For Walter Young and the Waianae Seariders, there was relief.
For the Farrington Governors, pure anguish.
Waianae edged Farrington 20-19, salvaging a lead when the Govs missed an extra-point kick with 2:54 left that would have tied the game.
Farrington got the ball back at its 30-yard line with 1:18 on the clock and two timeouts left, but went four and out. A holding call on a first-down completion was crucial, but it wasn’t surprising. The Governors committed an almost unbelievable 23 penalties for 176 yards in their biggest game of the season. That nullified all the work and highlights for a team that had OIA and state title aspirations.
By winning the third-place game, Waianae will make its first trip to the state tourney in five years.
"It’s a weight off my shoulders. Since 2010, we hadn’t made it there," first-year varsity head coach Walter Young said. "We’ll see how it goes, almost like a new experience for us. Our whole defense did a helluva job. We came up with some plays. Proud of them all the way."
Farrington junior Challen Faamatau rushed for 202 yards on 26 carries and scored one TD. Wide receiver Kingston Moses-Sanchez had six receptions for 165 yards and a TD in the first half, but was shut down by the Seariders after that.
For Waianae, it was, in the end, about discipline. After committing nine penalties for 67 yards in the first half, the Seariders had just one flag in the second.
"Farrington is a good team. Hard-fought game all the way. They came to play and we came to play. They’re a helluva team," Young said. "The kids, their mind-set’s got to be right. They did the corrections in the second half and I have to be proud of them. A lot of it is on them. We can coach them all we like, but we can’t go out there and play for them."
The evenly matched teams were tied at 13 when the fourth quarter started. But a long backward pass by Bishop Rapoza to Faamatau went astray and was recovered by Waianae at the Farrington 44.
After a time out, the Seariders sealed off the left side to spring Javen Towne, who raced to the left pylon for a 36-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 9:47 remaining.
Farrington had a penalty-free, 69-yard drive and got an 8-yard blast up the middle to paydirt by Faamatau to pull within 20-19. However, their season-long issues with the kicking game returned. Rapoza, who had made a PAT earlier, missed on the kick, which might have been partially blocked.
