Waipahu dominates Farrington in playoff
Oct. 22—A potent three-headed rushing attack led Waipahu to a dominant 33-14 win over visiting Farrington in their OIA Division I semifinal on Friday night.
A potent three-headed rushing attack led Waipahu to a dominant 33-14 win over visiting Farrington in their OIA Division I semifinal on Friday night.
The Marauders punched their ticket to the OIA Division I final, where they will take on either Aiea or Kailua.
"I'm stoked that we're in the championship game, " Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho said. "That's always the goal at the beginning of the season. It's one of the things that we always want to achieve, and to be there, it's a good feeling."
Starting running back Anieli Teleaai went down with an injury in the first half, but not before tallying 108 rushing yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. With Teleaai sidelined, the second half of Waipahu's "Twin Comets " rushing duo, Braeden Togafau, was called into duty. Togafau carried the ball 24 times in Teleaai's absence, racking up 96 yards and a touchdown.
"First, I want to send a shout out to my boy (Anieli ), that's my brother. He really got us started today, and I just finished it up for us, " Togafau said. "I'm thankful for my offensive line. They're always opening the holes for us. It's thanks to them that I can make plays."
"He's always been our bruiser, " Carvalho added about Togafau.
Starting quarterback Liatama Uiliata rounded out the three-pronged rushing attack, gaining 70 yards on 12 carries with two rushing touchdowns. He also completed nine of 15 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, with one interception.
Dealing with injuries of their own, the Governors got a much-needed boost from third-string quarterback Zechariah Molitau. He scored the only Farrington points of the day on two rushing touchdowns and had a team-best 41 yards on seven carries. Molitau began the game as a wide receiver, and he grabbed 5 passes for a team-high 82 yards.
Before Molitau entered the game at quarterback, the Governors were being shut out by the stout Marauders defense.
"Hell of a job, " Carvalho said about the defensive performance. "All season they've been the strength of our team. I couldn't be more proud of our defensive staff for getting the guys ready."
Waipahu started the game off on the right note with a long scoring drive. Teleaai carried the load offensively for the Marauders on the eight-play drive, but Uiliata called his own number to finish the job, scrambling for a 16-yard touchdown.
Three straight punts later, The Marauders finished the first quarter the way they had started, with a touchdown drive. This time Teleaai got the call, running the ball into the end zone from just outside the goal line.
After four straight punts to start the second half, the Governors looked to finally break through on the scoreboard with a long 11-play drive. But Tyrus "Samu " Niuatoa thwarted the drive with an interception of Moreno.