In the end, Farrington and Moanalua both left Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium believing in second chances.

What initially appeared to be a winner-take-all matchup for a postseason berth, became a duel for seeding in the OIA Red playoffs as both teams ended up with spots in the 10-team field.

Farrington ultimately earned the OIA Red East’s fourth seed and generated some late-season momentum with a 28-7 win over Na Menehune yesterday to close the regular season.

"It was very big for us," said Farrington running back Scotland Smith, who ran for 73 yards and the game’s first score. "We just got together as a team and practiced hard. We kept telling each other we had to get this win.

"No matter what the situation is, you always want to win."

Moanalua will be the East’s fifth seed due to Roosevelt yesterday forfeiting its win over Na Menehune earlier this season, costing the Rough Riders a postseason berth.

Allegedly, the player was not a starter and played only in the final minutes of Roosevelt’s 18-0 win on Oct. 1.

"There was a discrepancy on a grade check," Chung said yesterday.

With the forfeit, Moanalua closed the regular season at 3-3 along with Castle and Farrington. The tiebreaker gave Castle the third seed, and a first-round bye, followed by Farrington and Moanalua.

Moanalua will face Radford, the fourth seed from the OIA Red West, in the first round. Farrington will take on Aiea, the west’s fifth seed.

"Second chance, second life," said Moanalua coach Arnold Martinez, who didn’t address the altered stakes with his team prior to the game. "I think they’ll be excited about that."

Farrington bounced back from losses to Kailua and Kahuku thanks largely to a defense that came up with seven turnovers (three interceptions and four fumbles), including a fumble recovery in the end zone by Leland Mitchell for the game’s final touchdown.

The takeaways fueled an offense that generated 207 of its 252 yards of total offense on the ground, with Smith, quarterback Jared Hakuole and fullback Tavale Masalosalo reaching the end zone.

"It’s always good to have momentum going into the playoffs," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said, "especially coming off a loss, a hard loss. It’s good to see some guys who were injured come back. Having those losses during the season, we’re happy we’re back in the tournament."

Moanalua put together the game’s first scoring threat, but missed a 35-yard field goal. Farrington then drove 80 yards in 10 plays and Smith gave the Governors the lead with a 12-yard touchdown run.

Moanalua’s first possession of the third quarter ended with an interception by Farrington’s James Amina, whose 23-yard return gave the Govs a first and goal at the 8. Hakuole scored three plays later on a keeper around the left side.

After Farrington missed a field goal, Na Menehune quarterback Dillon Turk completed six of seven passes in an 80-yard march highlighted by Kevan Amaral’s juggling catch for a 36-yard gain. Richard Villasenor then pulled in a 4-yard scoring pass as Na Menehune closed to 14-7.

But Farrington turned an interception by Bryston Doctolero into a 22-yard touchdown run by Masalosalo and put the game away with Mitchell’s fumble recovery.

"Our defense helped us out a lot," Smith said. "Our coach said we had to play as one on both sides of the ball and we did that tonight."