Bishop Rapoza passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns as No. 6 Farrington rallied for a 42-35 win over Moanalua on Saturday night at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.
The win pushed Farrington to 2-0 in the OIA Blue (3-0 overall). Moanalua dropped to 1-2 (2-2 overall), with both losses coming by narrow margins.
It was a memorable evening for Rapoza, who transferred from Moanalua to Farrington in the offseason.
"It was kind of motivating for me, playing them. Coming over here was really different," Rapoza said. "I feel pretty good. We still have a lot of things to work on. Discipline and schoolwork."
Rapoza threw two of his scoring passes to running back Challen Faamatau, who continues to prove that he is a lethal threat as a pass catcher. Lining up in the slot often, Faamatau caught seven passes for 97 yards and also rushed for 58 hard-earned yards and two more TDs on 18 carries against a sturdy Moanalua front seven.
"Challen is the type of guy who makes plays. When we’re down, he picks us up," Rapoza said.
It was a scoring bonanza for both teams, as both quarterbacks found weak spots in the secondary. Moanalua’s Alakai Yuen was spectacular at times with 21-for-35 passing and 345 yards with five TD strikes. Yuen suffered a neck injury late in the game on a potential go-ahead drive and was transported by ambulance as a precaution for what coach Jason Cauley described as a "stinger."
"He’s a strong guy, a beautiful young man. The Lord is with him," Cauley said.
Though the Govs’ defense gave up 35 points, they came up with clutch plays. They sacked Yuen three times and limited Michael Feliciano, one of the state’s top rushers, to 70 tough yards on 20 carries.
Farrington held a precarious 36-35 lead — after trailing 35-21 — when Yuen went down after throwing an incomplete pass on third-and-5. Rodson Kealohi entered the game and marched Moanalua to the 10-yard line in a wildcat-style attack. Farrington’s defense stepped up, stopping Michael Feliciano for a 5-yard loss on a pass, and then Moanalua was whistled for a chop block, which pushed the ball back to the 30.
Kawaiola Anderson lined up for a 47-yard field-goal attempt with about four minutes left, but the Governors swarmed on the snap and sacked the holder before the ball could get off the ground.
Moanalua got the ball back with 1:24 left, but a pass by Kealohi was picked off by Ryota Kony and returned 15 yards for a touchdown.
Na Menehune still had a chance, down 42-35 with 46 seconds to play, but they couldn’t advance the ball past their own 46-yard line.
It was a huge night for Govs wide receiver Kingston Moses-Sanchez, who hauled in a 64-yard bomb for a TD from Rapoza. He finished with 10 receptions for 177 yards.
"We played together since sixth grade," Moses-Sanchez said.
One of the turning-point plays of the game came with 15 seconds left in the half. After Moanalua lost 2 yards on a Feliciano run and threw two incomplete passes, officials ruled that four downs had passed and gave the ball to Farrington on the Govs’ 6-yard line. That cost Moanalua one more opportunity to score to the disbelief of coaches and players.
It was the second incorrect down situation on the field by officials in the first half.