Radford brings home the trophy

Dillon Sunday returned a fumble for a touchdown to help second-seeded Radford pull away for a 30-16 victory over top-seeded Kapaa on Friday night in the Division II final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships at Aloha Stadium.

Sunday recovered the loose ball after teammate Jordan Walker sacked Kapaa punter Kurt Napoleon, who also played quarterback until that play. The Rams led 23-16 after the extra-point kick was partially blocked with 9:21 remaining.

"Jordan made a heck of a play on the ball and I just capitalized on it," said Sunday, who normally would fall on a fumble. "But it’s the state championship game. I wasn’t going to hold back. I feel great right now. We worked so hard in the offseason. It’s paying off now."

The next play from scrimmage was trouble for Kapaa. Backup QB Teili Fonua, a sophomore, was picked off on a deep pass by safety Jonah Soakai. On the next play, Ace Faumui ran right, cut back against the grain to the left sideline and made one more cut to the middle of the field for a smooth 45-yard TD run. After trailing 10-0 early, Radford led 30-16 with 8:49 to go and was never seriously threatened after that.

"We told the kids to believe; it’s all about believing no matter what happens," Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. "Our run defense, Kapaa was running into our strength. We were hoping they were going to run the ball. Kapaa is a great team, but our guys were resilient. We’re just we came out on top."

Kapaa finished with 39 yards of total offense, including minus-47 yards on 36 rushes.

"Defense wins championships," Salanoa said.

OIA champion Radford finished the season a perfect 13-0. KIF champion Kapaa took its first loss after nine wins. It is Radford’s first state title. The Rams appeared in the D-II title game in 2005 and ’08.

The Warriors led 10-0 in the first quarter and 16-14 at the half. Radford tallied 251 yards, managing just 56 rushing yards on 39 carries against a tough Kapaa defense.

"I want to thank all the boys for all their hard work," Kapaa coach Phillip Rapozo said. "We came up short tonight, but Radford, that wasn’t hype. We knew we weren’t coming here and going to dominate them. Congratulations to Coach Salanoa and his team."

Down two TDs and stuck in pass mode, the Warriors struggled against Radford’s pass rush. The Rams finished with five sacks: two by Walker, and one apiece for Aaron Faumui, Ben Leafa and Dominic Albalos. Kapaa’s quarterbacks were a combined 8-for-22, 86 yards passing with one pick.

Radford’s defense kept the pressure on and kept talking to the offensive unit during the comeback.

"We told them, ‘We got your back,’ " Faumui said.

His older brother, SS/RB Ace Faumui, got a lot of extra work after starting running back Kodi Ongory-Mathias was ejected with 4:47 left in the first half.

"All that hard work, the sweat, the blood, the tears, it was all worth it," said Faumui, a senior who finished with 60 rushing yards and four tackles.

Deyshon Slade led the Rams defense with seven tackles, including two for loss. David Faletoi and Walker had six tackles each.

Rams quarterback Quintin Iriarte was 12-for-21 for 195 yards and two touchdown passes.

Rainy weather set the tone from the start, giving quarterbacks and running backs a tough task, attempting to grip wet, new footballs under a downpour that lasted nearly the entire game.

Kapaa got the edge in field position early after Radford’s reverse on the opening kickoff resulted in an illegal block. The Rams set up at their own 4-yard line, and with Kapaa’s defense zoning in and the field wet from a heavy pregame downpour, the ball stayed on that side of the field for most of the opening quarter.

A fumble by Ace Faumui was recovered at the Kapaa 45-yard line by Jayson Hawthorne. The Warriors cashed in with a 13-play, 55-yard yard drive, with Kekoa Kaluahine-Cacal bursting over the goal line from the 1 to give Kapaa a 7-0 lead with 1:05 left in the first quarter.

Radford’s next play from scrimmage resulted in another turnover, a botched handoff between Iriarte and wide receiver Blaise Manabe, recovered by Keona Nakamura-Makanani at the Rams’ 31-yard line. That led to a line-drive 45-yard field goal by Clifton Oliver for a 10-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

It took Radford just a moment to regain momentum. On the second play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, Iriarte fired a dart to Thomas Reid on a slant and the 6-foot-2 speedster split through the secondary for a 78-yard touchdown with 11:12 left in the first half.

It was the first points scored on Kapaa since Oct. 15.

Later, the Rams fumbled for the fourth time in the first half. This time it was a quick reward for Jonathan Bilyeu, who scooped the ball up as the ball squirted out of a pileup and ran it 8 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. After the PAT kick was blocked, Kapaa had a 16-7 lead with 6:56 remaining in the first half.

Radford, however, went on an 80-yard drive in 20 plays. Iriarte’s 8-yard TD pass to Ace Faumui with one second left in the half brought the Rams within 16-14.

Kapaa muffed the squib kickoff to start the second half and Radford’s Patric Diamond recovered at the Warriors’ 15-yard line. Roman Gennero’s 30-yard field goal through the heavy downpour gave the Rams a 17-16 lead with 10:14 to go in the third quarter.

Radford 30, Kapaa 16

First Quarter

Kap–Kekoa Kaluahine-Cacal 1 run (Clifton Oliver kick), 1:05

Second Quarter

Kap–FG Oliver 45, 11:54

Rad–Thomas Reid 78 pass from Quintin Iriarte (Roman Gennero kick), 11:12

Kap–Jonathan Bilyeu 8 fumble return (kick blocked), 6:56

Rad–Ace Faumui 8 pass from Iriarte (Gennero kick), :01

Third Quarter

Rad–FG Gennero 30, 10:14

Fourth Quarter

Rad–Dillon Sunday 26 fumble return (kick blocked), 9:21

Rad–Faumui 45 run (Gennero kick), 8:49

RUSHING–Radford, Faumui 20W-60, Kodi Ongory-Mathias 8-11, Blaise Manabe 5-2, Iriarte 5-(-15), Team 1-(-2). Kapaa, Justin DeForge 9-21, Kaluahine-Cacal 11-12, Leighton Moniz 3-7, Kalena Harder 1-1, Team 2-(-22), Teili Fonua 5-(-28),  Kurt Napoleon 5-(-38).

PASSING–Radford, Iriarte 12-21-1-195. Kapaa, Fonua 7-17-1-76, Napoleon 1-5-0-10.

RECEIVING–Radford, Manabe 4-32, Reid 3-102, Faumui 3-28, Solomon Loggins 2-33. Kapaa, DeForge 4-47, Moniz 1-17, Gabriel Keener 1-10, Leslee Aki 1-9, Harder 1-3.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS–Radford, Deyshon Slade 7, 2.0/5 TFL/Yds, David Faletoi, 6, 3.0/17, Jordan Walker 6, 2.5/6, 2 sacks. Kapaa, Trestin Alfiler 17, 3.0/6 TKL/Yds, Akauola Tatofi 5, 1.0/5, Jonathan Bilyeu 5, 1.0/5, 2 fumble recoveries,