Campbell’s defense accomplished one of its primary objectives on Saturday. But sustained execution on offense remained elusive in a 34-14 loss to Farrington at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.
After giving up 114 yards to Farrington running back Challen Faamatau last season and 142 to Ranan Mamiya the year before, the Sabers entered their regular-season opener looking to contain the Governors’ running game. They did that for the most part, keeping Faamatau from breaking loose while allowing 44 yards on 22 attempts and didn’t surrender a run longer than eight yards.
But Farrington countered with an efficient passing game in the first half while building a 28-0 lead. Campbell, which lost to Kapolei 38-0 last week, broke through with its first score of the season late in the second quarter and stymied the Governors for much of the second half.
Despite struggling on offense for most of the night, the Sabers threatened to close to within a score in the fourth quarter with a 15-play march that featured two fourth-down conversions. But after the Sabers drove to the Farrington 8, Iosefo Ah Ching came up with the Governors’ third interception of the night to all but seal the outcome.
“Things were there, just, again, execution level,” Campbell coach Amosa Amosa said. “If we want to be a good team this year we’re going have to execute our stuff.
“Our defensive unit gave us opportunities, gave us good field position … we just gotta knock it down.”
Campbell quarterback Kawika Ulufale ran for both of the Sabers’ touchdowns while completing seven of 38 pass attempts.
The Sabers’ have another week to work on tightening their execution before embakring on another bus trip for a game at Kaiser on Friday.
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