Farrington is playoff-bound, and it got there Friday by coming to life in the second half against Waianae.
Raymond Millare had 21 rushes for 123 yards and a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter as host Farrington beat Waianae 19-14 in an OIA Open Division game at Skippa Diaz Stadium.
The Governors improved to 2-5, 2-2 and will be the No. 4 seed in the OIA tournament.
>> Photo gallery of Farrington vs. Waianae
“Our second half of the season, we stressed it’s not how you started by how you finish,” said Farrington coach Daniel Sanchez. “The kids really bought into that. They really worked their butts off and that was a tough win. Waianae is a solid team and a solid program.”
Millare’s 10-yard run up the middle put Farrington up 19-14 with 8:43 left.
“Just follow my blockers and I saw the cutback and I took that and I was gone,” said Millare, a senior.
On Waianae’s next possession, Farrington’s TJ Paleafei had a strip sack and Peter Nathan recovered at the Seariders’ 38.
Farrington was forced to punt, and Millare kicked it out of bounds at the 4 with 2:18 left.
“I was kind of nervous on that,” Millare said. “I just punted it right up and it bounced out.”
Waianae turned it over on downs at its 21 on its final possession, and Farrington ran out the clock.
Farrington tied it 7-7 on a 3-yard scramble by Darius Chaffin on fourth down and Jalen Joe Cabrales’ PAT kick with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter.
On the next Seariders possession, the Governors’ AJ Fernandez returned a strip sack 31 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-7 Farrington with 3:45 left.
Waianae took a 14-13 lead on Sheldon McLeod’s 17-yard pass to Saege Ayala with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. Joshua Centeno-Cid made the PAT kick.
The only score of the first half was a 54-yard run up the middle by Waianae’s Alvin Quisquirin-Sabagala, who broke a few tackles on his way to the end zone. Centeno-Cid made the PAT kick to make it 7-0 with 59 seconds left in the first quarter.
Waianae had 87 yards of total offense, while Farrington gained 105 in the first half.
“The first half, we were shooting ourselves in the foot and making too many mistakes and missing blocks,” Sanchez said. “The second half, we told them to settle down and play Farrington football.”
Angus Ramaila and Samson Cook intercepted passes for the Seariders before halftime, while Abraham Talapu had a pick for the Governors.
Farrington had four sacks in the first half.
Quisquirin-Sabagala had 25 carries for 161 yards for the Seariders (1-6, 0-5).
FARRINGTON 19, WAIANAE 14
At Farrington
>> Waianae (1-6, 0-5) 7 0 7 0 — 14
>> Farrington (2-5, 2-2) 0 0 13 6 — 19
Waianae—Alvin Quisquirin-Sabagala 54 run (Joshua Centeno-Cid kick)
Farrington—Darius Chaffin 3 run (Jalen Joe Cabrales kick)
Farrington—AJ Fernandez 31 fumble return (kick blocked)
Waianae—Saege Ayala 17 pass from Sheldon McLeod (Centeno-Cid kick)
Farrington—Raymond Millar 10 run (run failed)
RUSHING—Waianae: Quisquirin-Sabagala 25-161, Kaai Tambaoan-Kaeo 2-10, Shaydon Lopes 5-(minus 3), McLeod 10-(minus 36). Farrington: Millare 21-123, Chaffin 6-44, Jonah Aina-Chaves 5-28, Torrence Liufau 2-8, TEAM 2-(minus 2).
PASSING—Waianae: McLeod 5-9-0-47, Lopes 3-6-0-16, Ayala 0-1-1-0. Farrington: Chaffin 1-7-2-9, Kulana Pate 1-1-0-32.
RECEIVING—Waianae: Malik Brown 3-15, Ayala 2-32, Nainoa Machado 1-8, Chad Pule 1-7, Quisquirin-Sabagala 1-1. Farrington: Millare 2-41.
