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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Castle's Cy Pana tried to evade Farrington's Ezikiel Marshall during the Knights' win over the Govs last night.
Castle was dead to rights.
Then Jaymason Lee and Joshua Kong brought the Black Knights back to life.
Lee hit Kong on two amazing pass plays — first on a 46-yarder to get within striking range, then on a 21-yard screen for the go-ahead score in a wild 29-28 win over No. 2 Farrington last night in Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East play.
Kicker Adam Aquino nailed the winning extra point with 2:51 to play after Farrington missed what turned out to be a costly PAT on its final score earlier in the quarter.
"I’m so excited. We really wanted this," said Kong, a senior who had two touchdown catches. "It’s one of our greatest accomplishments. We haven’t beaten Farrington in years."
He was right. The Govs had tormented the Knights until last night, with five straight wins since 2006. That included two last year, when Farrington knocked Castle out of the OIA Red third-place game and ended the Knights’ season.
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Lee had sweet retribution with 372 yards and three passing scores as Farrington suffered its first loss in stunning fashion.
Quarterback Jared Hakuole appeared to put the Govs (3-1, 1-1) in excellent position with two fourth-quarter keeper scores.
The Governors profited from a bad snap on a Castle punt in the Knights’ territory early in the fourth quarter. The punter’s knee was down at the 15 as he gathered the ball, and Farrington quickly made Castle pay for the mistake.
Hakuole posted his second score on a quarterback sneak for a 28-22 lead.
The teams were then forced to punt once each. Castle had the ball back, and Lee was sacked for a 13-yard loss on second down, making Castle’s outlook dour. That’s when he hit Kong deep against triple coverage with more than 3 minutes left.
Castle recovered a fumble by Govs running back Scotland Smith (who went for more than 150 yards) at midfield on the ensuing drive as the Knights faithful went berserk. Castle would have to withstand one more desperate sequence by Farrington as time expired and the place erupted.
"It went back and forth I don’t know how many times," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. "We were so fortunate to come out of it at the end. Zero-and-two in the competitive OIA Red East is a world of difference from 1-1."
Castle led by a point at halftime and built a cushion on Sabu Kekoanui’s 1-yard scoring plunge with 4:24 left in the third quarter, set up by a 25-yard pass from Lee to Jacob Martin.
Farrington showed patience, electing to punt from Castle’s 38. It paid dividends, as the Govs defense held firm and got the ball back. Hakuole tied it at 22 on a 15-yard keeper score and keeper 2-point conversion.
Ryan Kealoha got the Knights on the board on Castle’s second drive. He caught a short toss from Lee, then followed his blockers and exploded to the left at the right moment for the 41-yard score.
Farrington came back with Smith. On the ensuing play from scrimmage, the senior bolted left of the line, found a hole and turned on the jets to go untouched for a 70-yard touchdown. Thanks mostly to that impressive jaunt, he had 136 yards at the half.
The Govs went ahead 14-8 after completing an 82-yard drive bridging the first and second quarters. On the 10th play of the sequence, Tavale Masalosalo punched through from 2 yards out.
Lee found his rhythm at that point and connected with Kong for a 46-yard touchdown two drives later.
Castle
| Farrington (3-1, 1-1) | 6 | 8 | 0 | 14 | — | 28 |
| Castle ( 3-1, 1-1) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | — | 29 |
CAST–Ryan Kealoha 41 pass from Jaymason Lee (Cy Pana run)
FARR–Scotland Smith 70 run (run failed)
FARR–Tavale Masalosalo 2 run (Smith pass from Jared Hakuole)
CAST–Joshua Kong 46 pass from Lee (Adam Aquino kick)
CAST–Sabu Kekoanui 1 run (Aquino kick)
FARR–Jared Hakuole 15 run (Hakuole run)
FARR–Hakuole 1 run (kick failed)
CAST–Kong 21 pass from Lee (Aquino kick)
RUSHING–Farr: Smith 21-160, Hakuole 12-80, Masalosalo 9-17. Cas: Pana 9-29, Timothy Torres 1-5, Kekoanui 1-1, Olycon Finau 2-1, Kealoha 1-(minus 6), Team 1-(minus 10), Lee 4-(minus 26).
PASSING–Farr: Hakuole 9-16-1-92. Cas: Lee 28-45-1-372.
RECEIVING–Farr: Toma Barrett 3-55, Masalosalo 3-(minus 3), Ryan Reyes 1-17, Travis Tamapua 1-14, Andrew Gangloff 1-9. Cas: Kong 5-138, Jacquez Hough 5-60, Noah Makainai 4-37, Torres 3-33, Kui Alimoot 3-18, Pana 3-1, Kealoha 2-45, Jacob Martin 1-25, William Oku 1-15, Finau 1-0.
JV score–Farrington 16, Castle 2
