MILILANI — Wanting to prove it was not adversely affected by the 38-0 loss to Kahuku last week, No. 7 Farrington rallied from a 21-7 deficit with 28 unanswered points to turn back No. 9 McKinley, 35-21, last night at Mililani stadium to stay tied for first in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red East.

Tailback Hercules Sula rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including the one that pulled the Governors to within 21-20 early in the fourth quarter. Holder Alefesio Iu's pass to Trendt Marsom on a fake PAT for the 2-point conversion put the Governors ahead, 22-21.

"We had to get our respect back (because of the loss to Kahuku last week)," Sula said. "We just had to prove that we were not going down."

The Governors (5-2 overall, 4-1 Red East) share the division lead with Kahuku, but last week's loss puts them behind in terms of playoff seeding purposes. Farrington and McKinley (4-3, 3-2) already clinched playoff berths, but need wins next week for favorable seeding purposes. Farrington plays Castle and McKinley plays Moanalua.

"It was a big win because McKinley's a crosstown rival," Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. "Plus, there's playoff implications."

While it was a big win for Farrington, it was a bigger loss for McKinley. Having beaten Kahuku and Castle, a win against Farrington would have put the Tigers in the driver's seat for the East's top seed.

But the Tigers put up a good fight considering they played without quarterback Tilton Kaluna (shoulder). Linebacker Isaac Iuta was pressed into filling in for Kaluna and nearly pulled the Tigers through. He was 9 of 16 for 143 yards, including a 48-yard TD pass on the Tigers' first series of the game on a flea-flicker to a wide-open Josh Nakama. He also had a 78-yard completion to the Farrington 1 to Ben Davis that set up the first of Keawe Kalama's two TD runs that gave McKinley a 14-7 lead at the half.

"I'm proud of the way he played," McKinley's first-year coach Bobby Grey said. "Our offense was rolling (earlier in the game). Just the second half, they kept our offense off the field."

Isaac's kid brother Isaiah, a sophomore, was called up from the junior varsity to fill in and did an incredible job, intercepting a pass that set up McKinley's second TD and literally taking the ball from a Farrington ball carrier for a fumble recovery. He also had a pass deflection.

"I'm glad I'm going to have him another two years," Grey said. "He's a great athlete."

The game took roller coaster rides. Farrington's Elijah Lesu returned the opening kickoff of the second half 89 yards to the McKinley 1, only to have a chunk of it nullified by a holding penalty, setting the Governors back to their 38. Farrington eventually punted and McKinley took over at midfield, driving 10 plays before Kalama scored on a seven-yard run to make it 21-7 with 5:03 left in the third quarter.

But Farrington closed to 21-14 on its ensuing series with quarterback Maeli Siliga scoring on a five-yard keeper to the right with 2:00 left in the third quarter.

The Governors' defense stiffened, allowing the Tigers possession for only 4:19 in the last 14 minutes of the game. That gave Farrington enough time to score three fourth-quarter touchdowns.

But the go-ahead score came on the conversion. The Governors lined up in their usual unbalanced line left with the snapper, a receiver and holder on the right side. Holder Iu hit Marsom on a quick out to the right to give Farrington a 22-21 lead just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter.

"We made the call," Okimoto said of the coaches' decision to go for the fake. "We felt that was the time to do it. Besides, we had a lot more time (left) in the fourth quarter."

The Governors scored on their last two drives on runs of 5 and 16 yards by Siliga.

FARRINGTON (5-2, 4-1) 7 0 7 21—35

MCKINLEY (4-3, 3-2) 7 7 7 0—21

McK — Josh Nakama 48 pass from Isaac Iuta (Marcus Amorin kick)

Farr — Hercules Sula 12 run (Matt Stowers kick)

McK — Keawe Kalama 1 run (Amorin kick)

McK — Kalama 7 run (Amorin kick)

Farr — Maeli Siliga 5 run (Stowers kick)

Farr — Sula 7 run (Trendt Marsom pass from Alefesio Iu)

Farr — Siliga 5 run (Stowers kick)

Farr — Siliga 16 run (kick failed)

RUSHING—Farrington: Maeli Siliga 11-81, Hercules Sula 24-172, Elijah Lesu 1-(minus 3), Joshua Agasiva-Fernandez 4-50, Team 1-(minus 2). McKinley: Isaac Iuta 12-31, Keawe Kalama 16-67, Alan Hashimoto 2-6, Mike Lekona 2-(minus 1), Jarrett Luna 1-(minus 2), Tuimatagalu Togia 1-2.

PASSING—Farrington: Siliga 10-17-2—98. McKinley: Isaac Iuta 9-16-1—143.

RECEIVING—Farrington: Lesu 5-47, Sula 3-44, Agasiva-Fernandez 2-7. McKinley: Ben Davis 3-85, Josh Nakama 2-52, Hashimoto 1-0, Jarrett Luna 1-1, Kalama 1-0, Josh Ward 1-5.

JV score — Farrington 31, McKinley 0

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.