KANE'OHE - Jaymason Lee completed 28 of 42 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns - including a 21-yard TD screen to Joshua Kong with 2:51 remaining - to lift the Knights to a stunning 29-28 victory over No. 2-ranked Farrington last night.
A statewide OC16 TV audience and near-capacity home crowd of about 1,800 watched Castle improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's Red Conference Eastern Division. The Governors fell to 3-1, 1-1, with its first loss to the Knights in the past six seasons.
"The big thing is, we wanted to show that we can beat people, we wanted to make a statement," said Lee, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior. "We worked hard all week for this."
After Lee's touchdown pass to Kong tied the score at 28-28, Adam Aquino's extra point put Castle ahead. Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Farrington quarterback Jared Hakuole found Toma Barrett down the left sideline for a 42-yard gain, but Barrett was tripped up from behind on a diving shoestring tackle by Kamalei Kam-Aweau.
On the next play, the Govs fumbled and the Knights' Jacques Hough recovered at the Farrington 41. The Governors eventually got the ball back after a punt with 45 seconds left, but lost ball on downs with 2 ticks remaining.
Farrington's offense was slowed in the second half as tailback Scotland Smith - who rushed for 135 yards and one TD on 13 carries in the first half - suffered from leg cramps and was limited to 19 yards on five touches after halftime.
"He was sidelined for a bit, and that was a big loss for us," Govs coach Randall Okimoto said.
Castle's offense, meanwhile, started quickly and never really slowed behind Lee. His 41-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Kealoha and Cy Pana's two-point conversion run gave the Knights an 8-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Farrington answered one play after the ensuing kickoff, with Smith darting through a big gap on the left side and sprinting 70 yards for a TD.
The two-point conversion try failed, but the Governors took a 14-8 lead barely three minutes into the second quarter on Tavale Masalosalo's 2-yard touchdown run and Hakuole's two-point conversion pass to Smith. Castle took the lead back with 3:02 left before halftime after Lee's 46-yard TD pass to Kong and Aquino's PAT, then went up, 22-14, on Sabu Kekoanui's 1-yard touchdown run and Aquino's extra point with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter.
Farrington tied it at 22-22 on Hakuole's 15-yard keeper and two-point conversion run 52 seconds into the fourth quarter, and took a 28-22 lead with 9:40 left on Hakuole's 1-yard sneak after gaining possession on the Knights' 15 following a downed knee on a low punt snap.