OIA Football
Farrington shuts down Campbell in OIA Red semi, 7-0


   



Thu, Oct 24, 2013 @ Aloha Stadium [ 7:00 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Campbell (9-4-0) 0 0 0 00
Farrington (9-4-0) 0 0 7 07

HALAWA — Sanele Lavatai was far from full strength Thursday night.

The senior running back was hampered by a bad hamstring all week, but did just enough offensively and was backed up by a lights-out performance from his defense to help Farrington to a 7-0 win over Campbell at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

The Governors, ranked sixth in the ScoringLive/OC16 Division I Power Rankings, improved their record to 8-2 and advanced to next week's Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference championship game, where they will play Red West-champion Mililani.

As the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard in Halawa, Farrington coach Randall Okimoto gazed into the sea of maroon in the makai sideline.

"I was thinking it's finally over. What a game," Okimoto said. "We've had these kinds of tight games for us all season and we just had another one."

Lavatai scored the game's only touchdown on his 3-yard run to pay dirt midway through the second quarter, but it was the Govs' defense that shined. Farrington kept the Sabers' prolific offense at bay, holding them to a season-low 119 yards of total offense, including just 65 passing yards by quarterback Isaac Hurd. Campbell entered the game averaging more than 29 points and 350 yards per game.

"They stepped up tonight," Okimoto said of his defense. "We just wanted to contain their quarterback — we know he's very talented and he's been doing well all season — and that was the goal just to contain him and not let him make plays. Everything just turned our way."

Hurd finished just 7-of-19 passing and ran 12 times for 39 yards, but was harassed by the Govs' defense all night. Farrington recorded three sacks of Hurd, including a pair by defensive tackle Motu Heimuli, and held Campbell to just 1-of-12 on third downs. The Sabers recorded just six first downs for the game.

"We just wanted to stop the run and contain with our ends and pressure with our tackles," said Heimuli, a 6-foot-2, 266-pound senior. "It took hard work and discipline during the week."

Of Campbell's 11 offensive possessions, seven ended in punts. Its' longest drive lasted just seven offensive plays. The Sabers best scoring opportunity — when it had first-and-goal from the Govs' 1-yard line early in the second quarter — was thwarted by the Farrington defense.

Following a 15-yard run up the middle by Austin May and a 21-yard completion from Hurd to Jayce Bantolina — which was the Sabers' longest play from scrimmage — Campbell appeared on the cusp of breaking a scoreless tie. Instead, however, Hurd was stuffed on a quarterback sneak on first down and tackled for a 4-yard loss to Aaron Kesi on second. A fumble on third down resulted in a 15-yard loss and the ensuing 37-yard field goal try by Bryson Maximo was wide right.

"That was a very key sequence and it just speaks to the resiliency of those guys," Okimoto said. "we have a lot of seniors on our defense and we just told them that if you want this to be your last game, your last chance at the Red championship, then don't come out without the intensity that we need to have and they came out in the second half with that intensity. That goal line stand was an example of not giving up and it goes back to practice."

Farrington ended up punting away on the drive and later in the second quarter, missed its own field-goal attempt from 56 yards out. Abiel Taito returned the kickoff from the Sabers' 5-yard line to the Govs' 42. On the very next play, Hurd scrambled for a 20-yard pick-up down the left sideline on the final play of the first half. A dead-ball penalty for a late hit out-of-bounds was called against Farrington, but because the infraction occurred after the play, Campbell was not allowed one untimed down and the 15-yard penalty was assessed on the opening kickoff of the second half.

The Sabers turned it over just three plays into their first drive of the second half on a fumble by May, which was recovered by Kesi at the Govs' 30-yard line. Farrington marched 70 yards in nine plays on its ensuing possession, which was capped by Lavatai's 3-yard touchdown run. The scoring drive consisted of eight rushes, including six carries for 40 yards by Lavatai.

"Honestly we were preparing for (Lavatai) not to play in this game tonight, but his treatments were going well during the week and credit our trainers and our physical therapists who were working on him," Okimoto said. "They got him ready to play and he got that key drive for us, that one score where he was hitting the holes and getting us the yardage and that's all we needed. With those hamstring injures, you never know. It's a case-by-case basis and to have him tonight was a blessing."

Lavatai, who did not start and had just five first-half rushes for 15 yards, finished with 19 carries for 90 yards. Quarterback Montana Liana completed 11 of his 22 pass attempts for 86 yards without an interception. Jacob Baguio caught five passes for 54 yards.

Farrington was 5 of 16 on third downs and picked up 13 first downs for the game.

Campbell, which fell to 7-3 and is the fifth-ranked team in the SL/OC16 Power Rankings, will play Red East runner-up Kahuku in the OIA third-place game next Saturday, 6 p.m. at Mililani.

The Govs will try for their first league title since 1990. Mililani won its first OIA title in 2010, when Kahuku forfeited due to the previous use of an ineligible player.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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