With beef up front, Kahuku's meat and potatoes offense grinded out 313 yards in chomping Farrington, 35-0, in an O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red semifinal last night.

An Aloha Stadium crowd of 5,816 watched the top-ranked Red Raiders (8-1) advance to the OIA championship for the 17th time since 1970. They will play 'Aiea on Friday, when Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai (99-20) will be seeking his 100th career coaching win.

The No. 10 Governors (5-6) will play Wai'anae for third place on Nov. 12 for the third and final Division I state berth for the OIA.

Kahuku amassed 278 yards rushing, 235 in the first half when they did not throw a single pass en route to a 28-0 halftime lead. Running back Malosi Te'o led the way with 161 yards on 16 carries with TD runs of 8, 71 and 5 yards, while Kamuela Alisa had 77 yards on 14 rushes, including a 14-yard TD run.

Appropriately, Kahuku's offensive line was given the Player of the Game award by OC 16.

"They deserved it tonight," Alisa said. "They've been doing good all this year and finally, they get the credit."

Linebacker Kaniela Tuipulotu's 71-yard interception return with 31 seconds left in the first half accounted for the other Red Raiders' TD that made it 28-0 at the half.

Farrington lost a fumble on its first play of the second half. Kahuku then threw its first pass of the game, a 28-yarder from Kaulin Krebs to Devin Unga, that set up Te'o's 5-yard TD run on the next play with 11:38 left in the third quarter. Gary Nagy's PAT made it 35-0 and started the running clock because of the 35-point differential mercy rule.

It was Kahuku's seventh shutout of the season and seventh straight win since its only loss of the season, 23-6, to Castle.

"Our team is more unified now," Alisa said. "We're just clicking, especially with the defense."

But it was Kahuku's staple — the run — that took control of the game.

The time-consuming first-half drives — the first took off 7:44 off the clock — kept Farrington's offense sidelined. Also, the Red Raiders twice converted on fourth downs in their first two scoring drives.

"That was a big difference in the game," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said.

Kahuku scored on its first three possessions. A 14-play, 80-yard drive after the opening kickoff was culminated by a 14-yard TD run by Alisa. Gary Nagy's PAT was blocked, keeping the score 6-0 with 4:16 left in the first.

The Red Raiders then went 62 yards on 11 plays — converting a fourth-and-1 — with Te'o taking a pitch from quarterback Krebs and scoring from 8 yards with 8:46 left in the half. Alisa then took a handoff and appeared to drop back to pass, but instead went up the middle for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.

After Kahuku's defense stopped the Governors on fourth-and-1 at the Red Raiders' 17, Kahuku had its longest drive by yardage, but shortest by plays, when Te'o scored from 71 yards off the right side on the fourth play of the series with 5:18 left in the half. Nagy's PAT was blocked, leaving the score 20-0.

A holding penalty against Kahuku on fourth-and-8 from the Governors' 49 gave Farrington a first down and another threat. But on fourth-and-4 at the Kahuku 26, linebacker Kaniela Tuipulotu returned an interception off Elijah Filifili 71 yards for a TD with 31 seconds left in the half. A heavy rush by end B.J. Beatty forced Filifili into throwing a floater. Anthony Siilata caught a pass from Krebs for the two-point conversion to make it 28-0 at the half.

The first half was delayed about 15 minutes when Farrington defensive lineman Taua Olomua had to leave the field by ambulance because of a neck injury. He returned to the stadium in the fourth quarter, athletic director Harold Tanaka said. "He was fine," Tanaka said.

FARRINGTON (5-6) 0 0 0 0 — 0

KAHUKU (8-1) 6 22 7 0 — 35

Kah—Kamuela Alisa 14 run (kick blocked)

Kah—Malosi Te'o 8 run (Alisa run)

Kah—Te'o 71 run (kick blocked)

Kah—Kaniela Tuipulotu 71 interception return (Anthony Siilata pass from Kaulin Krebs)

Kah—Te'o 5 run (Gary Nagy kick)

RUSHING—Farrington: Elijah Filifili 1-(minus 4), Kenneth Faumui 6-36, Hercules Sula 6-8, Elisha Faasu 2-14. Kahuku: Krebs 2-(minus 6), Te'o 16-161, Alisa 14-77, Redmond Tutor 1-0, Devin Unga 0-19. Jason Mauai 1-14, Pita Tanuvasa 2-1, Tuivili Tuisavura 2-7, Blane Beatty 1-6, Team 1-(minus 1).

PASSING—Farrington: Filifili 11-21-2—71, Maeli Siliga 0-1-0—0. Kahuku: Krebs 1-1-0—28, Jacob Kahawaii 1-3-0—7.

RECEIVING—Farrington: Siliga 1-7, Elijah Lesu 2-16, Faasu 1-1, Faumui 2-6, Sula 2-31, Tanner Fetui 3-10. Kahuku: Unga 1-28, Ian Fujinaga 1-7.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.