Like it or not, transfers are and have been a big part of Hawaii high school football for a long time.
Many observers feel that Farrington was fortunate to pick up quarterback Justin Uahinui from Kaiser last week, and that may prove to be true.
But Farrington, it turns out, lost at least five starters to other schools over the summer, including four that went to Silverado in Las Vegas where former Philadelphia Eagles star Randall Cunningham is the head coach.
One of the departures to Nevada was highly recruited linebacker Jeremiah Pritchard, who received scholarship offers from Hawaii, Colorado and UNLV after his stellar junior season with the Governors. The others are defensive back Keiki Misipeka, linebacker Pekelo Solomon and tight end C.J. Liana.
In addition, Farrington lost Honolulu Star-Advertiser All-State second-team kicker Kekoa Sasaoka to Kakuku. Another starter from last season, left tackle Sheldon Poutoa, did not come out for football this season, according to head coach Randall Okimoto.
Okimoto said three coaches from last year’s staff are gone, including Keiki Misipeka Sr., a defensive assistant who moved with his son to Las Vegas. The two others, Govs defensive coordinator Gary Graham and special teams and defensive line coach coach Sean Pacheco, are now Saint Louis assistants, according to Okimoto.
On the bright side, Okimoto said about 50 players are on the varsity roster.
“We have a lot of adversity to overcome,” the coach said before Tuesday’s practice. “But with all those players out for varsity football, it’s a good sign. We usually only have about 40 or about 45 at the most,” he said.
Okimoto spoke about one more hardship, the fact that his team is practicing at Kalakaua Middle School, which is about half-mile down Kalihi St. from the Farrington campus. It’s a mostly dirt field and the players get there by jogging together.
Farrington, which played relatively evenly against Kamehameha in a Thursday scrimmage at Kunuiakea Stadium, placed third in the Oahu Interscholastic Association a year ago and wound up losing to Mililani 17-14 in the state semifinals.
The Govs meet Punahou for a 9:30 a.m. scrimmage Saturday and have a bye on the following weekend before opening against Waipahu on Aug. 15 at Aloha Stadium.
I wish St Louis and Iolani would lose players to the mainland. It’d serve them right!
They did!! Nela Otukolu 2015 and Haskel Garret who is the 25 best player in the nation according to the ESPN 300. Both products of St Louis. Stop crying it’s a great opportunity for the boys.
Is the coaching better in Las Vegas?
I heard Coach York at Mililani and Coach Cal Lee at St. Louis is supposed to have annual games with Liberty. We going up to play them on September 4th after they come down here & play St. Louis. From what I hear they’re supposed to be the best public school in nevada behind the number one team in the nation (Bishop Gorman). I heard they got plenty local coaches over there too like Chad Kapanui and lots of local kids there too. Saw some pics of their facilities on FB, pretty nice. Go Trojans!
I wonder if those Las Vegas schools are offering good paying jobs to the parents of the players. Why else would they leave the islands? Is Silverado trying to compete with Bishop Gorman? I say it’s too excessive to be recruiting out of state. Even recruiting from another island is excessive.
We just transferred my son to Liberty this year, no job offers just straight up better exposure for my son. He’s not going to get it in Hawaii! Were stuck with playing in your district so that left us in a Division 2 school with no recognition, he’s staying with family now but we rented an apartment . We live here, he lives there were not rich, but it’s cheaper than private school! The exposure an experience just like college. The coaches are awesome just like family! The caliber is up there you might wanna think about it Loving it so far! By the way Silverado an Liberty public schools!
With all the departures of talented players Farrington has to deal with this upcoming season the Govs are looking very good this year#nextmanup#gogovs
Jarrett Solomon coaches at Silverado. He’s a Farrington grad/standout. His son, along with Randall Cunningham’s son were standout qb’s at Bishop Gorman. Gorman is god in football in Vegas but Vegas has a lot of great talent outside of Gorman.
I was extremely happy to hear that these boys are heading to a public school and not to the two private school power houses (Faith and German). Wishing these boys the best of luck and would love to come and watch some games. I am a full supporter of public school success stories!
Any other athlete’s/parents looking at opportunities other than Las Veges I have excellent contacts in the Utah/Salt Lake City market. The level of competition and national exposure is extremely high. A lot of colleges in the state. ( University of Utah, BYU, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University and Dixie State) the Utah economy is very strong. Please contact me with any questions you might have or call me at
(702) 354-3834 Paul