Kahuku and Radford win state football titles
Kahuku and Radford claimed state football championships on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.
The Red Raiders forced six turnovers in a 39-14 victory over Saint Louis to win the Division I title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships, and Radford overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Kapaa 30-16 for the Division II title.
Kesi Ah-Hoy accounted for four touchdowns for Kahuku, which completed an undefeated 13-0 season to win its eighth state title since the first tournament was held in 1999.
Saint Louis, which is next with three state championships in Division I, finished 9-2 under second-year head coach Cal Lee, who has lost his last three games in a state final. Kahuku beat Lee’s Saint Louis teams in 2000 and ’01.
The Crusaders gave up a touchdown return and a safety on two bad punt snaps, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted three times.
Saint Louis hadn’t scored fewer than 27 points in a game this season and was held to 55 total yards in the first half.
Radford won its title earlier in the evening, claiming the crown despite a series of early miscues.
Rams quarterback Quintin Iriarte threw two touchdown passes, Ace Faumui scored twice and the Radford defense stifled the top-seeded Warriors to finish the season at 13-0.
Kapaa, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion, closed its season at 9-1 with its first appearance in the D-II state final.
Radford lost three fumbles in the first half that Kapaa converted into two touchdowns and a field goal, but the Rams managed to stay close and trailed 16-14 at halftime.
Kapaa turned the first takeaway into a 10-play, 55-yard drive capped by a 1-yard plunge by Kekoa Kaluahine-Cacal.
On the first play after the kickoff, Radford gave the ball away again and Kapaa linebacker Jonathan Bilyeu recovered. The Warriors couldn’t muster a first down, but Clifton Oliver drilled a 45-yard field goal on the opening play of the second quarter to give Kapaa a 10-0 lead.
Radford broke through when Iriarte connected with Thomas Reid on a slant that Reid turned into a 78-yard touchdown.
Bilyeu extended the Kapaa lead when he scooped up an errant shotgun snap and returned it 8 yards to the end zone. But Radford responded with a 19-play march covering 80 yards, with Iriarte throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Faumui with one second left to cut Kapaa’s lead to 16-14.
Radford recovered the opening kickoff of the third quarter when the Warriors couldn’t handle a squib kick and Roman Gennero gave the Rams their first lead with a 30-yard field goal.
Radford maintained the one-point cushion until Jordan Walker forced a fumble on a punt attempt and defensive lineman Dillon Sunday returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.
Jonah Soakai then came up with an interception and on the next play Faumui took a toss to the right, reversed his field and broke free for a 45-yard scoring run to give the Rams a 30-16 lead with 8:49 left.