Farrington tips Moanalua in wild one

Farrington running back Sanele Lavatai didn’t start Friday’s game against Moanalua. But he powered the Governors over the finish line in a wild 41-38 win.

Lavatai entered the game late in the first quarter and rushed for 276 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 3:23 left, and Farrington remained undefeated in OIA Red East play.

Farrington head coach Randall Okimoto, himself a part of Farrington’s storied history of running backs, marveled at the numbers before heading off the field at Moanalua.

"I know I never rushed for that many yards in one game," Okimoto said with a smile.

Lavatai’s performance and running back/linebacker Bryce Tatupu-Leopoldo’s remarkable third quarter erased a 24-10 Moanalua lead and Farrington denied Na Menehune their first win in the series between the schools.

After a Moanalua field goal early in the third quarter gave Na Menehune a 14-point cushion, Tatupu-Leopoldo scored in all three phases to vault Farrington into the lead.

He capped the Governors’ first possession of the third quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run. He then scooped up a shanked Moanalua punt and ran it in 14 yards for another score. Less than a minute later, he returned an interception 61 yards to give Farrington a 31-24 lead.

"He stepped up," Okimoto said. "He came off an injury, so he was hungry to play."

Behind quarterback Micah Kaneshiro’s 465 passing yards — third-best in the Prep Bowl and state championship era — Moanalua came back to catch the Governors, then reclaim the lead on Rodson Kealohi’s 3-yard run with 6:56 left, one of just two running plays called by the Moanalua offense.

But Lavatai powered a 10-play drive, finishing it with a 7-yard run for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:23 left in the game.

"We tried to save him a little bit in the first quarter, but we kept getting behind, so we had to get him in," Okimoto said.

An interception on Moanalua’s next possession sealed the outcome, as Moanalua fell to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the OIA Red East heading into its regular-season finale next week against Castle.

Moanalua receivers Donald Lambert, Jason Sharsh and Chad Aragon all went over 100 yards receiving for the second consecutive game.

"Just have to move on," Moanalua coach Arnold Martinez said. "Can’t spend too long on a win, can’t spend too long on a loss."

After Farrington’s opening possession ended with Kekoa Sasaoka’s 27-yard field goal, Kaneshiro gave Na Menehune the lead by catching a touchdown pass, then throwing for two more.

On first and goal at the 1, Kaneshiro went in motion and Aragon took a direct snap and lofted a throw to his quarterback for the game’s first touchdown.

The Moanalua defense set up Na Menehune’s next score when Jerek Pavao recovered a fumble. Kaneshiro hit Sharsh with a 7-yard touchdown pass. On Moanalua’s next possession, Kaneshiro completed a pass over the middle to Aragon, who outran the Governors defense to the end zone for a 65-yard score, giving Na Menehune a 21-3 lead.

Lavatai answered with a 60-yard burst up the middle and Moanalua took a 21-10 lead into halftime.