"I have been getting more calls than usual and hearing from people that I haven't heard from in a long time," Millwood said. "They've been e-mailing me or calling me and they're proud of what our boys have accomplished so far."

Mililani (10-0) will play Kahuku, which defeated Leilehua, 12-6, in the OIA title game next Friday.

The Mililani defense allowed just 170 yards and forced four turnovers against Castle.

The big play of the game was turned in by the Mililani defense with under two minutes remaining in the first half. On third-and-nine from its 21, Castle quarterback Jordan Nakayama threw a pass that was intercepted near the left sideline by senior defensive back Matt Welch, who returned the ball to the 17. At the time, Mililani had no timeouts.

"That was big; our d-line was stepping it up and they got a good pass rush and got the quarterback to throw a bad pass," Welch said.

Maka Kahoano scored on a 1-yard sneak with three seconds left in the half and Jordan Torres' extra point cut the Trojans' deficit to 9-7.

"That was a very crucial series of downs there," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. "In retrospect, we look back upon it and you wish the outcome could have been different. We had the choice of trying to make something happen or run out the clock and we threw a pick and they scored. To me, that was a huge momentum changer."

Mililani, ranked No. 2 in The Advertiser's Top 10, took its first lead at 14-9 on a 26-yard lob pass from Kahoano to Jon Santos midway through the third quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Trojans linebacker Josh Andrews forced a fumble after a short completion and defensive lineman Tony Butindaro recovered at the Knights' 28. Two plays later, Torres scored from two yards out to put Mililani up 21-9 with 10:36 remaining.

Kahoano completed 11-of-20 passes for 123 yards, and Kekoa Perbera, Jordan Apduhan and Torres combined for 189 rushing yards.

Castle (7-3) ran only 25 plays in eight second-half possessions, including two lost fumbles and another interception by Welch. The Knights, ranked No. 7, gained just 55 yards in the second half and didn't register a first down until their final drive.

"Our defense was on the field way too much," Maeda said. "It was basically three downs and sometimes one down and out."

Louis Mansanas Jr. replaced Nakayama late in the fourth quarter, but it made little difference. The quarterbacks combined to go 11 of 30 for 126 yards.

"Jordan was struggling and the way Mililani was controlling the clock, we had to get something going," Maeda said when asked why he switched quarterbacks.

Nakayama re-entered and finished the game.

Castle took the game's opening possession and drove 53 yards before settling for a 33-yard field goal by Ethan Gonsalves.

The Knights went up 9-0 on an 88-yard punt return by Lihikai Domingo on the second play of the second quarter. Domingo broke a tackle immediately after catching the ball, broke two more tackles along the right sideline and cut back near midfield. The extra point was blocked.

CASTLE 3 6 0 0 — 9

MILILANI 0 7 7 7 — 21

Cast—FG Ethan Gonsalves 33

Cast—Lihikai Domingo 88 punt return (kick blocked)

Mil—Maka Kahoano 1 run (Jordan Torres kick)

Mil—Jon Santos 26 pass from Kahoano (Torres kick)

Mil—Torres 2 run (Torres kick)

RUSHING—Castle: Jordan Nakayama 6-(minus 15), Tarann Bajet 4-16, Justin Kruse 4-35, Louis Mansanas Jr. 2-8. Mililani: Kekoa Perbera 16-63, Jordan Apduhan 6-54, Torres 13-72, Santos 1-(minus 9), Kekoa Osurman 4-18, Kahoano 9-(minus 10), team 1-(minus 3).

PASSING—Castle: Nakayama 11-26-2—126, Mansanas Jr. 0-4-1—0. Mililani: Kahoano 11-20-0—123, Perbera 0-1-1—0.

RECEIVING—Castle: Jonathan Horner 1-11, Jordan Kahoekapu 2-43, Domingo 4-29, Gonsalves 2-32, Bajet 1-8, Blaine Kobashigawa 1-3. Mililani: Santos 5-60, Nick Rogers 3-20, Jay Greene 1-9, Torres 1-27, Osurman 1-7.