MILILANI — Mililani jumped to a 21-3 first-half lead and then held off arch rival Leilehua's fourth-quarter rally last night for a pulsating 21-18 victory in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association football opener for both teams.

The Trojans improved to 2-0 overall in winning the huge OIA Red Conference Western Division showdown before an energized capacity crowd of about 4,500 at John Kauinana Stadium.

Leilehua, the defending state runner-up, fell to 1-1.

The Mules closed to 21-18 with 3:15 remaining in the game after Andrew Manley's two-point conversion pass to Kamana Akagi. The two had hooked up on an almost identical 5-yard corner route for a touchdown the play before.

Following the ensuing kickoff, Mililani gained a first down but faced a third-and-5 situation on its 48 with 1:11 left and Leilehua with one timeout remaining. Quarterback Trent McKinney completed a 6-yard pass to Hassan Richardson for the first down, and the Trojans were able to run out the clock on the next three plays.

"This is the best way to start my senior year," said Mililani running back/receiver/defen-sive back Taz Stevenson, who finished with 183 all-purpose yards and also recovered a fumble on defense. "We just had to keep pushing, keep driving."

The Trojans started strong, opening the game with a well-executed 12-play, 87-yard drive culminating in McKinney's 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown. The series took 6 minutes, 34 seconds off the clock and kept Manley — The Advertiser's 2008 State Co-Offensive Player of the Year — on the sidelines.

"The longer we can keep Andrew Manley off the field, the better," Mililani coach Darnell Arceneaux said. "That guy has true talent and is a gamer, and he keeps trying to make himself better."

Leilehua closed to 7-3 a minute into the second quarter on Tyler Boone's 26-yard field goal, but the Trojans answered immediately with Stevenson's dazzling 80-yard scoring run on the first play after the kickoff. Mililani extended the lead to 21-3 with 1:45 left in the half after McKinney's 22-yard TD strike to Richardson on third-and-2.

The Mules had a golden opportunity to close the gap after gaining first-and-goal on the 5 with 21 seconds remaining, but Manley spiked the ball on first down and then threw incomplete passes, the last one with 12 seconds left.

"Maybe we should have kicked the field goal, it ended up hurting us," Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda said. "But we trust our players, and we had to make a decision."

The Mules did cut it to 21-10 midway through the third quarter, but on a defensive play. Penitito Malei blocked a punt near the Trojans' 15-yard line, and after a chase for the ball Reece Acohido recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

Leilehua got another big break midway through the fourth quarter when linebacker Nalu Enos forced a Stevenson fumble that was recovered by Mules teammate Nate Schuster at the Mililani 43.

"I was a little tired, but no excuses — I just lost it," Stevenson said of the fumble.

Manley then completed a 21-yard pass to CJ Bailey and 15 yards were tacked on for a facemask penalty. Manley then hit Kai Olayon on a 16-yard pass, and then the 5-yard TD strike to Akagi.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456. Read his blog on high school sports at www.preptalk.honadvblogs.com.

LEILEHUA (1-1) 0 3 7 8—18

MILILANI (2-0) 7 14 0 0—21

Mili — Trent McKinney 1 run (Reid Watanabe kick).

Lei — FG Tyler Boone 26.

Mili — Taz Stevenson 80 run (Watanabe kick).

Mili — Hassan Richardson 22 pass from McKinney (Watanabe kick).

Lei — Reece Acohido recovered blocked punt in end zone (Boone kick).

Lei — Kamana Akagi 5 pass from Andrew Manley (Akagi pass from Manley).

RUSHING — Leilehua: CJ Bailey 5-13, Ed Lani 3-14, Manley 2-(minus-12), Austin Schmidt 1-3, Kosi Lavea Jennings 1-1. Mililani: Watanabe 2-5, Stevenson 12-152, Ethan Cook 4-11, McKinney 12-29, Taylor Searle 1-7.

PASSING — Leilehua: Manley 19-34-0—197. Mililani: McKinney 13-17-1—142, Nainoa Pihana 1-1-0—31.

RECEIVING — Leilehua: Bailey 6-71, Kyle Cruse Gombio 1-5, Boone 4-23, Kamana Akagi 5-68, Blaine Furtado 1-7, Kai Olayon 2-23. Mililani: Kama Paulo 2-15, Seth Ierenio-Baring 2-26, Stevenson 3-34, Pihana 2-17, Searle 1-3, Bryson Calma 1-19, Richardson 3-59.

JV score: Leilehua 13, Mililani 0.