Campbell passed a big test Friday. Up next in two weeks will be an even bigger showdown.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 24-of-34 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for a score as No. 3 Campbell defeated No. 9 Farrington 42-13 in an OIA Division I/Open game at Farrington.
“Jaron’s good. I can’t say enough about him. He comes to play,” Campbell coach Darren Johnson said.
Campbell (6-1, 4-0) will have a bye next week, then comes a clash at No. 1 Kahuku on Oct. 7. The Red Raiders play at Nanakuli today and at Moanalua on Sept. 30.
Kahuku vaulted to No. 9 in the MaxPreps Top 25 poll this week after beating defending national champion St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 30-23.
“I’ve watched them a lot,” Sagapolutele said of Kahuku. “They’re a competitive team and they just beat St. John Bosco, coming off a hot win. They’re expecting us to come out hot, too, so that’s going to be a true test to see where we’re at and I’m excited for that.”
The Sabers have lost eight consecutive games against Kahuku with their last victory coming in 2018. Last season, Kahuku beat Campbell twice, including 32-7 in the semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Open Division State Championships.
“We could do better. We have to correct some mistakes and keep working. We got two weeks before we got Kahuku,” Johnson said.
The Sabers have averaged 48.3 points per game against their six Oahu opponents this season. Campbell’s lone loss was 20-14 at Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) on Sept. 1.
A big reason for the offensive output is the accuracy of Sagapolutele and a Sabers offensive line that often provides a clean pocket for him.
“They work their butts off in practice and they put in extra hours before and after practice, blocking, putting in time for lifting,” Sagapolutele said. “I’m just thankful they give me four, five, even six seconds in the pocket whenever I need to throw.”
The Sabers scored on the opening drive of the game on a 35-yard screen pass from Sagapolutele to Falaniko Scanlan. Cristian Wyckstandt made the PAT kick.
Sagapolutele was 5-for-5 on the drive for 80 yards with the completions going to five receivers.
On the Governors’ first possession, they had an apparent long scoring pass from MJ Moreno to Chansen Smith called back by an ineligible-receiver-down-field penalty. Farrington wound up punting.
Campbell drove deep into Farrington territory on its next two possessions, but were turned away by Everest Rodriguez’s interception and an unsuccessful fake field-goal attempt.
Campbell went up 14-0 on James Steffany-Fiame’s 15-yard run with 7:05 remaining in the first half.
Farrington (3-2, 2-2) cut its deficit to 14-7 on Sitani Mikaele’s 3-yard run and Jacob Talamoa’s PAT kick with 1:31 to go in the first half.
Earlier in the drive, Smith dropped a sure touchdown pass down the right side, but he made up for it by tipping an under thrown pass away from a Sabers defensive back and making a 30-yard reception to move the ball to the Campbell 13.
Rather than run out the first-half clock, the Sabers drove 70 yards on five plays and scored on Sagapolutele’s 40-yard pass over the middle to Rowen-Ray Bucao with 21 seconds left to go up 21-7.
“That was the score we needed,” Sagapolutele said. “Against Punahou (a 38-23 victory Sept. 15) we were down 16-0 and right before halftime we scored and it gets everyone’s energy up. It’s always good to score right before half.”
Sagapolutele completed 16-of-22 passes for 300 yards and Rusten Abang had five receptions for 99 yards in the first half.
The Sabers scored on their first three possessions of the second half to take control.
Sagapolutele scored on a 1-yard keeper to put Campbell up 28-7 with 4:09 remaining in the third.
On Farrington’s next possession, Noah Spencer replaced Moreno at quarterback.
Campbell scored two plays into the fourth quarter on a 7-yard pass from Sagapolutele to Zayden Alviar-Costa to take a 35-7 advantage.
Campbell backup quarterback Donny Faavi Jr. tossed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Caysean Melvin to make it 42-7 with 6:27 remaining.
The Governors scored on a 20-yard pass from Noah Spencer to Mikaele with 1:25 left to cut the deficit to 42-13.
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At Skippa Diaz Stadium
Campbell (6-1, 4-0) 7 14 7 14 — 42
Farrington (3-2, 2-2) 0 7 0 6 — 13
CAMP—Falaniko Scanlan 35 pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Cristian Wyckstandt kick)
CAMP—James Steffany-Fiame 15 run (Wyckstandt kick)
FARR—Sitani Mikaele 3 run (Jacob Talamoa kick)
CAMP—Rowen-Ray Bucao 40 pass from Sagapolutele (Wyckstandt kick)
CAMP—Sagapolutele 1 run (Wyckstandt kick)
CAMP—Zayden Alviar-Costa 7 pass from Sagapolutele (Wyckstandt kick)
CAMP—Caysean Melvin 45 pass from Donny Faavi Jr. (Wyckstandt kick)
FARR—Mikaele 20 pass from Noah Spencer (pass failed)
RUSHING—Campbell: Steffany-Fiame 4-26, Falaniko Scanlan 2-12, Xyler Jarra 2-12, Faavi Jr. 1-8, Caleb Dela Pena-Pihana 3-6, Jensen Tanele 1-2, Team 1-(minus 2), Sagapolutele 4-(minus 4). Farrington: Mikaele 16-49, Spencer 1-9, MJ Moreno 4-5, Talamoa 1-4.
PASSING—Campbell: Sagapolutele 24-34-1-377, Faavi Jr. 1-1-0-45. Farrington: Moreno 6-13-0-63, Spencer 6-13-0-57.
RECEIVING—Campbell: Rusten Abang 7-138, Melvin 3-105, Bucao 4-80, Scanlan 2-37, Zayden Alviar-Costa 5-35, Brystin Sansano 3-26, Caysean Tainoa Lave 1-1. Farrington: Chansen Smith 6-64, Mikaele 4-40, Giovanni Siamani 1-13, Ryan-Jacob Sabado 1-3.
Junior Varsity—Campbell 38, Farrington 0
