.
Ewaliko finished with a game-high 116 rushing yards on 20 carries, but was 6-for-23 passing for just 55 yards and an interception. He scored all of the Bears' points, on a touchdown run, extra point and two field goals.
"They were a great team," Ewaliko said through tears. "We came out and played our best. They just are better than us. We are just happy with what we did. We played to the best of our ability."
Ewaliko, who has committed to the University of Hawaii, earned the Trojans' respect.
"He's something else, one of the fastest quarterbacks we have faced all year," Turner said. "He is just a great athlete. He carries his whole team. I heard him in and out of the plays telling his O-line to step up, block for him. He is a great kid and I'm going to see him at the next level. He's legit."
Ewaliko put the Bears on top on their first possession when he scrambled 18 yards up the middle to score with 8:50 left in the first quarter. Ewaliko ran four times on the 54-yard drive for 41 yards and completed a pass for 11 yards to Kyson-Lee Kaiama that gave Baldwin a first down on the 18-yard line.
Ewaliko was intercepted by Furuta on a tipped ball on the next possession, giving the Trojans the ball on the Bears' 16. They could manage only two yards before Ryan Carlomany kicked a 31-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 5:54 left in the first.
Kainoa Wilson fumbled an Ewaliko punt later in the first quarter, giving the Bears the ball on the 15, but they had to settle for Ewaliko's 30-yard field goal with 2:07 remaining in the quarter.
On the Trojans' next possession, Miki Fangatua sacked Morikawa and recovered the ensuing fumble, setting up the Bears at the Mililani 25. This time, Baldwin went just three yards before Ewaliko nailed a 40-yard field goal for a 13-3 lead with seven seconds left in the first.
Mililani went 80 yards in 13 plays on its next possession and cut the deficit to 13-10 on a 2-yard run by Furuta. Morikawa was 7-for-8 passing on the drive for 76 yards.
Ewaliko left a 42-yard field-goal try short with 1:13 to go before halftime.
Mililani finished with 305 yards of offense, including 109 on 22 carries by Furuta- he had 13 carries for 90 yards in the second half. Baldwin finished with 203 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Ewaliko appeared to break free for a 32-yard jaunt to the Mililani 9, but the play was called back by a block in the back and Ewaliko later hit the left upright on a 33-yard field goal attempt.
York said the Bears were exactly what he expected.
"Hats off to Baldwin, coach A.J. and his players, that team has got heart," he said. "I was concerned right when I knew we had to play Baldwin. Much respect to Baldwin. We said 'We are done talking and somebody has got to make a play,' and Dakota made a play."
Before the game, a moment of silence was observed for Garner Ivey, Baldwin's longtime wrestling coach. Ivey, 84, died Friday morning at Maui Memorial Medical Center after a battle with cancer.
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com
_______________
Mililani ........ 3 ..... 7 ..... 7 ..... 7-24
Baldwin ..... 13 ..... 0 ..... 0 ..... 0-13
First Quarter
B-Keelan Ewaliko 18 run (Ewaliko kick), 8:50.
M-Ryan Carlomany 31 FG, 5:54.
B-Ewaliko 30 FG, 2:07.
B-Ewaliko 40 FG, 0:07.
Second Quarter
M-Dayton Furuta 2 run (Carlomany kick), 7:29.
Third Quarter
M-Ekolu Ramos 8 pass from Jarin Morikawa (Carlomany kick), 5:20.
Fourth Quarter
M-Furuta 11 run (Carlomany kick), 7:56.
| M | B | |
| First downs | 18 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 38-122 | 33-148 |
| Passing yards | 183 | 55 |
| Total offense | 305 | 203 |
| Return yards | 90 | 25 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 17-31-0 | 6-23-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-2 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-73 | 2-15 |
| Punts-avg | 4-31.5 | 4-38.3 |
RUSHING-M, Furuta 22-109, Pakelo Lee 9-30, Morikawa 7-(minus 17); B, Ewaliko 20-116, Dusty Flores 11-27, Zacharia Coloma-Mariano 1-5, Miki Fangatua 1-0.
PASSING-M, Morikawa 17-31-0-183; B, Ewaliko 6-23-1-55.
RECEIVING-M, Ramos 8-85, Erren Jean-Pierre 4-49, Khalil Stevens 2-32, Kainoa Wilson 1-9, Dakota Turner 1-7, Colton Dayacos-Gaspar 1-1; B, Coloma-Mariano 3-38, Ryan Graham 2-6, Kyson-Lee Kaiama 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-B, Ewaliko 42 (SH), Ewaliko 33 (WL).
