Ezekiel Olie passed for 347 yards and four touchdowns as No. 10 Aiea scored 21 unanswered points in the second half for a 31-10 win over Farrington on Friday night.
Na Alii limited the Governors to 223 yards of total offense and clinched second place in OIA Division I with a 5-1 mark (7-2 overall). Two of Olie’s TDs were for 41 and 29 yards to Jayden Chanel.
“It’s not only maturity, but the chemistry between us,” said Olie, who completed 26 of his 35 pass attempts. “My line gets all the credit.”
That front includes left tackle Preston Taumua, who received a scholarship offer from Ohio State this week.
Farrington (5-5 overall) closed the regular season 3-3 in league play with the fourth seed. Offensive lineman Pancho Laloulu, playing both ways on Friday, suffered a left knee injury in the second half and was carted off the field.
Defensive linemen Sila Unutoa and Logan Rouse sparked Aiea’s defense. Rouse finished with two sacks, while Unutoa and Emilio Aguilar each had one.
“We’ve been preparing for their O-line all week,” Unutoa said.
“We watched film, figured out what they like to do, Rouse said. “We kept the 1s in (after halftime), don’t let up.”
“We tried our best to keep Pancho in check,” Unutoa said of the 6-foot-2, 358-pound left guard.
The Governors did all they could to keep it close for one half, when it was 10-all.
“We talked about fundamentals,” Olie said of coach Wendell Say’s speech during the break.
Farrington broke a defensive stalemate with a 35-yard field goal by Jason Felipe. The points came moments after Devine Verece hustled on punt coverage to recover a muff on the return by Aiea, Verece’s recovery gave the Govs the ball at the Aiea 27-yard line. Sacks by Logan Rouse and Sila Unutoa stopped the home team.
Moments later, Felipe tipped an Olie pass that was collected by Tanoa McKenzie-Faumui, who returned the ball to the Aiea 20-yard line.
However, the drive stalled again and Aiea blocked a 37-yard field-goal attempt by Felipe on the first play of the second quarter.
Aiea drove and settled for a 32-yard field goal by Bryson Boyea Quiton to tie the game at 3 with 9:25 to go in the first half.
Farrington drove to the Aiea 4-yard line and fumbled on third down. Felipe’s 27-yard field-goal try was blocked by Elijah Nahoopii-Makakona with 4:20 remaining in the first half.
That led to a hurry-up drive by Na Alii as Olie completed three passes, including a 41-yard bomb to Chanel for the game’s first touchdown. Aiea led 10-3 with 3:12 until intermission.
With the help of a 33-yard jump-ball catch by Zecariah Molitau, the Governors drove to the Aiea 22-yard line, where quarterback M.J. Moreno gained 2 yards on a fourth-and-inches sneak. Three plays later, running back Dayvin Malaetia followed a surge up the middle for a 9-yard TD.
Farrington tied the game at 10 with 10 seconds to go in the first half.
The Govs had just 19 rushing yards on 21 attempts — including an 18-yard loss on the botched punt snap in the first quarter, but had control of the ball for 17 minutes and 27 seconds in the first half. Farrington had 37 offensive snaps to just 21 for Aiea.
The Govs lined up offensive lineman Laloulu on defense to begin the second half. He got plenty of penetration, but Olie still had enough time to launch a 29-yard bomb to Chanel for another TD.
Na Alii led 17-10 with 8:16 left in the third quarter.
Bishop Foumai intercepted a Moreno pass three plays later. On Farrington’s ensuing series, Moreno completed a pass to Chansen Smith, who fumbled at the Govs’ 37-yard line. Keoki Stephens recovered for Aiea with 3:12 left in the third stanza.
A pivotal play followed moments later. Farrington’s Willis Lilly picked off a pass by Olie and returned it 79 yards to the end zone, but the Governors were flagged for roughing the passer. Two plays later, Olie connected with Rico Figueroa for a 3-yard TD.
On the ensuing PAT, Laloulu went down with his injury.
Aiea led 24-10 with 1:10 left in the third. After a Farrington three-and-out, Na Alii kept the pressure on. Olie completed passes of 21 yards to Ulgaran and 48 yards to Figueroa. He found Ulgaran on a quick pass, and the shifty receiver scored on a 20-yard TD. Aiea led 31-10 with 10:05 remaining.
Farrington drove to the Aiea 6-yard line, but on fourth-and-goal, linebacker Aizik Mahuka (nine tackles) stopped Moreno for a 1-yard gain.
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AIEA 31, FARRINGTON 10
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
Aiea (7-2, 5-1) 0 10 14 7 — 31
Farrington (5-5, 3-3) 3 7 0 0 — 10
Farr—FG Jason Felipe 35
Aiea—FG Bryson Boyea Quiton 32
Aiea—Jayden Chanel 41 pass from Ezekiel Olie (Boyea Quiton kick)
Farr—Dayvin Malaetia 9 run (Felipe kick)
Aiea—Chanel 29 pass from Olie (Boyea Quiton kick)
Aiea—Malaetia 3 pass from Olie (Boyea Quiton kick)
Aiea—Geronimo Ulgaran 20 pass from Olie (Boyea Quiton kick)
RUSHING—Aiea: Kaimana Lale-Saole 10-59, Kobe Higa 6-45, Olie 4-3, TEAM 1-(minus 6). Farrington: Malaetia 7-33, Kingston Miles 9-27, Keona Taba 2-1, Zecariah Molitau 1-(minus 4), MJ Moreno 10-(minus 14), TEAM 1-(minus 18).
PASSING—Aiea: Olie 26-35-1-347. Farrington: Moreno 14-24-1-198.
RECEIVING—Aiea: Chanel 7-152, Ulgaran 11-94, Figueroa 5-77, Jheremie Cacpal 3-24. Farrington: Chansen Smith 5-76, Molitau 3-76, Kamakana Tisalona-Perez 4-30, Ryan-Jacob Sabado 2-16.
Junior varsity—Farrington 22, Aiea 14.
