Quick start lifts No. 10 Campbell over No. 9 Farrington, 26-20


Campbell sophomore Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa sprints for the end zone in the first half against Farrington Sylvia Lee | SL

EWA BEACH — The Campbell Sabers' Friday night win over visiting Farrington was one for the record books.

Sophomore receiver Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa and junior quarterback Krenston Kaipo each set a new single-game school record to help lead No. 10 Campbell over the ninth-ranked Governors, 26-20, in both teams' Oahu Interscholastic Association season opener.

The Sabers (1-1 overall, 1-0 OIA) ended a 11-game losing streak to Farrington with the win, their first over the Govs (0-2, 0-1) since 2001. It was also Campbell's first win with Darren Johnson as its head coach.

Adkins-Kupukaa finished the night with eight receptions for 208 yards and the game's first score while Kaipo passed for 381 yards and a touchdown on 18-for-28 passing.

"First I'd like to give the glory to God, He really helped me during this game," said Adkins-Kupukaa, who also registered an interception on defense. "Shoutout to all the fans, they're really supportive."

Campbell jumped out to an early 20-0 lead in its victory and made enough plays down the stretch to keep Farrington at bay.

"We got to start better, we don't have five quarters to play," said Farrington coach Randall Okimoto.

After the Sabers' defense forced a three-and-out on the Govs' opening drive, Kaipo and Adkins-Kupukaa wasted no time going to work. Kaipo's first two throws of the game were a 34-yard completion and a 31-yard scoring strike to Adkins-Kupukaa. Ariel Villanueva tacked on the PAT to make it a 7-0 game within the first four minutes of the game.

Kaipo said the quick start boosted the team's confidence.

"It gave us a lot of momentum from it to stay focused and it helped us do good," he said.

The Sabers lost the ball on a fumble on their next possession, but put together scoring drives on their third and fourth series to give Campbell a decisive lead. Sophomore linebacker Tyrese Tafai ran in the next two scores to make it a 20-0 with 3:15 left to play in the first half.

Okimoto was impressed with how well Campbell executed its passing game. Kaipo completed 10 of his first 11 passes and had 223 yards passing at the end of the Sabers' fourth drive.

"Give credit to Campbell, coming out and hitting those passes," said Okimoto. "Their quarterback did a really good job and the receivers caught the ball. They really got it going."

The visiting Governors wouldn't go down quietly however.

Chasen Castilliano returned the ensuing kickoff 66 yards to the Campbell 24-yard line after breaking free from a jersey-tackle and reversing field. The good field position helped set up Chris Afe-Alaivanu's 5-yard TD pass to Stephen Eter to make it a 20-7 game.

Farrington got another big boost heading into the break when Wendell Alob picked off Kaipo and returned it 59 yards for a pick-six just before halftime.

Campbell's commanding 20-0 lead had shrunk to a 7-point margin in a span of just a few minutes.

The Sabers bounced back out of the break with a 7-play, 60-yard drive to get back in the scoring column. Tafai ran in his third TD of the game to bring the score to 26-13 with 9:43 to play in the third quarter.

With a 13-point lead, Campbell managed the clock the rest of the way and prevented another Farrington score until there was 47.9 seconds left in regulation. Campbell's Jhoven Sausal recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt and the Sabers were able to run out the clock for their first win of the season.

"It was a tough one," said Johnson. "We got to get rid of some of the mistakes they made tonight, but at least they played winning football tonight."

Senior defensive lineman Isaac Sevao led the effort in the trenches with 8 1/2 tackles, 4 1/2 for loss, and 1 1/2 sacks.



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].