The trophy in the Radford gym is so old that it has cobwebs on it, but it’s getting some company on the shelf.
The Rams made a fierce comeback from a 10-point deficit to beat Kapaa 30-16 in the Division II final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships on a rainy Friday night.
They did it with defense and special teams and, probably more importantly, a will to win when the chips were down.
"I went in to look at the trophy from the last time we won the (Oahu Prep Bowl) championship and that was 34 years ago," said coach Fred Salanoa, whose Rams finished off a 13-0 season. "I was a waterboy on that team and my brother Thor (Salanoa) was a player. I took the team to see the trophy and showed them that it had spider webs on it."
When reminded about the recent visit to see the trophy, Radford defensive end Dillon Sunday said, "We get to renew it."
Sunday was overwhelmed after the victory. He tilted his head back and three times said, "Oh my gosh."
"This is such a relief," he added. "This is what we wanted from the get-go. Us seniors all talked about it since we were freshmen: ‘Imagine what it would be like to win the championship.’ And we got it."
Jordan Walker, who is only a junior, had an immense outing as the Rams middle linebacker. He had two sacks among his six tackles and he turned the tide for good with a hit on Kapaa punter Kurt Napoleon. On the play, before Napoleon could get his punt off, Walker came in and hit him right above the knee, causing a fumble. Sunday picked it up and took it home to turn a 17-16 lead into a 23-16 fourth-quarter edge.
"I saw they were lined up in a spread formation with a lot of gaps wide open, so I lined up on the edge thinking I might be able to get in there for the block," Walker said. "I hit him in the leg. It was a time to sacrifice your body for the team."
Walker thought it was a close call between a legal play and roughing the kicker, but said he knew he had to take a chance. Two referees on the sideline (not calling the game) had differing opinions on it; one thought it was a foul and the other did not. No matter, the officials on the field did not throw a flag.
Radford defensive coordinator Matt Manuma and Salanoa both said Walker is a "Pac-12 type of player."
Ace Faumui also made a huge difference in the outcome from his safety position with four tackles and from the running back position with a game-sealing TD and a receiving TD.
"Ace is a great kid and a playmaker," Manuma said. "We’ve got a bunch of playmakers — Walker, Sunday, Rex Domingo." He rattled a few more names off before saying, "The whole defense."
Two other special-teams plays were huge for Radford. One was by holder Jacob Nishitomi, who kept a grounded snap alive for Roman Gennero’s 30-yard field goal that gave the Rams a 17-16 lead. The other was by Patric Diamond, who recovered a squib kick to open the second half, leading to Gennero’s field goal.
"That was our gameplan," Salanoa said. "It was raining, so we tried that squib and thought it might work. Special teams goes back to preparation by the coaches."
Salanoa gave some high praise for the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Walker’s performance this season.
"I thought he was the Division II player of the year in the OIA," he said. "He got robbed. He was phenomenal tonight."
Salanoa said the Rams were headed back to the school to celebrate and, most likely, put the shiny new trophy next to the old one.
