Farrington put the hurt on the high-flying Kapolei offense Saturday night and defended the home Kalihi turf with a 28-7 victory over the Hurricanes at the new Skippa Diaz Stadium.
The Governors did it with a comprehensive defense that took away nearly everything the Kapolei passing game threw at it. Kapolei quarterback Kaniala Kalaola was sacked six times and threw three interceptions while dealing with a mean rush and blanket coverage.
It was simply the win that made Farrington coach Randall Okimoto the most happy, though. It was the first victory at the new field in the Govs’ second appearance there — after a season-opening 34-15 loss to Kalihi neighbor Kamehameha on Aug. 4.
“It’s not just about knocking them (the Hurricanes) off,” said Okimoto, whose team improved to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red. “I feel better about getting the first win at the home stadium. For me when I look up there, I get emotional. I see these people, they come out and you really want to do well for them.”
Kapolei suffered its second loss in a row. The Hurricanes beat Castle 41-7 on the field last week but ultimately had to forfeit due to an ineligible player. Kapolei — the fifth-ranked team in the state — fell to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the Red.
“They (the Governors) controlled the game from start to finish,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. “It wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. It’s hard to come back when a team scores on a blocked punt, a pick-6 and a trick play in the same half.”
Farrington led 22-7 at the intermission. Thane Tanuvasa started the big night for the Govs by blocking a punt and returning the ball 32 yards for a touchdown. Next came Malik Lokeni’s 31-yard touchdown catch from Stephen Eter, which was the second part of a play that started with a sly lateral from backup QB Chris Afe-Alaivanu to Eter. Wendell Alob’s 60-yard interception return for a touchdown capped the Govs’ first-half scoring.
Chasen Castilliano helped the Farrington cause with two second-half interceptions.
“It feels awesome, man,” Castilliano said. “We had a rough start with a loss to Kamehameha (and a loss to Campbell), but we worked our butts off this week and it sure paid off. It was definitely the work we put in.”
Samsen Tanuvasa finished the scoring for Farrington with a 43-yard run to finish off the Hurricanes with two minutes left in the game.
Okimoto also said the Govs succeeded at milking the clock after taking the lead.
Hernandez didn’t disagree.
“They kept our offense off the field and controlled the ball,” he said. “We didn’t help ourselves by not being able to engineer an offense and giving up turnovers and sacks.”
Click here to see more photos of the game between Farrington and Kapolei.
