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Kahuku and Radford win state football titles

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Radford's Ace Faumui (8) rushes the ball past Kapaa's Bryce Dato (6) during the first half of the 2015 HHSAA Division II Football Championship between the Radford Rams and the Kapaa Warriors on tonight at Aloha Stadium in Halawa.
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Jamm Aquino
2015 November 20 SPT - HSA Photo by Jamm Aquino.
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Kahuku's Harmon Brown (8) rushes the ball between St. Louis' Jordan Iosefa (4) and Tanielu Evaimalo (58) during the first half of the 2015 HHSAA Division I Football Championship between the St. Louis Crusaders and the Kahuku Red Raiders on Friday

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.

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