Farrington, Pearl City coaches evolve from run to shoot
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
| • | OIA tournaments
Red Tournament (Division I) Tomorrow at school sites Game 1: Wai'anae at Kahuku Friday, Oct. 31 at Aloha Stadium Semifinals (All earn Division I state berths) Game 5: Winners of Games 1 and 4 Friday, Nov. 7 at Aloha Stadium Third place Losers of Games 5 and 6 Championship Winners of Games 5 and 6 White Tournament (Division II) Friday—Bye Saturday, Nov. 1 Semifinals 'Aiea vs. Radford Nov. 7—Bye Friday, Nov. 14 at Mililani Championship (both earn Division II state berths) Semifinal winners |
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Okimoto, who rushed for 1,244 yards in 1990, is in his second season as coach of his alma mater. Tanuvasa, who rushed for 1,076 yards in 1969, when the Governors were in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, is in his second year as coach for Pearl City. Their teams play at about 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in a quarterfinal of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference tournament at Pearl City's Bino Neves Stadium. The winner advances to the semifinals and secures a Division I state tournament berth.
Unlike when they played for the Governors, both coaches are succeeding with the pass.
"My heart is with running the ball," Okimoto admitted. "But I believe to spread the ball around, you have to throw it. When you only run the ball, not too many guys are involved. We've got some other talented guys (on the team)."
It is sort of the same for Tanuvasa, who said his team's talent is suited for passing.
"We don't have the best quarterback or the best receivers, but they're good enough so we can compete in this league," Tanuvasa said. "If you look at our personnel, we have small guys who can catch. But we'll run when we have to."
Actually, Chargers quarterback Jensen Cabanero is the only 1,000-yard passer in the OIA West and four of his receivers — Nathaniel Nasca, Brandon Green, Royce Yuen and Keone Peiper — are among the top seven in receiving yardage in the division.
It is an intriguing match for both teams. The Governors, who finished third in the East, are familiar with passing offenses, having to defend against some of the best in Castle and McKinley.
"They throw the ball well," Okimoto said of the two East teams. "It has prepared us well for this week."
For the Chargers, it's not just Farrington quarterback Eti Atonio's 1,028 yards passing that is a concern. It's the ubiquitous Matt Bell, who lines up at running back and receiver on offense, free safety and linebacker on defense, kickoff kicker and punter, occasionally at place kicker for PATs, and punt returner.
Bell, who combined for 666 yards rushing and 528 in receiving, was second in the East in scoring with 71 points. Tanuvasa said Okimoto gets the maximum performance out of Bell because his versatility allows the Governors to create mismatches.
"It's amazing how talented that kid is," Tanuvasa said of Bell.
Although the West runner-up Chargers are the higher seed, hence playing host to the game, Farrington is considered the favorite. The Governors received some votes for The Advertiser Top 10 this week, while the Chargers did not. The prevailing thought is the East is stronger than the West, as four East teams are in the Top 10 compared to one from the West in division champion Mililani. Last year's semifinals were composed of all East teams. The last time Pearl City was in the playoffs was 1997, when 16 of 21 teams qualified.
"This is something new to (my players)," Tanuvasa said. "This is like going to Disneyland. It's like, 'Wow, first time.' I'm happy for them and I'll do my best to take them one step further."
Tanuvasa said the team's goal was get into Aloha Stadium. In fact, he told his team before the season started "with my luck, we'll probably have to play Farrington to get to the stadium."
Ironically, a number of Pearl City's players' parents are Farrington graduates, Tanuvasa said.
"We expect to see a lot of Farrington and Kalihi people," Tanuvasa said. "In the '60s a lot of (Farrington graduates) migrated to Pearl City. These are their kids."
Here is a review of the other three quarterfinals that will be played tomorrow:
No. 7 McKinley at No. 4 (tied) Mililani
This game figures to be closer than the seedings indicate. It's the only quarterfinal that pits two ranked teams.
McKinley faced a must-win situation to beat Castle for the final East berth. The Tigers did it by showing an effective running game behind Michael Vasconcellos and Quinton Sayers. They appear to be the perfect complement to quarterback Abel Werner, the East's leading passer with 1,484 yards and 16 TDs.
Mililani went though the season undefeated without much fanfare. That's mostly because the Trojans didn't have any one skill player stand out. But they had many contributors. The Raneses brothers — Carlo (475 yards, 4 TDs) and Peter (230 yards, 2 TDs) — along with the other running backs Jordan Apduhan (284 yards, 4 TDs) and Aran Bisho (209 yards, 5 TDs) were largely responsible for the 1,335 of rushing offense that was tops in the West.
Just to balance things, quarterback Maka Kahoano passed for 678 yards and 10 TDs, spreading the wealth among receivers Andrew Tokumi (253 yards), Darren Smith (176 yards) and Bisho (133 yards). Tokumi (5-11) and Smith (6-3 and an all-state goalie in soccer) give the Trojans some height. They will be challenged by Tigers' 5-11 corner Daniel DeSoto.
Wai'anae at No. 2 Kahuku
A rematch of the regular-season opener, won by the Red Raiders, 36-0.
This is not the traditional Wai'anae team of past seasons. The Seariders' play has been inconsistent and they almost missed the playoffs for the first time since 1983. Only a loss by Leilehua gave Wai'anae, which lost last week to Campbell, the West's final playoff berth.
Meanwhile, Kahuku appears to be on track to making up for last year's upset by Farrington in last year's quarterfinals that denied the Red Raiders a return to the state tournament. Kahuku has succeeded in all phases of the game. It led the East in rushing yardage (1,801) and was third in passing (1,243). And the Red Raiders have depth. Eighteen different players had at least one rushing attempt and 18 different players at least one reception. Twenty-two different players were credited with contributing to the 300 points Kahuku scored this season.
Quarterback Waika Carvalho is a running (246 yards, 4 TDs) and passing (1,045 yards, 12 TD passes) threat for the Red Raiders. Spencer Hafoka is the leading receiver with 606 yards, but also a passing threat, as he is 4 of 4 for 94 yards.
The Seariders are usually successful when their running game is at its best. Running back Chris Lave rushed for 530 yards and 10 TDs.
The quarterback job is undecided yet. Uilau Faliuga started at linebacker last week and Kala Honda played quarterback. "We felt (Faliuga) could do a good job at linebacker," Wai'anae coach Dan Matsumoto said. He said Faliuga could see action at both positions.
Nanakuli at No. 4 (tied) Kailua
A game that should finish quickly, because both are adept at running the ball.
Kailua began the season with running back Kekoa Sua (675 yards, 14 TDs) until a foot injury sidelined him after the fourth game of the season. In stepped Damien Torres, who ran for 835 yards and nine TDs.
Nanakuli uses tandem quarterbacks Albert Distajo and Jaycee Alapai for its option offense. Running back Kyle Beck provides the speed and Alex Maiava the power. Jimmy Afamasaga is the team's top receiver.
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.
