Punahou’s first visit to Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium was a memorable one, coach Kale Ane told the media after the Buffanblu’s 40-14 victory over the Governors on Saturday night.
The Buffanblu were in a close one — just 17-14 in the third quarter — before they pulled away.
“Any time you play against Farrington, it’s a tough, physical battle,” Ane said. “We played with heart and courage. It was everything we thought it would be. We had to dig deep. Farrington played well, and a couple of big plays they had made things a little nervy.”
One of those plays was Treshawn Kepa’s dazzling 97-yard kickoff return to the Punahou 2. On the next play, Raymond Millare went in for a 2-yard TD to make it 17-14 with 11:41 to go in the third quarter.
But it was all Punahou (2-1, 2-1 ILH Open) from there. Quarterback Hugh Brady closed out the Govs with three touchdown passes — to Koa Eldredge, Les Falatea and Moku Dancil-Evans. Tim Horn then kicked his second field goal of the game, a 32-yarder to go along with the one he hit from 47 yards earlier.
Brady, who finished with four TD passes, was only 19-for-50 on the night.
“Erratic is one way to put it,” Ane said. “It was due (somewhat) to Farrington’s defense. It was a good test. We had 10 days off, so it was good to get back out here and compete. It was the first time playing here … different, a great atmosphere.”
Another Farrington big play came early, when Millare scored on a 47-yard touchdown sweep to the right to open the game’s scoring.
The Buffanblu fought back with the next 17 points, including Brady’s 1-yard TD sneak and Eldredge’s 20-yard TD reception.
“It was a big win for us,” said Eldredge, who finished with five catches for 115 yards. “Having a week break, we wanted to come in and get everything off of our chest. Now, we need to get ready for next week against Mililani and then a tough Saint Louis team. We were able to make the plays when we needed.”
Farrington (1-3, 0-2 OIA Open) had some success on offense, with Chris Afe-Alaivanu at quarterback after an early-season injury. He completed 13 passes for 50 yards and had the Govs moving. Millare rushed for 78 yards.
“We’ve seen better days,” Governors coach Daniel Sanchez said. “I told my guys that we’re getting better each week and we’ve got to learn how to finish. We played them tough for three and a half quarters. But each week is going to be a dogfight. We’re improving, but other teams are improving, too.”
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GAME SUMMARY
No. 5 Punahou 40, Farrington 14
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
>> Punahou (2-1, 2-1 ILH Open) 17 0 13 10 — 40
>> Farrington (1-3, 0-2 OIA Open) 7 0 7 0 — 14
Farrington — Raymond Millare 47 run (Andre Elijah Juan Cabuco kick)
Punahou — Hugh Brady 1 run (Tim Horn kick)
Punahou — Koa Eldredge 20 pass from Brady (Horn kick)
Punahou — Horn FG 47
Farrington — Millare 2 run (Cabuco kick)
Punahou — Eldredge 43 pass from Brady (kick failed)
Punahou — Les Falatea 8 pass from Brady (Horn kick)
Punahou — Moku Dancil-Evans 2 pass Brady (Quinn Maretzki kick)
Punahou — Horn FG 32
RUSHING — Punahou: Vincent Terrell 17-103 Sitiveni Kaufusi 11-71 Kobe Muasau 1-3 Brady 1-1 Gunnar Locke 1-0. Farrington: Millare13-78, Chris Afe-Afe-Alaivanu 11-13, TEAM 1-(minus-1), Selau Kalani 4-(minus-8).
PASSING — Punahou: Brady 19-50-0-290, Muasau 1-7-0-17. Farrington: Afe-Alaivanu 13-26-0-50.
RECEIVING — Punahou: Falatea 8-80, Eldredge 5-115, Dancil-Evans 3-23, Kanoa Kalahiki 2-66, Treyden Buder-Nakasone 1-17, Terrell 1-6. Farrington: Sylhauss Tagolo-Saumalu 3-21, Millare 3-6, EJ Liua 2-21, Kalani 2-4, Jace Ehia 1-4, Zion Lista 1-2, Demetry Shoaf 1-(minus-8).
