Behind Farrington’s record-breaking performance on Saturday night was a player that didn’t accumulate any statistics for the Governors.
Wesley Sula would have been a senior at Farrington had he not had his life tragically taken away during a stabbing in April.
Saturday night’s game against Nanakuli doubled up as senior night and homecoming for the Govs. The team carried his jersey out during Farrington’s singing of the alma mater.
“I was waiting for a time where we could do that,” Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. “I felt like this game was the time to do it and so to play in his memory, it’s still fresh in a lot of these guys’ minds.”
In Sula’s memory, Farrington scored a school-record 69 points, surpassing the 63 it scored against Roosevelt in 2011.
Times like these aren’t new for Okimoto. In 2013, the team lost Dayne Ortiz during the season. The 15th year head coach hopes to help his team cope with loss again.
“It was just a few months ago. The kids are growing up and maturing,” Okimoto said. “We just continue to pray for his family as they go through these tough times.”
As the No. 8 Governors are set to take on No. 5 Kapolei in a Saturday-night showdown this week, they know where to look when they need a little extra motivation.
“There no game that comes by where we don’t ever think of Wesley,” said Challen Faamatau, Govs running back and Sula’s close friend.
“Knowing Wesley, he always wanted to win every single game … Every single game that we play is dedicated to him. At the same time, we know that Wesley is with us spiritually and everything we do is for him and the man above and those who support us.”
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