Farrington head coach Randall Okimoto looks just about the same after a loss than he does after a win. He’s even-keeled, no matter what.
And he got right to the point after the handshake line on Thursday. His sixth-ranked Governors had just suffered a 71-28 loss to No. 3 Mililani.
“It really showed our lack of experience on defense,” he said. “When you play a team as disciplined as Mililani’s offense is you’re going to get exposed. Now, it’s all about how are they going to handle it. How are they going to respond. There is still a lot more football to play. It was definitely a confidence blow, giving up so many points. The good thing is that all the mistakes we made are correctable.”
Offensively, Farrington moved the ball most of the night and scored on four big pass (Challen Faamatau‘s 55-yard run, Joziah Anakalea‘s 29-yard pass to Bishop Rapoza, and Rapoza’s throws of 35 and 25 yards to Faamatau and Jathen Chaffin. But two interceptions and two fumbles is far from ideal when you are trying to match touchdowns with the powerful Trojans offense.
“We definitely have to put in more film time,” Faamatau said. “It really was a heartbreaking loss. We need to know our assignments better and work on them. We killed ourselves, not just the defense, but offense, too. We’ve got Kapolei next week and that’s another tough team. We expect it to be a great, physical game, so we have to prepare mo’ bettah.”
Defensive back Ryota Kony turned in a solid game defensively for the Governors with a tackle for loss along with a fumble recovery that was caused by lineman Kelemete Lam Sam. Defensive back Isaiah Taumua and Finau Walter were also among the solid defensive performers for Farrington.
The Govs (5-1, 4-1 OIA Red) are still in the division chase and fighting for one of two postseason byes against the Trojans (5-1, 5-0) and Kailua (5-1, 4-1). They finish the regular season with games at Kapolei next Friday and at Aloha Stadium against Campbell on Oct. 3.
The Trojans’ road to the division finish line takes them to Kailua next Saturday and to Moanalua (2-3, 1-3) on Oct. 2.
Kailua is at Moanalua tonight (Friday, Sept. 18) and closes the regular season in next weekend’s home matchup against Mililani.
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