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'EWA BEACH-All Campbell's fourth-year coach Amosa Amosa wanted was to show faith in his players. In turn, they delivered when their backs were to the wall.

Campbell's defense rose to the occasion in fending off feisty 'Aiea, 13-7, Saturday night to advance to the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red semifinals.

The Sabers (8-0-1), ranked fourth in the ScoringLive/OC16 Power Rankings, will take on top-ranked Farrington (9-0) Friday at Aloha Stadium. They will play either at 4:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. A decision by the league will be made Monday, OIA football coordinator Harold Tanaka said.

No. 2 Kahuku (8-1) will play No. 3 Leilehua (8-0-1) in the other semifinal.

Na Alii (4-6), the West's sixth seed when the playoffs began last week, saw their quest to join the final four fade when Campbell outside linebacker Donovan Poniatowski intercepted Isaiah Fonoti's pass with one minute, nine seconds left to preserve the Sabers' lead.

"I picked up the curl man and there was the ball," said Poniatowski, whose coverage area was the flats.

Na Alii, out of timeouts, could only watch the Sabers down the ball twice to drain the remaining 69 seconds on the clock, bringing an end to a classic defensive battle, where all the scoring was done in the first half.

But about two minutes before the interception, the Sabers were put to the test. Hanging on to its 13-7 lead with 2:48 left, Campbell faced fourth-and-less than 1 at its own 29. If the Sabers punted, Na Alii would have more than adequate time, plus all three of their timeouts, to orchestrate a rally.

Instead of punting, Amosa decided to go for it with a quarterback sneak.

"I was thinking, 'The game's on the line,'" Campbell QB Justin Tago-Su'e said. "It was a do-or-die situation; I needed to get that first down."

He had to squeeze his way left to fall over the first-down line.

"The guy came free in the middle and I kind off bounced off," Tago-Su'e said. "I went to the left and there was open yard."

And though the Sabers eventually punted after the next three downs, losing 12 yards, 'Aiea was forced to burn its remaining timeouts in the process; it took over with great field position at its 42. But Poniatowski ended the drama with his pick on first down.

"As poorly as we were executing on offense, I just felt we had to challenge our kids," Amosa said of his decision to take the fourth-down risk against an 'Aiea defense that seemingly had an answer for anything Campbell threw at it. "Our defensive coaches were telling me to go for it. They were telling, 'Coach, I know we can get one yard.' At the time, there was no turning back."

When 'Aiea had the ball, Amosa was telling his players to believe in their teammates.

"On the sideline, I was walking," Amosa said. "I was telling the offense, 'We'll get the ball back. I was calling everybody to believe and sure enough..."

The teams only met two weeks ago to end the regular season. Na Alii took an 18-7 lead, scoring three touchdowns in a span of 25 seconds, the last two scores on fumbles. But the Sabers rallied to a 22-18 win.

"It's always tough to play the second time," 'Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "We know what they're going to do; they know how we're playing. Defensively, they gave us a tough time. Offensively, we moved the ball a little better, but they did a good job of holding us."

At the outset, it looked like the Sabers were going to take control, scoring on their first play from scrimmage after taking the opening kickoff, as Tago-Su's scrambled out of pressure and found Keoni Piceno wide open along the left sideline for a 66-yard TD pass. Jaelan Subia-Etrata's PAT gave Campbell a 7-0 lead just 21 seconds into the game.

Campbell added to its lead in the second quarter with Isaac Hurd at QB to start the series from the Sabers' 29. Aided by a pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the Sabers drove down, scoring on a five-yard run by RB Aries Pihi. The Sabers tried a fake off a muddle-huddle formation, but the run was stopped, keeping it 13-0.

'Aiea scored just before the half after the Hurd fumbled with 20 seconds left. Na Alii took over at Campbell's 33, scoring on a 16-yard pass from Fonoti to Jay Chaviera. Jae Won Huh's PAT pulled 'Aiea to 13-7 at the half.

Neither team could do much against each other's defenses in the second half. Every time Na Alii threatened in Campbell territory, the Sabers defense made them punt twice and miss a 44-yard field goal try.

"They did a good job," Say said. "Amosa did a good job. He has good kids."