Once might be a fluke, but twice counts as a trend.
Radford beat Pac-Five 41-15 in the season opener for both teams at the Father Bray Classic at Aloha Stadium on Saturday, the second straight year the Rams have won their initial game of a season.
Before last year’s win over Pearl City, Radford had lost 16 straight openers.
“We have always had the same game plan and the same enthusiasm as coaches, just year-to-year the generation changes,” said Radford coach Fred Salanoa, who has been at the helm for 10 years. “The kids have always worked hard; probably the biggest change is that we don’t play ‘Iolani now, we play the other team.”
The Rams had lost to ‘Iolani three times in the losing streak and to Leilehua five times.
Judging by their second half against Pac-Five, the Rams might have been able to hang with anyone.
Cody Lui-Yuen threw for a career-high 387 yards and five touchdowns, good for second-most in the state championship and Prep Bowl eras for the program. Only Epa Maika, with 433 in 2006 against Mililani, covered more ground. But “best ever” status is expected out of the senior.
“He’s been with me for three years and we expect that out of him,” Salanoa said. “It shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone.”
Lui-Yuen had trouble moving his Rams at the outset, but picked it up when his team faced an 8-0 deficit on Radford’s fourth drive of the game. After Jared Kanoa ended Lui-Yuen’s third pass with an interception off a deflection, the quarterback hit Chance Cacatian for 19 yards and then Jameson Pasigan for a 42-yard touchdown on a perfectly placed ball over the receiver’s shoulder. As seems to happen with every veteran football player after the first week, he will be thinking about his few bad throws more than his many good ones.
“Like (Salanoa) tells me every day, I’ve been with the program for three years already, so he has high expectations every year,” Lui-Yuen said. “I should be on top of my game moving forward. I shouldn’t be making small mistakes. Second half, we came out, recognized the mistakes we made and executed.”
After getting an earful from Salanoa at the half, Radford took the lead on an 18-yard run by Cacatian and never looked back. Lui-Yuen then hit junior Absolom Henry for 29- and 49-yard touchdown passes and the rout was on. Henry was wide open on both scores, and finished the night with 151 yards on five catches. Like his quarterback, that yardage was good for second on the school’s all-time chart, behind only Shawn Putnam-Curry’s 181 against Aiea in 2007. Not a bad debut for the 6-foot-3
189-pounder who should open things up for Pasigan, the team’s No. 1 receiver who had 79 yards on four catches despite constant attention from Pac-Five’s defense.
“Just doing the job, doing what I have to do,” Henry said. “Just working my routes and using the techniques my coaches taught me. This is a good way to come out in the season.”
Pac-Five quarterback Anthony Canencia threw the ball 33 times in the first half but got only eight points to show for it. He went 16-for-33 in the first half with a TD and a pick, his score coming when he lofted a floater up the sideline and Roycen Routt lept over his defender and came down with the ball before streaking to the end zone. The extra-point try failed, but the Wolfpack carried the 8-6 lead into halftime. Pac-Five got its first two points on its second defensive stand, when it backed Radford up to the 1-yard line on a punt by Routt. The Wolfpack forced Radford into a three and out, and Rams punter Keanu Keaweehu-Ancog booted the ball into blocker Andrew Killen’s backside and watched it bounce out the back of the end zone for a safety.
At Aloha Stadium
Radford (1-0) 6 0 21 20 — 47
Pac-Five (0-1) 8 0 7 0 — 15
P5—Safety, punt out of the back of the end zone
P5—Roycen Routt 45 pass from Anthony Canencia (kick failed)
Rad—Jameson Pagisan 42 pass from Cody Lui-Yuen (run failed)
Rad—Chance Cacatian 18 rush (Feru Seomalu pass from Lui-Yuen)
Rad—Absolom Henry 29 pass from Lui-Yuen (Andrew Killen kick)
Rad—Henry 49 pass from Lui-Yuen (kick failed)
P5—Sean Kinel 41 pass from Canencia (Andrew Killen kick)
Rad—Pagisan 22 pass from Lui-Yuen (Andrew Killen kick)
Rad—Tobias Powell 67 pass from Lui-Yuen (Andrew Killen kick)
Rad—Rashone Osborne 16 rush (kick failed)
RUSHING—Rad: Powell 5-61, Osborne 4-49, Cacatian 8-28, Tory Bowman 1-22, Lui-Yuen 4-11, Dylan Frank 1-5, Thomas Reid 1-0, Justin Lugo 1-(minus-1). P5: Jarrod Infante 5-13, Christian Vasconcellos 1-6, Routt 1-(minus-4), Canencia 5-(minus-14).
PASSING—Rad: Lui-Yuen 16-35-1-387. P5: Canencia 29-63-1-266.
RECEIVING—Rad: Absolom Henry 5-151, Powell 4-96, Pagisan 4-79, Reid 1-24, Cacatian 1-19, Kaimi Mercado 1-18. P5: Routt 8-85, Kinel 4-63, Tsubasa Brennan 4-58, Infante 4-31, Reece Alvarado 9-29.
Waimea 42, Anuenue 0
Destin Miguel broke off scoring runs of 69, 48 and 49 yards as the Menehune amassed 450 yards on the ground to roll over Na Koa.
At Waimea
Anuenue (0-1) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Waimea (1-0) 9 6 20 7 — 42
Waim—Acetyn Emayo 1 run (kick failed).
Waim—Brock Tacata FG 27.
Waim—Acetyn Russell-Moe 5 run (PAT failed).
Waim—Acetyn Russell-Moe 52 run (kick failed).
Waim—Destin Miguel 69 run (kick failed).
Waim—Miguel 48 run (Tacata kick).
Waim—Miguel 49 run (Tacata kick).
RUSHING—Anue: K. Bobiles 21-62, K. Keli-Nahaku 8-52, I. Benjamin 7-25, K. Kahana-Reid 1-23, K. Tasaka 5-14, K. Rodriguez 1-14, K. Romena 1-9, K. Kelekolio 2-(minus-6). Waim: D. Miguel 13-270, Emayo 6-116, Russell-Moe 5-52, K. Dusenberry-Le 6-12.
PASSING—Anue: K. Kelekolio 5-8-0-56, K. Romena 3-9-0-33. Waim: Russell-Moe 0-3-1-0.
RECEIVING—Anue: N. Dureg 5-54, I. Benjamin 1-17, P. Silva 1-12, K. Tasaka 1-6. Waim: none.
Also
Interleague
Kamehameha-Hawaii 26, Kalaheo 23
Damien 29, Kamehameha-Maui 21
BIIF
Hawaii Prep 34, Waiakea 0
