Judging solely by the final score, it would have appeared that No. 8 Moanalua had done its job, knocking off cross-town rival Radford 35-0 at John Velasco Stadium.
But to hear their coach tell it, the only undefeated team left in Division I still has a lot of work to do.
“I’d give us a D,” Savai’i Eselu said. “We have to be able to put a full game together. I’m still looking for a complete game performance. “
Moanalua started quickly. After Tre Barrett intercepted Radford quarterback Hunter Copp to snuff out a Rams drive at the Radford 48, quarterback Nick Au lofted a 46-yard touchdown to Dreydon Von Oelhoffen.
It was the start of a miserable night for the Rams’ Copp. After Radford’s next drive resulted in a punt, Copp was intercepted twice more on the ensuing Rams possessions. The second resulted in a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown by TreQuan Henderson.
Moanalua added a touchdown later in the half, as Au found Jordan Monico for an 8-yard score and a 21-0 lead at the half.
Defensively, Na Menehune continued to harass Copp, who was sacked three times and threw four interceptions in the first half. Radford also inflicted eight penalties for 70 yards on itself in the half.
“Defensively, we were an A, maybe a B,” Eselu said. “These guys have a tenacity to go after the ball. We always preach to the team that we want to get a lot of takeaways. Whenever you win the turnover battle, you give yourself a better chance of winning.”
Moanalua got sloppy in the second half, especially on offense. After completing 19 of 29 passes for 137 yards and two scores in the first half, Au managed to hit just eight of 17 for 84 yards in the second. He also was intercepted three times. He was able to add another touchdown to his stats, finding Ezra Grace for a 12-yard score late in the third.
“Offensively, we were terrible,” Eselu said. “We were probably an F. We have got to get going. We can’t keep relying on the defense. We know that the defense is always going to show up. But we won’t do anything if we stay flat offensively.”
The defense certainly showed up, and continued to make life miserable for Copp. The Rams quarterback threw two more interceptions in the second half to give him six for the game. His final interception was an 81-yard pick-6 by Keanu Kekawa, which triggered the 35-point mercy-rule running clock.
“Those interceptions were huge,” Eselu said. “They really proved to be game-changers for us. They both happened when the offense was stalling out, and the defense rose up and answered the call.”
GAME SUMMARY
No. 8 Moanalua 35, Radford 0
At John Velasco Stadium
>> Moanalua (6-0, 5-0) 7 14 7 7 — 35
>> Radford (1-7, 1-4) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Moanalua — Dreydon von Oelhoffen 46 pass from Nick Au (Nick Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Trequan Henderson 38 interception return (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Javon Monico 8 pass from Au (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Ezra Grace 12 pass from Au (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Keanu Kekawa 81 interception return (Palalay kick)
RUSHING — Moanalua: Rudy Kealohi 2-19, Makana Spencer 2-7, Tim Ungacta 3-4, Lawsen Lee 1-(minus-1), Von Oelhoffen 1-(minus-2), Jacob Copeland 1-(minus-10), Au 9-(minus-11). Radford: DeJuan James 6-27, Kendall Saxton 2-5, DJ Alpha 1-4, Taias Savea 1-(minus-3), Maka’ala Sakimi 1-(minus-5), MataiSuitonu 1-(minus-8), Hunter Copp 9-(minus-14).
PASSING — Moanalua: Au 27-46-3-221, Kealohi 1-1-0-5. Radford: Copp 15-33-6-96, Suitonu 1-4-0-5, Sakimi 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — Moanalua: CJ Paleafei 6-45, Grace 5-62, Kealohi 5-37, Monico 4-21, Von Oelhoffen 3-46, Copeland 3-4, Spencer 1-6, Ungacta 1-5. Radford: Damon Nelson 5-28, Tavian Bryant 4-27, Carson Dean 2-22, Taias Savea 4-19, Braden Kent 1-5.
