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Governors show off their offensive arsenal




Everyone had a hand in the Governors' best offensive game of the year.

Farrington exploded for a season-high 394 yards of total offense in its 37-15 win over Waianae in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I quarterfinal playoff game Friday night.

Although running back Ranan Mamiya finished with a season-high 140 yards rushing, Waianae held him in check for 36 yards in the first half. 

With Mamiya bottled up, Farrington took flight. Three-year starting quarterback Montana Liana completed six of his nine first half passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns to help give Farrington a 21-7 halftime lead. 

"Farrington is just an offensive muscle machine. They just bowled us over. Great running attack, great line – hard to stop. We knew that they were going to do that. I guess initially we just over played the run and then their passing game just killed us," Waianae coach Danny Matsumoto said on the Farrington offense.

Despite not playing in a game since his ejection against Mililani on Sept. 27, Liana showed great poise on his first pass of the game. After a faking a handoff, Liana went through his progressions and fired a 26-yard scoring strike on his third read to sophomore Kingston Moses-Sanchez.

Liana also got Keola Kealoha his first touchdown grab of the season on a 15-yard comeback route in the second quarter. 

Other key contributors in the passing game were sophomores Challen Faamatau and CJ Liana, Montana's younger brother. Faamatau caught a nice 41-yard reception that helped extend Farrington's second drive of the game and the younger Liana had two catches for 40 yards over the middle in an H-back kind of role. 

"Having all these weapons are great," said Liana. "I'm blessed to have these players on my team and to have a great offensive line that blocks for me and gives me time to find these weapons."

Faamatau was also playing with a heavy heart in the contest. Even though his grandpa just passed away, Faamatau was able to preserve through the emotional storm with the help of his teammates. 

"It was really hard for me but the team talked to me one by one. They supported me (during) one of my grandpa's death. It was really hard for me to come out. I felt like I wanted to quit buy my teammates told me to never back down," Faamatau said.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore also contributed to the Governors' rushing attack, adding 35 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. 

Fullbacks Freedom Alualu and Bugsy Tui also made their presence felt in between the tackles. When they weren't lead blocking for Mamiya and Faamatau, the burly duo combined for 55 yards on eight carries.

"To get Freedom, Challen and Bugsy chipping in, it was great for them to step up and play their game," said Liana.

Farrington also found a unique way to get Mamiya the ball. On the Governors' first series of the second half, Mamiya took a wide receiver reverse toss around left end and weaved his way all the way downfield 51 yards before getting tackled near the right sideline.

"Unreal. That guy is so talented. We knew that he had wheels but man, that kid is terrific. What an athlete," Matsumoto said on Mamiya.

The Governors will need to have all hands on deck when they take on a stingy Kahuku defense next Thursday at Aloha Stadium in the nightcap of the OIA Division I semifinals. The Red Raiders are holding opponents to 13 points per game with no team scoring more than 19 points on them all year. 



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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