Challen Faamatau added another chapter to his storied career Friday night, leading Farrington into the state’s highly anticipated Open Division state tournament with a 25-7 smashing of Campbell.
Faamatau rushed for 119 yards and also scored on a 92-yard kickoff return to open the second half that gave the Governors some breathing room in the Oahu Interscholastic Association quarterfinal game in Ewa Beach.
“This is awesome (to be in the state Open Division), especially considering that we never had the same offensive line for two weeks in a row,” Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. “It’s great that they came together. Our special teams and defense came up big and our offense ran time off the clock. That’s a team win.”
The Sabers’ fate could be worse. Despite the loss, they’ll be in the state Division I tournament.
The Governors (7-2) were clinging precariously to a 6-0 halftime lead before Faamatau’s heroics to start the second half.
“We knew at halftime we were going to get the ball back,” said Faamatau, who now has 3,020 career rushing yards. “Our offense didn’t start the game as well as we wanted. Offensive coordinator Daniel Sanchez said we gotta set the tone this time. We planned it right there. I told my guys, whatever you gotta do, just execute it. God took me to the promised land and I was blessed to get that touchdown.”
It was Faamatau’s second of three touchdowns in the game and it gave Farrington a 12-0 lead. Earlier, he broke a scoreless tie with a 6-yard TD run to cap a 73-yard drive with 5:10 to go in the second quarter.
“Farrington has been in the playoffs every year,” Campbell coach Amosa Amosa said. “Like I told my kids, we’re fortunate it’s not you lose and go home. We talk about playing a perfect game — offense, defense, special teams — and that’s not what we did tonight. We gave up some scores on special teams. Defensively, we couldn’t stop the run and they milked the clock in the last six minutes. We had chances offensively, but we didn’t get it done in the red zone.”
Another special teams play — TJ Tautolo’s punt return — also did damage to the Sabers in the third quarter. The runback appeared to be a 70-yard touchdown, but a penalty nullified the score and Tautolo was eventually credited with a 61-yard return. The Govs covered the final 19 yards in five plays, and Blessing Umaga went up the middle for a 5-yard TD to up the count to 18-0.
Foi Sila made his presence felt on Farrington’s defensive line. He sacked Campbell quarterback Kawika Ulufale three times and added another tackle for loss.
“I’m just proud of my team and the teamwork we all put in,” Sila said. “Yeah, we wanted to get into that Open Division. We played a heckuva game today.”
The Sabers (5-4) cut it to 18-7 on Poki‘i Adkins-Kupukaa’s 65-yard punt return for a touchdown with 3:27 left in the third quarter.
Farrington piled up the first downs throughout the fourth quarter to keep Campbell off the field for all but 22 seconds. On a broken play, Faamatau picked up a loose ball and bolted to the left side and somehow found running room for a 17-yard TD with 1:56 left.
Ryota Kony denied Campbell one last chance when he recovered the ensuing onside kick.
