Chargers close out Rams

Jordan Taamu passed for five touchdowns as Pearl CIty rallied past Radford 35-20 on Saturday in the semifinals of the OIA Division II football playoffs at Bino Neves Field.

"Radford’s defense is real tough, but we still have to run the ball and keep them honest. They came inside and we threw outside on them," Chargers coach Robin Kami said. "They were trying hard to get to Jordan as fast as they could."

Pearl City (8-1) advanced to the title game next week and will play Nanakuli. The Chargers lost at Nanakuli during the regular season, 28-21. The win on Saturday also sealed a berth in the state tournament for Pearl City, though Radford made it a tough battle.

Coach Fred Salanoa’s Rams (6-4) led 14-13 at the half, using a balanced offense featuring the passing and running of quarterback Andrew Morgan. The senior passed for 140 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 71 yards on 13 carries.

"We didn’t win. We moved the ball pretty good. We did a good job," said Morgan, who suffered a broken right middle finger late in the game. "We came out with a lot of enthusiasm, playing them at their house. I’m frustrated. I wish the season could still go on."

Taamu, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior, was 18-for-31 for 200 yards without a pick. Dominic Maneafaiga was key to both the ground and air games with 64 rushing yards on 18 carries and four receptions for 38 yards and a TD.

Pearl City’s aerial efforts were inconsistent in the first half, but a commitment to running the ball helped turn the tide in the second half. Maneafaiga found the inside gaps clogged all night, but found comfort running to the left behind powerful left guard Kordell Vaa, a 6-3, 260-pound senior. Maneafaiga had 15 carries for 57 yards after halftime.

He carried the ball four times for 21 yards on the opening drive of the second half, while Taamu found bigGarrett Kanamu twice for passes of 16 and 15 yards. That led to a 6-yard touchdown pass to Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa out of the backfield to give the Chargers a 21-14 lead.

After a Radford three-and-out, Pearl City drove 57 yards in 11 plays. Taamu tossed another short pass, this time to Maneafaiga, out of the backfield for another 6-yard TD. Pearl City led 28-14 with 1:53 to go in the third quarter.

Another three-and-out by the visitors led to another Chargers touchdown drive. Taamu threw a sideline pass to Kanamu, who trucked through two defenders to the end zone for a 20-yard TD. The Chargers led 35-14 with 11:23 remaining.

Radford tacked on a final touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Morgan to Justin Lugo with 7:03 to go. The Rams got no deeper than the Pearl City 49-yard line in their final two possessions.

Taamu’s other TD tosses went to Isaiah Kaleo (4 yards) and M.J. Keopuhiwa (5 yards) in the first half.

The Chargers defense featured two batted passes by defensive end Alosina Toomelatai, a sack by Leon Dupio, and defensive back Christopher Kaku’s fumble recovery and interception on a deep pass in the end zone.

However, both offense and defense had issues with yellow flags for Pearl City, which finished with 186 penalty yards on 20 infractions. Radford had 11 penalties for 103 yards.

Lugo finished the game at QB, but he had the catch of the game late in the first half. He dove all out in the left corner of the end zone for a 26-yard TD pass from Morgan to give Radford a 14-13 lead. He finished with five receptions for 69 yards and two TDs.

At Pearl City

PC—Isaiah Kaleo 4 pass from Jordan Taamu (Dominic Maneafaiga kick)
Rad—Chance Cacatian 10 pass from Andrew Morgan (Kara Downey kick)
PC—M.J. Keopuhiwa 5 pass from Taamu (kick failed)
Rad—Justin Lugo 26 pass from Morgan (Downey kick)
PC—Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa 6 pass from Taamu (Maneafaiga pass from Taamu)
PC—Maneafaiga 6 pass from Taamu (Maneafaiga kick)
PC—Garrett Kanamu 20 pass from Taamu (Maneafaiga kick)
Rad—Lugo 15 pass from Morgan (run failed)

RUSHING—Radford: Morgan 13-71, Cacatian 6-17, Rashon Osborne 3-10, Lugo 2-0. Pearl City: Maneafaiga 18-64, Taamu 4-24, Keopuhiwa 3-6, Tala Moeone 5-4.
PASSING—Radford: Morgan 10-25-1-140, Lugo 1-4-0-7. Pearl City: Taamu 18-31-0-200.
RECEIVING—Radford: Lugo 5-69, Thomas Reid 2-47, Solomon Loggins 2-15, Cacatian 1-10, Jonathan Lafoy-Vance 1-6. Pearl City: Kanamu 5-72, Maneafaiga 4-38, Domingo-Ishikawa 4-32, Kaleo 3-35, Keopuhiwa 2-23.
Junior varsity—Radford 17, Pearl City 6