DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Farrington's Jay Ocol, front, and Sagapolutele Luavalu were overcome with emotion after beating Kahuku 21-20 in an OIA quarterfinal last week.
Kalihi gridiron Kalihi is the place to be for high school football these days.
pride restored
Farrington plays in the
Schedule & stats
OIA semifinals, and nearby
Kamehameha needs 1 more
win to take the ILH titleBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comWith Farrington enjoying a resurgence in the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs and Kamehameha now tantalizingly close to its first Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship since 1979, excitement is buzzing up and down Kalihi Valley.
"It feels like the pride is back in Kalihi," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "The community is not based on football, but football plays a big part in bringing pride to the community."
Farrington will try to continue its postseason roll tomorrow when the Governors face Castle in the semifinals of the OIA playoffs. Kickoff for the first game of the doubleheader at Aloha Stadium is set for 5:05 p.m.
Defending OIA co-champion Kailua plays McKinley at 7:35 p.m. The winners play for the OIA championship on Nov. 15.
The Governors are riding the momentum of their 21-20 upset of two-time defending state champion Kahuku in the OIA quarterfinals last week. The win assured Farrington of its first state tournament appearance since the inaugural event in 1999.
"This is starting to feel like the days of old," Farrington athletic director Harold Tanaka said. "The crowds are coming back and after the Kahuku win I must have had 40 phone calls in our office.
"Randall and I talked and we said we need to enjoy this. Just cherish the moments."
Farrington suffered through a 2-6-1 campaign last year and went 3-5 in the OIA East Red Conference's regular season this fall, needing help just to qualify for the league playoffs. The Governors took advantage of their new life by beating Leilehua 41-8 in the first round and stunning Kahuku last week.
"It started turning at midseason," Tanaka said. "(Okimoto) was frustrated because we both saw that this team had a lot of potential. We saw it, but we couldn't put together four quarters.
"After beating Roosevelt (in their season finale), I told Randall, 'I think we're going to be the scariest fifth-place team in the playoffs. We're going to knock off some people.' ... And so far it's been happening. The ball is bouncing our way now."
Okimoto said the celebration following the Kahuku win was reminiscent of his playing days as an all-state running back when the Governors won their last OIA championship in 1990.
"I remember when we would win a lot of people would follow us back to school and there'd be a lot of people waiting for us," Okimoto said. "And after the Kahuku game it brought back a lot of memories because a lot of students and fans came back to congratulate the team.
"A lot of the guys that are on our staff played at the same time as me and we're all getting that feeling back of what we experienced those three or four years."
While Farrington is already in the state tournament, its neighbor on Kapalama Heights is still searching for a berth.
Kamehameha can clinch the ILH title and the league's lone state tournament berth with a win over St. Louis on Saturday at Aloha Stadium. A Warrior victory would end St. Louis' 16-year reign as league champion. A St. Louis win forces a winner-take-all playoff game next week.
In a bit of role reversal, Kamehameha enters the game as the nationally ranked favorite, while St. Louis is battling to keep its season alive.
Kamehameha is 10-0 and listed at No. 27 in this week's Student Sports Fab 50 national football rankings. The Warriors took control of the ILH race with a 41-20 win over St. Louis on Sept. 27.
But several Warriors starters are nursing injuries that kept them out of action last week.
Senior quarterback Caleb Spencer suffered a shoulder injury two weeks ago against Pac-Five and his status is questionable entering Saturday's game. Kawai Akina stepped in last week to pass for 189 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-9 win over Punahou.
Running backs Travis Beyer and Sy Cullen also sat out last week. Kahe Santos, who started the year as a tight end, filled in at running back and carried the ball 38 times for 225 yards and a score.
"He's a guy who we felt in an emergency basis, which we're in, could do the job, and he did a great job," Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza said.
With Kamehameha in a position to wrap up the ILH crown with a win on Saturday, Souza hopes the Warriors can add to the biggest football weekend to rock Kalihi in a while.
"We hope we can do our share," Souza said.
This week's highlights around the state:
Tomorrow
Farrington vs. Castle, 5:05 p.m., Aloha Stadium: Farrington jumped out to a 14-0 lead in its regular-season meeting with Castle on Sept. 6. But turnovers turned the tide and Castle escaped with an 18-14 win. Turnovers should play a key role again in their OIA semifinal rematch. Farrington took advantage of five Kahuku turnovers in last week's win. Castle's rope-a-dope defense gave up 410 yards in its 28-25 win over Campbell last week, but the Knights have shown an uncanny ability to make big plays when they need them.
McKinley vs. Kailua, 7:35 p.m., Aloha Stadium: Kailua broke open a close game to defeat McKinley 42-22 on Oct. 12. The two offenses on display should make for an entertaining game. McKinley quarterback Abel Werner threw for four touchdowns in a 35-0 win over Waianae last week. Kailua running back Nathan Leaver rushed for 223 yards and a score as the Surfriders ran away from Mililani 41-17.
Saturday
Kamehameha vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m. Aloha Stadium: The ILH championship is there for the taking for the Warriors, who scored an impressive win over the Crusaders early in the season. But St. Louis is on a roll, outscoring its last four opponents by an aggregate score of 159-19.
Kealakehe vs. Hawaii Prep, 7 p.m., Old Kona Airport Stadium: The Waveriders and Ka Makani meet for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation championship with both teams seeking their first-ever trip to the state tournament. Kealakehe quarterback Michael Kaniho accounted for seven touchdowns (four passing, three rushing) in the Waveriders' 45-6 win over Konawaena last week. HPA advanced to the final by blocking a field goal in overtime to preserve a 10-7 win over Hilo.
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Schedule
TOMORROW
OIA semifinals
At Aloha Stadium
Farrington vs. Castle, 5:05 p.m.
McKinley vs. Kailua, 7:35 p.m.
ILH
Iolani at Punahou, 3:15 p.m.
KIF
Kapaa vs. Kauai, at Vidinha Stadium, 5 p.m.
MIL
Lahainaluna vs. St. Anthony, at War Memorial Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
ILH
At Aloha Stadium
Damien vs. Pac-Five, 4:45 p.m.
St. Louis vs. Kamehameha, 7:30 p.m.
BIIF Championship
Hawaii Prep vs. Kealakehe, at Old Kona Airport field, 7 p.m.
MIL
Baldwin vs. Maui, at War Memorial Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
OIA Junior Varsity semifinals
At Waianae
Kahuku vs. Aiea, 2 p.m.
Waianae vs. Kaimuki, 4 p.m.
ILH Standings and Statistics
DIVISION I W L T PF PA Kamehameha 6 0 0 209 56 St.Louis 5 1 0 228 60 Punahou 2 4 0 84 160 DIVISION II W L T PF PA Iolani 4 2 0 112 116 Pac-Five 1 5 0 103 191 Damien 0 6 0 38 191
Offense G Rush Pass Tot Avg Kamehameha 6 1092 1453 2545 424.2 St.Louis 6 921 1172 2093 348.8 Iolani 6 1161 699 1860 310.0 Pac-Five 6 474 1010 1484 247.3 Punahou 6 512 955 1467 244.5 Damien 6 480 324 804 134.0 Defense G Rush Pass Tot Avg St.Louis 6 290 780 1070 178.3 Kamehameha 6 310 841 1151 191.8 Iolani 6 938 836 1774 295.7 Damien 6 1080 908 1988 331.3 Pac-Five 6 1052 1161 2213 368.8 Punahou 6 1135 1125 2260 376.7 Rushing G Att Yds TD Avg YPG StowersIOL 6 116 937 7 8.1 156.2 Santos KS 5 61 436 2 7.1 87.2 Batts STL 6 52 421 7 8.1 70.2 Cabansag STL 6 64 372 7 5.8 62.0 Mullen DAM 5 60 260 0 4.3 52.0 Beyer KS 3 39 246 3 6.3 82.0 Hackney PUN 6 36 216 1 6.0 36.0 Monahan PUN 5 58 208 1 3.6 41.6 C.Spencer KS 4 24 204 1 8.5 51.0 Leong P5 5 31 189 4 6.1 37.8 Passing G Comp Att Pct Yds TD Int George STL 6 79 138 0.57 1062 11 5 Dator P5 6 79 213 0.37 981 4 12 Monahan PUN 6 76 144 0.53 935 5 9 C.Spencer KS 5 44 88 0.50 895 10 1 Mageo IOL 4 58 124 0.47 609 5 4 Akina KS 5 31 57 0.54 558 8 2 Williams DAM 5 30 67 0.45 248 0 3 Receiving G Rec Yds TD Avg YPG Vierra KS 6 28 550 9 19.6 91.7 Ruth KS 6 17 365 5 21.5 60.8 Butcher STL 6 25 365 4 14.6 60.8 Duncan PUN 5 26 350 1 13.5 70.0 Fisher PUN 5 20 320 3 16.0 64.0 Tyler P5 6 26 277 2 10.7 46.2 Urabe P5 5 16 276 0 17.3 55.2 Amano STL 5 14 239 3 17.1 47.8 Suetsugu IOL 6 19 215 3 11.3 35.8 Nishimura P5 5 15 192 0 12.8 38.4 Scoring G TD FG 2pt PAT Tot Avg Vierra KS 4 9 0 0 0 54 13.5 Batts STL 5 8 0 0 0 48 9.6 Cabansag STL 4 7 0 0 0 42 10.5 Stowers IOL 6 7 0 0 0 42 7.0 Ruth KS 5 6 0 0 0 36 7.2 Adams STL 5 0 0 0 26 26 5.2 Gaison KS 6 0 0 0 25 25 4.2 Leong P5 2 4 0 0 0 24 12.0 Dator P5 4 4 0 0 0 24 6.0 Butcher STL 6 4 0 0 0 24 4.0
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