Radford’s undefeated run through Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II football was in jeopardy Friday night, but the Rams finally picked up steam in the second half to eventually pull away for a 28-6 victory over Kaimuki in the championship game at Aloha Stadium.

Senior Blaise Manabe did a little bit of everything to push Radford to its third D-II league title and eighth overall, including the years the Rams were in D-I. Manabe, who is listed as a wide receiver, returned a punt 57 yards, caught four passes for 38 yards, ran out of the backfield and the wildcat formation for 63 yards and a touchdown, and threw a touchdown pass.

"It was (all) in the game plan," Manabe said. "I was nervous at times … something new, didn’t want to mess up. But I knew I had to be fearless. It is indescribable for us to come out as champions and to be with this great group of guys. Our goal was to win the OIA and now it’s time to move on. We’ll be working every day. No days off."

Radford will play in the D-II state tournament and could possibly get a first-round bye that would put its first game on the Nov. 13-14 weekend.

The Rams (11-0) clung to a 7-6 lead at the half and into the third quarter before taking control. Seizing the opportunity of a short Bulldogs punt, Radford drove 35 yards to take a 14-6 edge by taking a chance on fourth down.

Facing fourth-and-goal from the 6, the Rams resorted to a trick play that got the job done.

Manabe lined up wide left, running back Ace Faumui lined up as a wildcat quarterback, and quarterback Quintin Iriarte lined up as a receiver on the right. Faumui took the snap and gave a reverse pitch to Manabe, who continued running to his right to hit Iriarte with a pass in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 7:45 to go in the third quarter.

"I had the option of running or passing it," Manabe said. "I saw my QB wide open, so I passed it. We just put in that play this week."

Defensively, Radford pressured Bulldogs quarterback Keanu Pratt, sacking him four times and backup Jaren Feary twice.

"We weren’t consistent at the quarterback position," said Kaimuki coach David Tautofi, whose team fell to 7-5, but will also be playing in states. "We had time with receivers open in the secondary."

The Bulldogs’ plan was to use the passing game to open up space for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound horse of a running back named Billy Masima. Masima finished with 81 yards rushing, but only broke loose for one long gain and was mostly contained by the Rams defense.

"Our defense has been unbelievable all year," Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. "That’s the reason why we’re undefeated and the reason we won the championship. Our defense is top-notch."

Salanoa also addressed the slow start: "To win a championship, it’s very important to play all four quarters. We knew Kaimuki was going to bring its ‘A’ game and that we were not executing the way we were supposed to in the first half. We played all four quarters and all that conditioning we’ve done made it possible."

Manabe capped an 81-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run to make it 21-6 with 8:15 left in the game. Faumui followed that with a 45-yard interception return for a TD exactly a minute later.

"I’m grateful for being here nonetheless (despite the loss)," first-year coach Tautofi said. "This represents a beginning for our program. We basically rose from the dead (2-6 last season). Nobody expected us to be here. They thought maybe two wins. That made us better."
 

Rad–Ace Faumui 4 run (Roman Gennero kick)

Kaim–Jahssaiah Maiava 29 pass from Keanu Pratt (run failed)

Rad–Quintin Iriarte 7 pass from Blaise Manabe (Gennero kick)

Rad–Manabe 2 run (Gennero kick)

Rad–Faumui 45 interception return (Gennero kick)

RUSHING–Kaimuki: Billy Masima 17-81, Andrew Neves 1-7, Jaren Feary 5-(minus 2), Pratt 7-(minus 28). Radford: Faumui 13-89, Kodi Ongory-Mathias 10-83, Manabe 6-63, Iriarte 8-25, Thomas Reid 2-13, Robert Ishii 2-(minus 1), team 1-(minus 2).

PASSING–Kaimuki: Pratt 10-20-1-113, Feary 0-2-0-0. Radford: Iriarte 8-15-0-65, Manabe 1-3-0-7.

RECEIVING–Kaimuki: Neves 3-14, Andries Toussaint 2-62, Torey Faimealelei 2-8, Masima 2-0, Maiava 1-29. Radford: Manabe 4-38, Solomon Loggins 2-16, Iriarte 1-7, Jake Walter 1-6, Reid 1-5.