Waianae's Kade Ambrocio and the Seariders take on Farrington's Kingsley Moses-Sanchez and the Governors in the first round of the inaugural Open Division state tournament. ScoringLive photo illustration

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For the second straight season, the Waianae and Farrington football teams will face off in an elimination game.

The sixth-ranked Seariders (8-4) and the fourth-ranked Governors (8-3) are set to clash in the very first game of the inaugural First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Open Division State Championships Saturday.

Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. at Hawaiian Tel FCU Field at Aloha Stadium.

Fifth-ranked Kapolei (9-2) takes on third-ranked Punahou (7-2) in the nightcap of the doubleheader.

The previous time Waianae and Farrington met was on Halloween of last year, when the Seariders barely edged the Govs, 20-19, to secure third place in the Oahu Interscholastic Association tournament and the league's final spot in the D1 state tournament.

The winner is assured at least one more week of football and a semifinal date with Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion and No. 2 seed, Saint Louis. The loser's season is over.

Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said his team is approaching the game as a chance at redemption after falling short to top-ranked Kahuku, 44-8, in last week's OIA championship game.

"It's kind of like the end of the regular season again, where we ended it playing for the number one spot in our division, and then we lost to Kapolei, and then we ended up playing for the championship in the OIA tournament, and we lost to Kahuku, but we get another shot at it in states," Okimoto said. "I think that's the feeling of most of our players — especially after playing Kahuku."

The Red Raiders overwhelmed the Govs, but Okimoto sees a silver lining to it all.

"Knowing that Kahuku is a running team and now we play Waianae, which is also a running team, that should help prepare us more for this game," Okimoto said.

Okimoto, whose team allowed 290 rushing yards by Kahuku, understands, of course, that it's not always that simple.

"We've got to make sure we learn from last week and be able to stop the run better than we did last week," he said. "

The Seariders are among the state's best at running the ball, averaging 203 rush yards per game. Okimoto knows all about their personnel and their abilities.

"They run the ball well, oh yes," Okimoto said. "Rico Rosario can run the ball well, along with Javen Towne, and defensively they're tough. They always have tough athletes up there at Waianae."

Rosario (1148 rush yards, 14 rush TDs) and Towne (436, 6) are Waianae's top two backs. Kade Ambrocio (324, 6) and Jorell Pontes-Borje (239, 3) add depth to the backfield, but Pontes-Borje has been thrust into the starting quarterback position after senior Jaren Ulu suffered a collarbone injury in an OIA first round game four weeks ago.

Rosario, who was selected by ScoringLive staff as the OIA D1 Blue Offensive Player of the Year, averages a staggering 7.4 yards per carry. The junior possesses both speed and power in a 5-foot-9, 200-pound frame. Rosario has rushed for 117-or-more yards in six games this season. He rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns against Kaiser and 190 yards and two scores on a season-high 26 carries against Mililani.

"It's one of those things where you cannot allow him to get his momentum going because once he does, he's going to be hard to stop, so you've got to surround him early and you've got to keep an eye on him and where he is," Okimoto said of Rosario, who also has eight receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Rosario ranks second in Division I statewide in rushing yards, only behind Farrington standout Challen Faamatau.

"They do a good job of moving (Rosario) around — kind of like we do with Challen," Okimoto said. "They put him at fullback, slot, receiver, so you can't lose track of him because he's too good of an athlete and is a big part of what any defense has to pay attention to, along with the receiver (Isaiah) Freeney) and Javen Towne."

Faamatau, the player of the Year in the OIA D1 Red, has put together a solid senior season with a state-best 1,176 rush yards and 16 touchdowns. He is averaging five yards per carry despite a heavy workload of 234 carries — Rosario has carried 155 times this year, by comparison.

Faamatau eclipsed the 100-yard mark in six straight games this season — a stretch that included 12 rushing touchdowns — and has added 27 catches for 245 yards and three scores.

Still, Okimoto says it is far from a one-man show with the Govs, who have taken an unconventional route — at least, offensively — to get here.

"I feel like our identity is more of being a team, and when I say that I mean having our quarterbacks (Bishop Rapoza and Justin Uahinui) rotate, along with Challen at quarterback, or TJ (Tautolo), or Sefo (Ah Ching-Noga)," said Okimoto, who has utilized several players as wildcat quarterbacks this year. "These guys are contributing on offense and we're rotating our offensive line week after week to get through injuries and having backup guys step up when our starters were absent, so that's pretty much been our theme this year on offense, defense and special teams: just do whatever you need to do to contribute. To me, that's the key, and we'll figure out how we can utilize our players to give us the best chance to win."

In last year's game, the Govs couldn't hold on to a six-point first quarter lead despite prolific games from Rapoza (202 pass yards, 2 TD, 0 INT), Faamatau (190 rush yards, rush TD) and wide receiver Kingston Moses-Sanchez (6 catches for 166 yards, rec. TD).

"Last year it was a real close game between us and them, so this being state-tournament football, playoff football, you cannot make mistakes," Okimoto said. "We cannot turn the ball over like we did last year and we cannot have assignment breakdowns like we did last year and we cannot commit costly penalties. There's no excuses at this point in the season. We've had enough games, we know what is expected and we've just got to get out there and execute."