When Governors need offense, they go to Bell

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Farrington's Matt Bell hurdled over teammate Smith Lafaele for some of his 174 rushing yards during Thursday's OIA playoff game against Leilehua. Bell also caught four passes for 51 yards in a 41-8 victory. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Matt Bell, who led the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference-East in rushing this past season with 770 yards and nine touchdowns, is a first-year varsity player but has been running wild against opposing defenses for a long time.

"I noticed him when he was at Kalakaua (Middle School)," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "He was good even back then, but I've seen him grow into the runner he is now. He reads holes well, knows angles and is good at cutting back. The word most people use to describe his running style is 'smooth.' He's just a gifted athlete."

Bell sliced his way through Leilehua's defense last week for 174 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries, leading the Governors (5-4 overall, 4-4 OIA) to a 41-8 victory in the first round of the OIA playoffs. He no doubt will be the focus of Kahuku's defense on Thursday when the two teams meet in a 5 p.m. quarterfinal game at Aloha Stadium.

But Bell said it will take more than a strong running attack to defeat the two-time defending state champion Red Raiders (6-2, 6-1). Kahuku won the regular season meeting at home, 35-7.

"We're gonna have to hit 'em through the air and the ground," Bell said. "We'll have to mix it up."

Bell should fit nicely into that plan as well, since he has proven to be an outstanding pass-catching threat. At Kahuku, Bell caught five passes for 75 yards, and against Radford, he made six receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown.

That threat falls right into Farrington's new West Coast scheme, installed just this past summer.

"This is the perfect offense for me," Bell said. "We can do a lot of different things; it's exciting."

Bell, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior, provides most of the excitement. He rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns at Radford, 164 yards against Roosevelt and 101 vs. Castle. Against McKinley, Bell rushed for 99 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries and returned two kicks for 53 yards.

Farrington has had great runners in the past, going back to Wally Yonamine in the early 1940s and current Pearl City coach Onosai Tanuvasa, who in 1969 became the first Interscholastic League of Ho-nolulu player to rush for more than 1,000 yards. The list includes more recent standouts like Nuu Faaola, Sim Tiatia, Joshua White and Okimoto, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 1990.

"I saw video of him," Bell said. "He was good, he ran hard."

Unlike those other Governor greats, Bell's style is less powerful and more fluid. His 40-yard dash time is a respectable 4.7 seconds, but he appears much faster in the open field.

"I try to juke people and set up my blockers," Bell said. "My O-line sets goals for me and encourages me. I try to run hard for them."