“;Ground and pound”; was quite sound.

Farrington's mantra of a punishing ground attack and a pounding defense became reality once more in a 26-7 win over Kapolei last night at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium. Harry Tuimaseve followed his offensive line, the “;Bamboolas,”; for 171 yards on 27 carries. He scored all three touchdowns by the Governors' offense, while linebacker Charles Tauaefa returned a pick for another score.

The Govs forced Kapolei into six turnovers despite clear weather.

“;We played good defense, but when you fumble like we did, you can't make those kinds of mistakes against a team with a defense like Farrington,”; Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said.

Farrington's offensive line didn't miss a beat when right guard Jarome Faamata left after aggravating a leg injury. Laimana Kapuwai stepped in and the ground-and-pound attack resumed with the OIA Red East's top rusher, Tuimaseve.

“;They tried to stack the box, but all week, we've been practicing against our scout defense doing that,”; Tuimaseve said. “;We stuck to our game plan.”;

Farrington (8-1 overall), ranked No. 3 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10, will face Leilehua this weekend in the semifinal round of the OIA Red Conference playoffs. Kapolei closed its season at 5-4.

The 10th-ranked Hurricanes seemed to have the recipe for offensive success after using safety Shaydon Akuna at quarterback in their previous game, a 41-point outburst against Mililani.

Farrington, however, had no taste for the Hurricanes' hybrid offense, limiting the visitors to 51 rushing yards in 27 attempts. V.J. Fehoko had two of Farrington's four sacks, and linebacker Seth Ilae added a sack and an interception.

Governors coach Randall Okimoto was almost satisfied.

“;I'm very disappointed with the roughing-the-passer play, but other than that, I'm happy with our play,”; he said, referring to a penalty on third and 26 that kept a late Kapolei drive alive. The Hurricanes scored their only touchdown five plays later.

Farrington managed just one score in the first half and led 7-0 at intermission. Tuimaseve's 8-yard run, mostly on bear crawls after an initial hit at the line of scrimmage, gave the Govs a 7-0 lead with 3:08 to go in the opening quarter.

After three three and outs to start the game, Kapolei forced a break when linebacker Dustin Elisara recovered a fumble at Farrington's 20-yard line. The 'Canes drove to the 6, but consecutive sacks derailed a chance to tie the game. Then they lined up for a 39-yard field goal by Eric Morales, but back-to-back false starts pushed the ball back 10 more yards, and Morales' attempt ricocheted off a lineman and bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

The game was still close until Tuimaseve's 4-yard touchdown off left tackle with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

Kapolei's ensuing series went bust when Tauaefa stripped the ball from a Kapolei running back and raced 45 yards for a touchdown. The Govs led 20-0 with 10:34 remaining.

Kapolei finally broke its drought on Pascua's 42-yard bomb to Elijah Tagura with 4:17 to go.

Farrington recovered the on-side kick and drove 42 yards. Tuimaseve's final touchdown, a 2-yard run to the left, came with 45 seconds left.

Six Hurricanes combined for 26 pass attempts. They completed 16 for 156 yards and threw three picks.

“;They apply pressure,”; Kapolei quarterback Noah Pascua said after his team's lowest-scoring output of the season. “;They play big 'D' up there.”;

No. 2 Kamehameha 50, Word of Life 7

Ryan Ho ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns as the Warriors stayed on top of the ILH standings with a win over the Firebrands.

Kamehameha improved to 5-1 in the ILH, a step ahead of 5-2 Punahou. The Warriors and Buffanblu will meet again on Nov. 5.

Poggi Awa led Word of Life with 84 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.