Farrington running back Challen Faamatau rushed for 104 yards and three scores in the Governors blowout win over Kailua. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Sat, Aug 20, 2016 @ Roosevelt [ 5:30 pm ]

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Kailua

7

Farrington

42

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Kailua (3-5-0)	0	7	0	0	7
Farrington (8-4-0)	16	12	14	0	42

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Justin Uahinui 69 yd 1 TD

Mark Lagazo 17 yd 1 TD

Challen Faamatau 104 yd 3 TD

Mark Lagazo 44 yd

Kingston Moses-Sanchez 58 yd 1 TD

Christian Mejia 12 yd 1 TD

MAKIKI – Challen Faamatau didn't let a slip on the opening kickoff spoil his night and helped No. 5 Farrington down No. 9 Kailua, 42-7, Saturday night at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.

The Governors improved to 2-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Red, while the Surfriders dropped to 1-1.

Faamatau returned the opening kickoff 61 yards, only to be stopped when he tripped on the damp turf. But he did rush for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

"I was just being patient, letting the block develop," Faamatau said. "Once I saw the hole, I went through it, but it was kind of wet. I tried to juke the kicker and, sadly, I fell."

Kailua, though, didn't just lose a game. Quarterback Paul Serikawa Jr. injured his right collarbone during the Surfriders' second series of the game. He was sacked in that series by Foi Sila on second down then threw an incomplete pass on third down before Kailua punted. Running back Mark Lagazo played QB the rest of the game, mostly running at first before throwing a 12-yard TD pass to Christian Mejia just before the half. It is not known how long Serikawa will be out.

"It limits (our) passing," Kailua coach Hauoli Wong said. "Without Serikawa, Mark (Lagazo) had to go on the fly. Even though he takes reps at practice, it's totally different in the game."

With Lagazo pressed into action at QB, the Surfriders lost some of his versatility. As a running back, he was an effective rusher and pass catcher. He rushed for 109 yards and caught three passes for 78 yards last week against Moanalua. He can still run the ball, but he can't catch his own passes.

But Kailua had more issues than the injury. It could not stop Faamatau on the opening series. After returning the kickoff to the Surfriders' 36, Faamatau rushed the ball all five plays, scoring on a 1-yard run one minute, 26 seconds into the game to take a 7-0 lead after Freedom Alualu's PAT.

Kailua went three-and-out on its first series and gave Farrington excellent field position at the Kailua 48, where the Govs needed only three plays to score on Bishop Rapoza's 33-yard TD pass to Kingston Moses-Sanchez on a sideline route to make it 14-0 at 8:22 in the first period.

But Kailua could not cash in on a golden opportunity later in the quarter when Mejia forced the ball from QB Justin Uahinui and the Jason Kia recovered at the Kailua 31 with 4:10 in the first.

Instead, Kailua was forced to punt again – this was Lagazo's first series – but a low snap forced Kailua's punter knee to touch the ground in the end zone for a safety to make it 16-0 at 2:07 in the first quarter.

"I thought our defense did a great job," Wong said. "But we have to turn those turnovers into points."

Farrington increased its lead in the second period when Uahinui hit Tanielu Alaivanu-Afe on 46-yard TD pass. The Govs failed on a 2-point conversion run to keep the score, 22-0.

Kailua punted on its next series, giving Farrington the ball at the Surfriders' 44. This time, the compactly-built running back Blessing Umaga (5-7, 227) bowled his way for 36 and 6 yards on the first two plays to the Kailua 2, where Faamatau scored with 3:14 in the half to take a 28-0 with 3:14 in the half after a failed PAT.

Kailua did get a break before the half when Farrington lost a muffed ball on a punt. Kailua scored on Lagazo's 18-yard TD pass to the athletic 6-foot-4, 210-pound Mejia with six seconds left in the half to pull Kailua to 28-7.

The second half didn't fare any better for Kailua, which received the kickoff, only to turn over the ball when Alualu picked off a Lagazo pass at midfield and returned it to the Kailua 40. The drive ended with Umaga scoring on a 14-yard run to make it 35-7 with 5:21 in the third.

Special teams hurt the Surfriders all game. In punt formation Alika Teramoto had trouble controlling a snap and dropped for a 19-yard loss to the Kailua 4. Faamatau scored on first down with 3:34 left to make it 42-7 and set off the running clock.

"From the first game, we really had to learn from our mistakes," Faamatau said of his team's effort. "Knowing that my line is fresh – most of them is  the first time playing on varsity – so last week we could see where everybody was at, so when it comes to next week, which is this week, we could fix our mistakes, go over our techniques in order to be successful as we did today in our run game and the passing game."

Farrington will play Mililani next Saturday at John Kauinana Stadium, while Kailua draws a bye.