[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Farrington's Jostin Waialae tried to elude Mililani defender Justin Morris in the third-place game of the OIA playoffs last night.
Govs win OIA
third-place gameFarrington uses defense
and special teams to beat
Mililani in the OIA
third-place game
It helps to have Matt Bell on your side.
Bell caught eight passes for 81 yards, rushed for 50 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns as Farrington beat Mililani 14-6 to claim third place in the Oahu Interscholastic Association's Red Conference.
Two pivotal defensive plays made Bell's scores possible.
Jerome Crisostomo's interception late in the first quarter set up Bell's 10-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead.
Farrington's Jeffrey Ah-Ching Noga pushed through with a blocked punt in the third quarter, and it took three plays for Bell to go 5 yards into the end zone for what turned out to be the winning 1-yard TD.
"That's our philosophy -- defense and special teams," said Farrington coach Randall Okimoto, whose team (6-4-1) heads to the Big Island to play that island's champion in the first round of the Division I state tournament Nov. 21.
Mililani's only score was also set up by a defensive play. Kaui Jamile's second-quarter pick led to Maka Kahoano's 6-yard fade-pattern TD toss to Darren Smith to cut the Govs' lead to 7-6.
The Trojans (9-2) drove from their own 1 to the Farrington 22 in the final minute, but Farrington's Fetaiagogo Fonoti, who had a sack on third down, recovered Mililani's high snap on fourth down to wrap up the victory.
"Everyone's disappointed," Mililani coach James Millwood said in an otherwise silent locker room after the loss. "The last couple of weeks, it's uncharacteristic of us the way we turned over the ball. We didn't do that all season."
The Trojans play Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Saint Louis (7-1) in a state Division I first-round game Nov. 21 at Aloha Stadium.
Crisostomo ended with two of the Govs' three interceptions, all of which were the product of an intense pass rush.
Mililani was without standout middle linebacker Mikhail Mabry, who is recovering from a hamstring injury. Millwood said not having Mabry was a big blow, but he expects the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder to be ready for the states.
"Peter Raneses stepped in and did a great job," Millwood said. "But it's huge not having Mikhail. He sees so many different things and is always showing the other guys what to expect."
Late in the third quarter, Mililani's Chris Villamor suffered a serious neck injury and went in an ambulance on a stretcher to The Queen's Medical Center. Trojans athletic director Glenn Nitta said Villamor felt tingling, but could move his hands and had feeling and went to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
At Aloha Stadium
Farr -- Matt Bell 10 run (Ropeti Gafa kick)
Farrington (6-4-1) 7 0 7 0 -- 14 Mililani (9-2) 0 6 0 0 -- 6 Mil -- Darren Smith 6 pass from Maka Kahoano (kick failed)
Farr -- Bell 1 run (Gafa kick)
RUSHING: Farrington, Bell 22-50, Jostin Waialae 8-23, Eti Atonio 5-14. Mililani, Jordan Apduhan 13-53, Chase Nakachi 1-11, Carlo Raneses 4-11, Team 1-(-19) Kahoano 6-(-27).
PASSING: Farrington, Atonio 14-27-2-172. Mililani, Kahoano 11-30-3-154.
RECEIVING: Farrington, Bell 8-81, Alvin Faumui 3-66, Harrison Harris 1-14, Waialae 1-7, Tili Joshua Maisa Voa 1-4. Mililani, Smith 3-61, Aron Bisho 3-36, Nakachi 3-35, Andrew Tokumi 1-13, Apduhan 1-9.
