Waianae QB Kekoa Kaluhiokalani attempts to evade the tackle of Farrington's Pumba Williams. Sylvia Lee | SL

Purchase image 1 of 4

Farrington QB Montana Liana loads up for a pass attempt against Waianae. Sylvia Lee | SL

Purchase image 2 of 4

Farrington DL Motu Heimuli wraps up a Waianae ball carrier. Sylvia Lee | SL

Purchase image 3 of 4

Waianae's Ronald Matautia returned an interception 92 yards against Farrington. Sylvia Lee | SL

Purchase image 4 of 4

Fri, Aug 9, 2013 @ Waianae [ 7:30 pm ]

---

Farrington

16

Waianae

33

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Farrington (9-4-0)	6	0	8	2	16
Waianae (6-3-0)	0	14	7	12	33

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Kekoa Kaluhiokalani Jr. 84 yd 1 TD

Montana Liana 82 yd

Jemery Willes 79 yd 2 TD

Sanele Lavatai 40 yd 1 TD

Pookela Noa-Nakamoto 52 yd 1 TD

Siaosi Pakileata 34 yd

WAI'ANAE - They've played better games before. Just not Friday night.

Wai'anae held off Farrington, 33-16, in a prep non-league season opener that was special for another reason.

It was the Seariders' first game at Raymond Torii Field since Oct. 14, 2011, when Wai'anae beat Kaiser, 35-16, in an O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference first-round playoff. The Seariders traveled all last season as their middle bleachers on the home side of the field were rebuilt.

"For us, it was very important," Wai'anae running back Jemery Willes said of the win. "Playing on our home field, finally, in front of our crowd."

Willes rushed for two touchdowns and 79 yards, but it was a 92-yard interception return by linebacker Ronald Matautia that turned the tide on the Governors.

Both teams' offenses sputtered, looking like they could use a few more weeks of practice.

Wai'anae turned over the ball four times - twice on interceptions (by Motu Heimuli for a 5-yard TD) and by Jacob McEnroe) and twice on fumbles. Farrington lost the ball four times, once by Matautia's pick, two fumbles from scrimmage and a muff on a punt return. Farrington was penalized 13 times for 110 yards and Wai'anae 11 for 100. The Governors had seven first downs, three by virtue of penalties by Wai'anae.

"Talk about being sloppy," Wai'anae coach Dan Matsumoto said. "We need work. That's my fault. I gotta prepare the team better. It was disappointing not executing the way we should."

"Offense is going to take some time," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "But we'll come around."

Wai'anae's offense turned over the ball on its first three series of the game. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Seariders fumbled the ball at the Farrington 46, but the Govs ended up punting, pinning the Seariders at their 10. On second-and-19 from their 11, quarterback Kekoa Kaluhiokalani's pass to the left flat was intercepted by Moku Heimuli for the short jaunt to the end zone. The Govs missed the PAT, but had a 6-0 lead with 6:39 left in the first quarter.

The Seariders lost a fumble on their next series, but the Govs didn't capitalize and took their 6-0 lead into the second quarter.

Wai'anae buckled down with three unanswered TDs. Willes' 10-yard TD run capped a 67-yard drive and Stanton Spencer's PAT gave Wai'anae a 7-6 lead with 7:25 in the half.

Later in the quarter, the Governors tried a 53-yard field goal attempt, but the snap was low and Wai'anae got the ball at its 44. Two plays later, Kaluhiokalani connected with Pookela Noa-Nakamoto on a 52-yard TD to make it 14-6 with 1:40 left in the half.

Farrington took the second-half kickoff, but eventually punted. But Wai'anae lost the ball on Jacob McEnroe's interception of Kaluhiokalani. But again, Farrington could not capitalize on the turnover, so when Wai'anae took over at the Govs' 49 after a punt, Willes broke free for a 49-yard TD run on first down with 6:46 in the third quarter to give Wai'anae a 21-6 lead.

Late in the third quarter, the Governors benefitted from a low snap in punt formation by Wai'anae. Farrington took over at Wai'nae's 28 and two plays later, scored on Sanele Lavatai's 12-yard run. Quarterback Montana Liana ran in the 2-point conversion to pull Farrington to 21-14 with 1:01 left in the third quarter.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Wai'anae punted from its 20. The ball took a long backward bounce to the 25 for a net five-yards. With 6:01 left, the momentum was on the Governors' side. But on first down, Matautia stepped in front of a Farrington receiver coming across the middle from Govs' left. Matautia ran toward the Wai'anae sideline, doing a balancing act along the way en route to the 92-yard TD return with 5:40 left to increase the Seariders' lead to 27-14.

"21-14," Okimoto said. "It could've been 21-21. It would've been a much tighter game."

As Matautia was running down the sidelines, he took a hit, but adjusted his balance to stay in bounds.

"He was knocking me out of bounds, but I balanced my body on the right side and I managed to stay in bounds," Matautia said.

The Seariders pulled away on their eventual next series, scoring on Kaluhiokalani's 55-yard run with 3:46 left in the game.

Farrington could do nothing on its next series, but did pin Wai'anae at its 3 after a punt. Three plays later, backup QB Ioane Kaluhiokalani was sacked in the end zone for a safety to make it 33-16.