Farrington defense steps up to stop Campbell

More photos: Farrington vs. Campbell

A hobbled Sanele Lavatai had one good drive in him.

The Farrington defense took care of the rest.

Lavatai, who hurt his hamstring in last week’s win over Kapolei, scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter as the Govs shut out Campbell, 7-0, in the semifinals of the OIA Red playoffs on Thursday night at Aloha Stadium.

Farrington (8-2) advances to the title game for the second time in three years next Friday night against Mililani (9-1) at Aloha Stadium. The Govs haven’t won an OIA football title since 1990.

Lavatai had only five carries in the first half but took a handoff from quarterback Montana Liana six times on the Govs’ second drive of the second half, good for 40 yards.

A 21-yard pass from Liana to Jacob McEnroe set up the touchdown run.

Lavatai finished with 79 yards on 20 carries.

"We didn’t know how much he could give but he gave us just what we needed," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said.

Lavatai didn’t make it through the postgame handshake line. As soon as the game ended, he headed straight for the training table and was immediately on crutches.

"No, I didn’t expect to get so many carries tonight coming off an injury but anything I can do for the team," Lavatai said.

A 31-yard punt return by Solomon Matautia gave Campbell the ball on the Farrington 35 with 2:13 remaining in the game.

Sabers quarterback Isaac Hurd scrambled for 6 yards on the first play but threw three straight incomplete passes to turn the ball over on downs.

Campbell (7-3) will play Kahuku (6-4) for the OIA’s final state tournament berth next Saturday after getting shut out for the first time in 30 games.

"The (defense) stepped up, and we’re very proud of them," Okimoto said. "We’ve got a short celebration and we have to take care of next week, a tough Mililani team."

The Sabers were held to 105 total yards. Hurd was bottled up for only 21 yards rushing on 13 carries and was 7-for-19 for 65 yards passing.

"The defense was pretty intense tonight," said senior defensive lineman Motu Heimuli, who had two sacks and four tackles for loss. "It was pretty decent to see what (Hurd) can do, what kind of shake he has. It was like a breakdown defense every time."

Each team missed a field goal and combined to punt the ball nine times in a first half. Farrington had 61 total yards and Campbell had 54 at halftime.

The Sabers had a first-and-goal at the Farrington 1 but ran three plays for negative-19 yards before missing a field goal.

A fumble by Matautia on a punt gave Farrington the ball at the Campbell 32 late in the half.

The Govs had first-and-10 at the 15 but gave up a sack and committed a penalty.

Kekoa Sasaoka tried a 56-yard field goal that came up well short. Abiel Taito returned it 53 yards to the Campbell 42 with eight seconds remaining.

Hurd scrambled for 20 yards to the 22 but the half ran out. The Govs were whistled for a late-hit penalty on the play.

Campbell lined up to try a field goal but after the referees huddled, they signaled for the half, saying the dead-ball penalty would be enforced on the second-half kickoff.