‘Iolani dumps D-II champion Radford

After a preseason of uphill battles — scrimmages — against talented Division I competition, the ‘Iolani Raiders are finding their foundation.

The Raiders limited defending Division II state champion Radford to 56 rushing yards in a 42-6 victory on Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader at Aiea High School field.

Wet conditions didn’t stop ‘Iolani’s aerial attack. Tai-John Mizutani was efficient and opportunistic. He was 17-for-23 with 230 passing yards, three touchdowns and no picks in just one half of work. Justin Genovia was his favorite target, securing seven passes for 140 yards and one TD.

The Raiders kept hitting one sideline and smashing up the middle with K.J. Pascua (14 carries, 70 yards, two TDs) before Mizutani picked the right time and situation to exploit solo coverage on the opposite side of the field.

But it was ‘Iolani’s defense that was remarkably tough against a big, physical and fast Radford squad playing its first game under coach Lon Passos.

“We had a lot of good discipline,” Raiders defensive coordinator Delbert Tengan said. “We’ve been struggling with third-down situations and sudden change. Tonight we did a good job.”

Radford quarterback Randy Wright was bottled up by a relentless pass rush (five carries, 1 yard) and completed three of his 15 pass attempts for 47 yards. He was picked off once.

The Rams finished with 103 yards of total offense. They held their own on defense at times, giving ‘Iolani backup QB Jarin Yokogawa a tough challenge. Yokogawa entered the game late in the first half and finished the contest 7-for-24 with 99 yards, one TD and and two picks. Both interceptions were by Clinton Stevens, a springy junior defensive back with great vision.

Radford seized momentum early on when Jonah Soakai, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound senior, returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.

‘Iolani answered with a 12-yard TD pass from Mizutani to Genovia for a 7-6 lead and the Raiders never trailed again.

‘IOLANI 42, RADFORD 6

Rad–Jonah Soakai 85 kick return (kick failed)

Iol–Justin Genovia 12 pass from Tai-John Mizutani (Evan Minami kick)

Iol–K.J. Pascua 1 run (Minami kick)

Iol–Drake Shigemura 24 pass from Mizutani (Minami kick)

Iol–Rayden Kaneshiro 12 pass from Mizutani (Minami kick)

Iol–Pascua 2 run (Minami kick)

Iol–Kaneshiro 16 pass from Jarin Yokogawa (Minami kick)

RUSHING–‘Iolani: Pascua 14-70, Troy Hanaoka 10-63, Mizutani 2-(minus 4), Team 2-(minus 4). Radford: Kyle Corpuz 14-55, Sipa Leafa 4-13, Randy Wright 5-1, Chase Murphy 1-(minus 13).

PASSING–‘Iolani: Mizutani 17-23-0-240, Ja. Yokogawa 7-24-2-99. Radford: Wright 4-16-1-50, Murphy 0-2-0-0.

RECEIVING–‘Iolani: Genovia 7-140, Jonah Miyazawa 6-86, Kaneshiro 3-36, Coby Pudiquet 3-12, Pascua 2-26, Shigemura 1-24, Brent Nagami 1-9, Jake Yokogawa 1-6. Radford: Cameron Copeland 1-40, Jaden Standfield 1-5, Corpuz 1-3, Jonah Soakai 1-2.