By: Wes Nakama
With its defense and special teams holding down the fort early on, Farrington’s aerial attack found itself in the second half and propelled the Governors to an impressive 42-0 victory Friday night against Rancho Mirage (Calif.) at cool and breezy Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Farrington improved to 3-0, while last night’s game was the season opener for Rancho Mirage, located about 11 miles southeast of Palm Springs.The Rattlers finished 7-3 last season, including 5-0 in their Desert Empire League.
Last night’s game was actually tightly contested throughout the first half, with the Govs clinging to a 7-0 lead after Solovi Samuelu’s 1-yard touchdown plunge and Ku Ponciano’s extra point four minutes into the second quarter.
Chansen Smith returned the second half kickoff 76 yards to the Rancho Mirage 17, and four plays later quarterback DJ Fa’avi connected with Ponciano on an 18-yard TD pass to help push the lead to 14-0 two minutes in. On the first play of the ensuing possession, linebacker LJ Masalosalo picked off an errant pass and galloped 45 yards to paydirt and all of a sudden it was 21-0 with 9:55 remaining in the third quarter.
“Our defense kept us in the game, and if they didn’t, it would have been harder than it was — our backs would have been against the wall,” said Farrington coach Mike Lafaele, in his first season at the helm of his alma mater. “I thought our defense played a perfect game, they were really on point and took away everything they threw at us, even the trick plays. Even on the double pass, they were able to stay on top of things.
“And yeah, I would say that kick return and pick-6 … special teams and defense really injected life into our offense.”
The Govs defense came up with another interception — this one by Zion Vea — on the next possession, and the offense cashed it in two plays later via Fa’avi’s 23-yard TD pass to Princeten Samuelu. Ponciano’s PAT made it 28-0 just over five minutes into the second half, and later a blocked punt set up Fa’avi’s 28-yard scoring toss to Joah Mossman, helping to push the lad to 35-0 with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter and initiating a running clock.
“Offensively, we just stumbled, and in the second half we made turnovers and it just spiraled down the hill,” said Rancho Mirage coach L.D. Matthews. “Farrington is a great program and they get after it. They have a huge offensive line and a very good running back (Solovi Samuelu). We’re undersized but there were big plays that we made, stops on third downs, so I’m really proud of our defense. Obviously 42-0 doesn’t look right, but that was more on our offense not producing.
“The great thing for us is, it’s going to be a great learning opportunity. We’re fairly young, so this was a great experience against a very good team.”
Samuelu finished with 60 yards on nine carries, all but one in the first half. Fa’avi, a transfer from Campbell, completed 20 of 26 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions.
“He’s still learning, but I love the fact that even when he makes mistakes, he’s not afraid, he still goes out there and takes his shots,” Lafaele said. “And we were able to put a bunch of different guys in there (at receiver) and they were able to make plays. That’s the one thing I love about our offense: we’ve got a bunch of guys who can come in and make plays. It was nice to see them go through some adversity (in the first half), have their back against the wall and be on their heels a little bit, and then come back firing. I thought our offensive line did a good job in the second half.”
Despite the loss, Matthews said this first Hawai’i trip for Rancho Mirage was a positive experience overall. Among the team activities was a visit to Pearl Harbor to see the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, the battleship Missouri, the U.S.S. Bowfin and the Aviation Museum.
“I tell you what, this island is a special place in our country,” Matthews said. “The men and women who put their life on the line to defend our country — they are the reason we have the opportunity to play this great game of football … The experience for these kids, a lot of whom had never been on an airplane before, to see history … And we had a great day today, we toured the University of Hawai’i, what a beautiful campus.
“You’ve got a special place here.”
Photos: Lori McKeown
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