Farrington rebounded from its heartbreaking league championship loss two weeks ago and rambled past Kealakehe, 30-13, last night in the first round of the Division I football state championships.

A crowd of about 2,500 at Roosevelt's Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium watched the O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up Governors rush for 317 yards in improving to 9-3 and advancing to Friday's semifinals against Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Punahou (10-1).

Kealakehe, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champ, ends its season at 9-3.

Farrington had to shake memories of a 22-19 double-overtime loss to Kahuku in the OIA title game two weeks ago, which included a missed extra point near the end of regulation and two missed field goals in overtime by senior Apelu So'oalo. Last night, So'oalo rushed for 153 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries to lead a Govs ground game that set the tone and ate valuable minutes off the clock.

"It felt good," So'oalo said. "Like they say, 'It's not how you fall, it's how you bounce back."

So'oalo, a hard-running 5-foot-11, 210-pound tailback, established himself early with a 39-yard touchdown scamper midway through the first quarter in which he broke several tackles along the way to put Farrington up, 6-0. The extra point attempt was wide right.

Kealakehe answered with a seven-play, 80-yard drive capped by Jordan Ursua's 36-yard TD pass to Marcus Paishon, and Rory Belanio's PAT gave the Waveriders a 7-6 lead with 2:55 remaining in the first quarter.

The Governors took the lead back with 1:42 left in the half on Dayton Kealoha's 11-yard touchdown pass to Drake Miller. Their two-point conversion run attempt failed.

So'oalo finished the first half with 110 yards rushing on 12 carries, and Farrington outgained Kealakehe 278 yards to 114 in the first two quarters.

The Govs pushed the lead to 19-7 after an 11-play, 76-yard drive to start the second half culminating in a 15-yard TD strike from Kealoha to Miller, followed by Robert Molina's extra point with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Three plays from scrimmage later, a Waveriders punt snap went into the end zone, and the punter batted it out for a safety to put Farrington up, 21-7.

Ani Isumu returned the ensuing free kick 38 yards to the Kealakehe 41, then scored eight plays later on a 5-yard slant pass from Kealoha. Molina's PAT made it 28-7 with 11 seconds left in the quarter.

"They really seized the momentum in the second half," Kealakehe coach Gary Clark said. "We were only down 12-7, and we thought we could stop them on that first drive and come back and score, which would have given us the lead. But that first drive was critical, and we had some injuries and had to put in a new long snapper and it threw our timing off.

"But you cannot make mistakes like that against a good team like Farrington."

The Govs mixed it up and threw 15 passes in the first half, but turned to its stable running game in the second half and threw the ball only nine times in the final two quarters.

"We wanted to get Dayton some throws in the first half because he was injured (separated shoulder) last game," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "But the score was close (at halftime) and that kind of dictated our plan."

The Governors added another safety with 9:44 remaining in the game after another errant punt snap was kicked out of the end zone.

The Waveriders closed it to 30-13 on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Ursua to Clint Holdbrook with 6:15 left, but the two-point conversion pass attempt failed and Farrington recovered the ensuing onside kick.

"Our guys gave it their best, and that's all you can ask," Clark said.

KEALAKEHE (9-3) 7 0 0 6—13

FARRINGTON (9-3) 6 6 16 2—30

Farr — Apelu So'oalo 39 run (kick failed)

Keala — Marcus Paishon 36 pass from Jordan Ursua (Rory Belanio kick)

Farr — Drake Miller 11 pass from Dayton Kealoha (run failed)

Farr — Miller 15 pass from Kealoha (Robert Molina kick)

Farr — Safety, punt snap batted out of end zone

Farr — Ani Isumu 5 pass from Kealoha (Molina kick)

Farr — Safety, punt snap kicked out of end zone

Keala — Clint Holdbrook 31 pass from Ursua (pass failed)

RUSHING — Kealakehe: Laki Taufa 2-5, Jordan Ursua 13-50. Farrington: So'oalo 19-153, Harry Tuimaseve 13-91, Siaosi Feleunga 7-59, Kealoha 1-11, Molina 3-7, Tyrell Shipley-Lagmay 1-0, Scotland Smith 1-(minus-1).

PASSING — Kealakehe: Jordan Ursua 14-24-1—149. Farrington: Kealoha 7-20-0—107.

RECEIVING — Kealakehe: Paishon 4-60, John Ursua 4-31, Taufa 2-5, Holdbrook 1-31, Ikaika Kua Nachor 1-19, Eric Nakamoto 1-3, Jacob Kimi 1-0. Farrington: Miller 5-80, So'oalo 1-22, Isumu 1-5.

See Nakama's blog at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com.