Prep preview: ILH Division-I champ Damien faces cross-street OIA rival Farrington

Nov. 9—The battle of Houghtailing Street has occurred during preseason or even the regular season in years past.

The battle of Houghtailing Street has occurred during preseason or even the regular season in years past.

This time, everything is at stake for Farrington and Damien when they clash on Saturday in the opening round of the First Hawaiian Bank /HHSAA Division I Football State Championships.

Kickoff at Kaiser Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

Damien won the ILH D-I championship last week with a wild 42-37 win over 'Iolani. Farrington is the OIA D-I runner-up after a 48-26 loss to Waipahu.

Though the schools are just one block apart, they have met on the gridiron only 13 times since 1965. Their last battle was in 2007, before many of the current Governors and Monarchs were born. Farrington has not beaten Damien since 2000, posting just one win over its neighbor since 1977.

"I played in that game, the 2007 one, " Damien coach Anthony "Bonez " Tuitele said. "The quarterback that year (Alefosiu Iu ), he's on the staff at Moanalua, "

Back then, there was no Open Division. Farrington played an OIA East schedule, then entered the D-I playoffs. The Govs lost to Leilehua, 7-3, then ousted Kapolei, 37-19, to qualify for the state tournament. Farrington lost to Baldwin, 20-14, at War Memorial Stadium, in the opening round.

In'07, RB Kama Bailey was a prolific senior as Damien played a full round-robin schedule in the ILH, beating Pac-Five before losing to 'Iolani twice, and falling to Kamehameha, Saint Louis and Punahou before beating Pac-Five. Tuitele had his most productive game in the loss to Saint Louis with 249 yards.

Bailey hit the 100-yard rushing mark in eight of Damien's 10 games, including 313 yards against Punahou, 320 against 'Iolani and 370 against Pac-Five.

The 2023 Governors are classic in some basic ways. Running back Sitani Mikaele is a 5-foot-10, 238-pound senior who has rushed for 1, 238 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.

"Sitani's been carrying their team so far. He's their workhorse, " Tuitele said. "Respect to the kid. We've got to control him to the best of our ability, but they've got other weapons. We know they've got 15 (Jacob Talamoa ) and other guys around him."

Two elite defenses, Kahuku and Campbell, were able to contain the bulldozing ballcarrier. It was a bit of a surprise last week when a smaller defense, Waipahu, was able to limit Mikaele to 94 yards and one TD on 26 carries in the Marauders' win.

Farrington QB MJ Moreno passed for 209 yards with one TD and one interception in the loss. The Govs are 5-1 against Division I competition with Mikaela pummeling his way to 170.5 yards per game (7.8 ypc ).

Damien has not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Sept. 9, when Pac-Five's Seth Miller rushed for 135 yards. The Monarchs won that game, 28-10.

Damien's offense, meanwhile, has been humming. With AJ Tuifua at QB and Sylas Alaimalo at RB, opponents have been forced to load the box. Alaimalo, a 5-10, 185-pound junior has rushed for 1, 059 yards (9.5 ypc ) and 13 TDs.

Tuifua, a 6-2, 240-pound sophomore, has made significant progress as a second-year starter. He has passed for 1, 868 yards and 27 TDs with just eight picks. He is also Damien's defacto secondary rusher with 159 yards and two TDs on the ground.

His ability to scan and process in the pocket has been brilliant. Receivers Dayton Savea (37 receptions, 602 yards, 10 TDs ), Nalu Chinen-Zablan (27, 490, six ) and Ian Sera (21, 486, six ) have benefited from the balanced attack.

The X-factor could be Farrington edge rusher Anelu Lafaele. Without a tight end in formation, Damien will account for the 6-1, 225-pound senior—or possibly pay a hefty price.

"He's a great kid, obviously, a big-time recruit. He is the guy, but for us it's about controlling what we can control, " Tuitele said. "Do our job. It comes down to us being disciplined. If us coaches come up with the right schemes and we can execute, we should be fine."

If Farrington can stay in dime packages, unleash Lafaele and minimize Alaimalo's effectiveness, the chess board tilts in its favor. If Tuifua can read Lafaele and use his slotbacks for 5-and 6-yard completions regularly, it's a different story. It could be a classic cat-and-mouse battle when there is no tight end on the field.

"We'll take six yards, " Tuitele said. "They've got their guys and they'll do their thing. It'll come down to me trusting our players and them trusting me. Making plays and taking care of the ball. We believe. Farrington's going to want another chance at Waipahu. They're going to be aggressive. That's Farrington football. They're going to play with some swag."

OPEN DIVISION STATISTICS PASSING Player, team C A I Yd TD Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Camp. 241 376 11 3, 540 35 Kini McMillan, Mililani 177 265 3 2, 623 35 Tama Amisone, Kapolei 170 288 10 2, 501 33 Kaunaoa Kamakawiwoole, St.L. 201 318 14 2, 476 19 Ty McCutcheon, Punahou 140 210 4 2, 166 18 Tayden-Evan Kaawa, Moanalua 98 207 16 1, 330 13 Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kahuku 86 132 2 1, 134 17 Jevin Bolos-Reyes, Kamehameha 28 44 2 613 7 Maximum Kahalawai-Sapigao, Wain. 51 113 3 490 2 Sitani Suguturaga, Kahuku 21 28 2 363 5 RUSHING Player, team Att. Yds TD YPC YPG Tama Amisone, Kapolei 107 1, 068 14 10.0 97.1 Vaaimalae Fonoti, Kahuku 110 830 12 7.5 92.2 Nakoa Kahana-Travis, Mililani 78 630 9 8.1 63.0 Moe Passi, Kamehameha 104 524 9 5.0 65.5 Keola Apduhan, Saint Louis 95 469 9 4.9 52.1 Chase Camarillo, Kapolei 75 461 6 6.1 46.1 James Steffany-Flame, Camp. 66 393 9 6.0 32.8 Reeno Teo, Kapolei 43 367 1 8.5 45.9 RECEIVING Player, team Rec. Yds TD YPC YPG Kaina Kamohalii, Kapolei 61 1, 183 16 19.4 118.3 Titan Lacaden, Saint Louis 84 1, 020 13 12.1 113.3 Astin Hange, Punahou 40 780 6 19.5 97.5 Rowen-Ray Bucao, Campbell 43 706 9 16.4 64.2 Rusten Abang, Campbell 43 646 3 15.0 64.6 Diezel Kamoku, Kahuku 41 639 8 15.6 71.0 Zayden Alviar-Costa, Camp. 42 605 8 14.4 50.4 Davyn Joseph, Mililani 26 587 9 22.6 65.2 DIVISION I STATISTICS PASSING Player, team C A I Yd TD Elijah Mendoza, Waipahu 136 228 7 2, 121 28 CJ Villanueva, 'Iolani 172 234 1 2, 095 28 AJ Tuifua, Damien 112 175 8 1, 943 27 Hanohano Plunkett, Leilehua 126 214 12 1, 559 14 Romeo Ortiz, Kailua 108 217 10 1, 263 10 Afi Togafau, Radford 105 176 6 975 8 Kanoa Torres, Nanakuli 109 205 11 866 6 Joshua Manu, Waipahu 41 67 1 650 5 MJ Moreno, Farrington 55 107 4 677 3 Nai Kalauokaaea, Castle 49 110 6 569 2 RUSHING Player, team Att. Yds TD YPC YPG Sitani Mikaele, Farrington 186 1, 238 17 6.7 137.6 Cole Northington, Leilehua 205 1, 059 11 5.2 105.9 Sylas Alaimalo, Damien 111 1, 038 12 9.4 173.0 Christian Asinsin, Nanakuli 138 625 8 4.5 78.1 Ikaika Quidashay, Kailua 81 470 2 5.8 52.2 Ezekiel Totten, Castle 87 361 3 4.1 60.2 Romeo Ortiz, Kailua 58 346 6 6.0 34.6 Camren Flemister, Leilehua 56 320 4 5.7 35.6 RECEIVING Player, team Rec. Yds TD YPC YPG Eric Stephens, Waipahu 55 1, 081 13 19.7 108.1 Timothy Arnold, Leilehua 63 1, 050 10 16.7 105.0 Jayden Chanel, Waipahu 54 809 12 15.0 80.9 Kekame Kane, 'Iolani 52 795 12 15.3 132.5 Tai Aipia-Barrett, Waipahu 37 633 5 17.1 63.3 Dayton Savea, Damien 37 630 10 17.0 90.0 Nalu Chinen-Zablan, Damien 27 509 6 18.9 72.7 Keon Preusserr, 'Iolani 39 484 5 12.4 69.1 DIVISION II STATISTICS PASSING Player, team C A I Yd TD Trey Dacoscos, Pearl City 194 325 9 2, 362 29 Iosefa Letuli, Kaimuki 158 276 4 2, 019 20 Ioane Kamanao, Roosevelt 127 227 6 1, 916 23 Sean Connell, Kaiser 120 229 13 1, 429 11 Jude Weber, Kalaheo 82 192 13 1, 193 7 Kynan McCartney, Kalani 77 169 8 1, 022 8 Emey Abilla, Waialua 85 173 11 990 7 Colten Amai-Nakagawa, Pac-Five 60 111 7 443 2 Iosua Sefo, McKinley 18 48 7 226 1 Mana Ka'io, McKinley 18 46 3 205 0 RUSHING Player, team Att. Yds TD YPC YPG Iosefa Letuli, Kaimuki 161 821 11 5.1 74.6 Sonny Iaea, Kalani 134 604 7 4.5 75.5 Dillon Reis, Kaiser 101 575 6 5.7 82.1 Kalei Akiona, Roosevelt 138 551 5 4.0 50.1 Seth Miller, Pac-Five 111 497 4 4.5 99.4 Makoakai Fierro, Waialua 122 414 5 3.4 51.8 Sean Connell, Kaiser 97 403 10 4.2 44.8 Marcus Sasaki, Kalaheo 107 396 3 3.7 56.6 RECEIVING Player, team Rec. Yds TD YPC YPG Jeremiah White, Kaimuki 58 788 11 13.6 71.6 Keagan Lime, Kaiser 58 767 9 13.2 85.2 Jahsiah Souza-Armstead, Roos. 38 642 5 16.9 71.3 Keawe Davis, Roosevelt 37 574 7 15.5 63.8 Jayvie Arellano, Waialua 35 546 5 15.6 68.3 Kamalu Jordan, Kalaheo 28 539 4 19.3 77.0 Taimane Souza-Fautanu, Roos. 38 529 6 13.9 52.9 Silas Soberano, Kalani 26 490 4 18.8 70.0