Resurgent Governors
got help from Knights

Farrington's seniors will
get their first shot at the
postseason thanks to Castle

Playoff matchups

---

By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

For one night, Castle High School's biggest fans hailed from Kalihi.

Sitting in the bleachers at Roosevelt Stadium last Friday, members of the Farrington football team watched as their postseason fate was decided in front of them as Castle battled Roosevelt to determine the final entrant in the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs.

Castle held off the host Rough Riders for a 28-13 win, but it was the Governors who walked away with the greater reward.

"We feel like we have new life," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "This was the first step in our goal-setting process. Now we just have to go and play (tomorrow) night."

Despite a rocky regular season and thanks to a bit of help from their friends in Kaneohe, the Governors are among the 12 teams in the hunt for the OIA championship. The league playoffs open with doubleheaders tomorrow and Friday at Aloha Stadium.

Castle plays Kaimuki in tomorrow's first game at 5:05 p.m. Farrington faces Leilehua in the nightcap at 7:35.

Mililani takes on Nanakuli in Friday's opener and McKinley meets Waipahu in the second game.

The winners advance to face the top seeds in next week's quarterfinals with state tournament berths at stake. But for now, just playing another week represents a small victory for some.

Tomorrow's game will be the first postseason experience for Farrington's seniors, who persevered through a roller-coaster 3-4 regular season in the OIA East Red Conference after going 1-6-1 last year.

"The seniors had it rough from last year, so it was kind of hard to motivate after so many losses," Okimoto said. "But it kept us together. Their attitudes were positive, that was the main thing."

A veteran offensive line and the emergence of junior running back Matt Bell helped the Governors overcome their inexperience on defense and earn a playoff berth. Bell finished the regular season as the conference's leading rusher with 676 yards and 10 touchdowns.

"Our strength is our O-line, they're all returnees and they're playing their hearts out this year," Okimoto said. "We have to go with our strengths on offense and hopefully we can hold (Leilehua's) offense."

Like Farrington, Mililani traversed its share of peaks and valleys in the OIA Red West Conference to finally arrive at the playoffs.

The Trojans opened with a win over Castle then lost to Radford and Campbell.

The 14-7 loss to Radford was especially galling as the Trojans surrendered only 69 yards in total offense but were stymied by four turnovers.

Mililani seemed to right its ship with a thrilling 21-20 win over Leilehua at midseason, but began to list again with a loss to previously winless Aiea.

The Trojans saved their season on Oct. 11 with a 14-10 win over OIA West Red champion Waianae, marking their first victory over the Seariders in school history.

"We were 2-3 and we're playing the best team in our division and it took a lot from the boys to stay in there and believe they could do it," Mililani coach James Millwood said. "That was the easy time to give up if they wanted to give up, and they weren't ready to do that. The senior leaders took control of the team and pulled it together."

Millwood said the team put together its most complete performance of the season in last week's 34-13 win over Waipahu.

The Trojans have not committed a turnover in their last two games as Sean Fujimoto is now operating the offense with confidence and Billy Barbour has kept the ground game rolling. Defensively, linebacker Jose Santos continues to provide fire for the Trojans as they prepare to face a rugged Nanakuli team on Friday.

"We have a group of leaders out there who pick the team up and keep them going," Millwood said. "They figure if they can keep up and play with Waianae we should be able to be in just about every game."

---

BACK TO TOP
|

OIA playoffs

First-round matchups
All games at Aloha Stadium

Tomorrow

Castle Knights (4-3) vs. Kaimuki Bulldogs (5-2), 5:05 p.m.
How they got here: Castle -- OIA East Red third place. Kaimuki -- OIA White runner-up.
Game key: Kaimuki does most of its damage on the ground, Castle prefers the pass.
Kaimuki quarterback Shelden Sarcedo can turn in big plays with his legs and Daniel Tautofi led the Bulldogs with six touchdown runs.
Castle quarterback Jacob Ramos passed for a season-high 231 yards last week against Roosevelt. Jared Suzui has emerged as the Knights' most reliable receiver with 28 catches for 455 yards.
Now you know: Castle completed more passes (75) than Kaimuki attempted (55) this season.
Up next: OIA West Red runner-up Campbell (5-2) on Oct. 31, 7:35 p.m.

Leilehua (3-4) vs. Farrington (3-4), 7:35 p.m.
How they got here: Leilehua -- OIA West Red fourth-place. Farrington -- OIA East Red fifth-place.
Game Key: This could be a quick one as both teams rely on the running game to move the ball. Leilehua running backs Jon Sanborn and Cedric Thomas and quarterback Joshua Perez have recorded 100-yard games this season.
Farrington back Matt Bell led the OIA East Red in rushing with 676 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also led the Governors in receiving (340 yards, three touchdowns).
Now you know: The Mules and Governors were a combined 2-15-1 last year.
Up next: OIA Red East champion, defending OIA co-champion, two-time defending state champion Kahuku (6-1) on Oct. 31, 5:05 p.m.

Friday

Mililani Trojans (4-3) vs. Nanakuli Golden Hawks (6-1), 5:05 p.m.
How they got here: Mililani -- OIA West Red third-place. Nanakuli -- OIA White champion.
Game keys: Mililani must find a way to contain Nanakuli's option offense powered by fullback Ikaika Asinsin, who led the OIA with 835 yards and 12 touchdowns, nearly matching Mililani's rushing totals as a team.
Mililani's defense allowed three touchdowns just once this season and the offense hasn't turned the ball over in the last eight quarters.
Now you know: Nanakuli has converted 16 2-point conversions this season. Mililani has none.
Up next: OIA East Red runner-up, defending OIA co-champion Kailua (6-1) on Nov. 1, 7:35 p.m.

McKinley (4-3) vs. Waipahu (3-4), 7:35 p.m.
How they got here: McKinley -- OIA East Red fourth-place. Waipahu -- OIA West Red fifth-place.
Game keys: McKinley quarterback Abel Werner completed 67 percent of his throws this season and racked up 1,656 yards and 12 TD passes. Receiver Isaiah Iaea averages 19 yards per catch. Michael Vasconcellos rushed for eight TDs.
The Waipahu offense features speedy backs in Andrew Hale and Todd Dickerson and face a McKinley defense that gives up 165 rushing yards per game.
Now you know: Iaea caught 36 passes. Seven Waipahu receivers combined for 32 total catches.
Up next: OIA West Red champion Waianae (5-2) on Nov. 1, 5:05 p.m.

Hawaii School Web Sites