FOOTBALL: Silva fills big shoes in big way

Photo courtesy Brien Ing/ScoringLive.com

By Wes Nakama
HHSAA

It took only five plays into Saturday night's season opener against Wai'anae for Farrington to know that things would be OK despite starting tailback Tyler Taumua -- the state's leading rusher in 2012 -- not suited up while resting an injured shoulder.

That's when fellow senior Abraham "Amo" Silva put Governors fans at ease with a stunning 61-yard touchdown run to help give Farrington a quick 7-0 lead barely two minutes into the contest.

"it was pretty shocking, but as soon as I saw that hole open, I just used my burst speed to break away and my after-speed to get to the end zone," said Silva, a 5-foot-10, 212-pound converted linebacker. "But I gotta give props to my O-line, they played hard. I put my trust in them, they've always been there for me, on and off the field. I love them a lot."

The Govs' massive and powerful offensive line, which returned every starter from last year although one sat out due to academic issues on Saturday, paved the way for Silva to finish with 212 yards on 27 carries in the 37-23 nonleague victory at Radford's John Velasco Stadium.

He had 120 yards on 14 carries by halftime, then started the third quarter with 46 yards on three rushes on Farrington's first series, capped by a 10-yard TD scamper to the left side. That tied the score at 16-16, and the Governors eventually scored 21 straight points in the fourth to pull away.

"We kind of messed up a bit during the game, we've still got a lot more to practice," Silva said. "But Wai'anae really came ou to play hard, especially in the first half. This win really means a lot to us, so we can learn from it and get better next week against Saint Louis."

Farrington plays Saint Louis on Thursday at Aloha Stadium.