OIA Football
No. 11 Aiea explodes in the second half to pull away from Farrington


Michael Lasquero | ScoringLive
October 15, 2022, 7:43am

  


Fri, Oct 14, 2022 @ Farrington [ 7:30 pm ]

Aiea

31

Farrington

10

Final 1 2 3 4 T
Aiea (9-4-0) 0 10 14 731
Farrington (5-6-0) 3 7 0 010
Marcus Moreno 198 yd
Ezekiel Olie 347 yd 4 TD
Zechariah Molitau 76 yd
Jayden Chanel 152 yd 2 TD

KALIHI — The Aiea football team was not itself to start the game Friday night.

After scoring 68 points in a shutout win two weeks ago and 52 points in the previous week, Na Alii had a lid on their high-powered offense through most of the first half.

But they picked up their energy and was able to dominate the second half for a key road victory.

Aiea scored 21 unanswered points after halftime to pull away for a 31-10 win over Farrington in an OIA Division I contest at Skippa Diaz Stadium at Kusonoki Field.

"We just had to settle down and play our type of football, our brand," said Aiea coach Wendell Say.

Quarterback Ezekiel Olie shook off a first quarter interception to throw for 347 yards and four touchdowns on 26 of 35 passes to lead Na Alii (7-2 overall, 5-1 league) in the win.

The victory also secured Aiea as the No. 2 seed in the league playoffs, which starts next weekend. Na Alii will host third-seeded Kailua — who they defeated in the regular season, 13-7 — next Saturday at Radford's John E. Velasco Stadium.

Jayden Chanel was the leading receiver for Aiea with seven receptions for 152 yards and two TDs. He caught the first touchdown of the game on a 41-yard catch-and-run over the middle to give Aiea a 10-3 lead with 3:12 left in the first half. Chanel also scored on a 29-yard streak down the right sideline to give Na Alii the lead for good, 17-10, four minutes into the second half.

Rico Figueroa also caught a scoring pass on a 3-yard wheel route late in the third quarter. He finished with five receptions for 77 yards and a TD. Geronimo Ulgaran was the leader in receptions, with 11 grabs for 94 yards and a 20-yard TD to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Na Alii also pitched a shutout in the second half as they adjusted to Farrington's screen game. The game was tied at 10 at the half, but the Governors could potentially have had more points if it weren't for two blocked field goals.

"We just trusted in the process and trusted in all the coaches," said linebacker Aizik Mahuka, who led the team in tackles with nine. "We picked up the intensity, we learned from the first half and we came back strong. The scoreboard was 0-0 and we came back harder than the first."

Defensive back Bishop Foumai was solid in the back end with an interception and a forced fumble in the second half. Edge rusher Logan Rouse added two sacks and had another stop for a loss while defensive tackle Sila Unutoa had two and 1/2 tackles for loss.

Na Alii also benefitted from a 14-point swing late in the third quarter when Farrington defensive back Willis Lilly jumped a screen play throw by Olie and returned it 79 yards to pay dirt. However, the Governors (5-5, 3-3) were whistled for roughing the passer on the play, which negated the touchdown. A few plays later Olie found Figueroa in the end zone to extend Aiea's lead, 24-10.

To make matters worst, the Governors lost two-way lineman Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu to an injury on the ensuing PAT. Laloulu had to be carted off the field and never returned to the game.

"The pick-six that got called back was huge," said Farrington coach Daniel Sanchez. "Poncho going down was of course a big loss for us. He's like the leader of our team so him going down is huge. We just got to be next man up and get ready for the playoffs."

Farrington will travel to top-seeded Waipahu next Friday in the OIA D1 semifinals.


Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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