Once Damien stopped moving backward, the Monarchs surged past Radford in their OIA-ILH Division I opener Friday at John E. Velasco Stadium.
Damien receiver Lindon Sevilleja had two big plays called back by penalties in the first quarter, but the senior got a touchdown reception to stand up in the second to open the scoring and the Monarchs rolled to a 28-6 victory in their season opener.
Junior quarterback Jake Holtz threw for another score to Logan Lauti in the fourth quarter and completed 18 of 30 attempts for 193 yards in his first start for the Monarchs.
Holtz, a transfer from Saint Louis, stepped into the spot vacated by the graduation of Marcus Faufata-Pedrina, who accounted for 2,227 yards in total offense and had a hand in 28 of the team’s 37 touchdowns.
“It’s big shoes to fill; he came in and stepped up,” Damien coach Eddie Klaneski said. “We’re not satisfied with anything we did tonight, but coming out healthy and with the victory is the most important thing to us.”
Klaneski repeatedly noted the “little things” that cost the Monarchs yards — and a potential touchdown early on — but the Damien defense stifled the Rams (0-2) for much of the game and came up with three takeaways in the second half.
Sophomore Bubba Kauhi recovered an errant punt snap for a touchdown and came up with an interception in the third quarter. Defensive lineman Jon Dalmacio recovered a fumble and Kevin Edwards also came down with an interception in the fourth quarter in Damien’s first game since falling to Hilo in the Division I state championship game last November.
“We still got a whole bunch of work. We’re a super young team, but I’m proud of these kids,” Klaneski said. “They kept battling. … We’re still figuring things out and we’re not even scratching the surface of where we need to be.”
The Monarchs return an experienced receiver corps and Sevilleja and Lauti combined for 12 catches for 113 yards.
Sevilleja had a 55-yard reception and a 49-yard touchdown catch negated by holding calls on Damien’s second possession of the game. He got a big play that held up in the second quarter when Holtz faked a handoff, rolled left and lofted a throw to Sevilleja for a 13-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
The Monarchs got the ball back with 2:12 left in the first half and drove 64 yards in 10 plays. Running back Aperamo Sulu picked up 20 yards on a screen pass, then finished the drive with a 1-yard dive to give Damien a 14-0 lead at halftime.
Radford capitalized on a Damien fumble in the fourth quarter and broke up the shut out on a 1-yard TD pass from Hunter Copp to Emmanual Stevenson.
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GAME SUMMARY
Damien 28, Radford 6
At Radford
>> Damien (1-0) 0 4 7 7 — 28
>> Radford (0-2) 0 0 0 6 — 6
Damien — Lindon Sevillja 13 pass from Jake Holtz (Christian Souza kick)
Damien — Aperamo Sulu 1 run (Souza kick)
Damien — Bubba Kauhi fumble recovery in end zone (Souza kick)
Damien — Logan Lauti 12 pass from Holtz (Souza kick)
Radford — Emmanual Stevenson 1 pass from Hunter Copp (pass failed)
RUSHING — Damien: Sulu 16-54, Logan Lauti 2-12, River Iaea 1-0, Kama Maghinay-Santos 1-(minus-3), Holtz 8-(minus-7). Radford: Danneh Alpha 12-44, Dejuan James 5-34, Kendall Saxton 4-25, Damon Nelson 1-11, Copp 8-5, Taias Savea 3-3, Team 1-(minus-33).
PASSING — Damien: Holtz 18–30-0-193. Radford: Copp 8-22-2-51.
RECEIVING — Damien: Lauti 7-74, Jarvis Natividad 2-40, Sevilleja 5-39, Sulu 2-35, Alohi Arecchi 2-5. Radford: Nelson 3-23, Stevenson 3-12, Tavian Bryant 1-10, Carson Dean 1-6.
* JV — Roosevelt 38, Radford 19
