Hanohano Plunkett passed for 338 yards and five touchdowns, while Cole Northington rushed for 167 yards and one TD on 21 attempts as Leilehua defeated Radford 43-14 in the opening round of the OIA Division I playoffs on Friday night at Hugh Yoshida Stadium.
“I was worried about them, how they were playing against Castle. We tried to create a game plan to slow down 25 (running back Wendell Harrison) and then if 8 (quarterback Bezeiah Togafau) gets away, just cover deep and try to rally to him,” Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu said.
Leilehua (5-5) will play at Waipahu next weekend in the OIA Division I semifinals. The Mules also extended their win streak over Radford to 17. Radford has not beaten Leilehua since 1987.
Radford closed the season 1-7 overall, but not without a gritty performance on the road against a deeper, bigger team that only recently moved down from the Open Division.
“Our kids played hard. When you have opportunities and they’re squandered, it’s hard to come back. Leilehua’s a well-coached team by Mark Kurisu. We can’t let situations that will be in our favor slip away against a playoff team,” Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. “I’m glad that our kids showed up tonight and were able to be in the first half, at least.”
The Mules rode their workhorse, Northington, through the first half. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior rushed 16 times for 116 yards and one TD. Running back Camren Flemister was used effectively as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, hauling in six passes for 65 yards before halftime.
Timothy Arnold continued his superlative season, finishing with eight catches for 160 yards and two TDs.
Leilehua’s offensive balance and stingy defense came through on a night when the Mules committed 16 penalties for 163 yards.
Radford safety Jamon Alama thwarted Leilehua’s opening drive with an interception in the end zone.
However, the Mules got on the scoreboard through their defense. Josh Simbre sacked Togafau in the end zone for a safety, giving Leilehua a 2-0 lead with 7:06 to go in the opening quarter.
A 48-yard kick return by Flemister set Leilehua up at the Radford 27-yard line. It took 11 plays, but Leilehua scored on a 6-yard dash to the left pylon by Northington.
Leilehua marched to pay dirt again, scoring on a leaping catch in the end zone by Arnold from Plunkett. The Mules led 16-0 with 11:24 left in the first half.
Despite taking a serious hit earlier that briefly knocked him out of the game, Togafau returned to the field in the second quarter. A key fourth-and-1 run for first down by Harrison kept the drive alive, as did a roughing-the-punter penalty on Leilehua. A lateral from Togafau to Jacob Sullivan turned into a stunning 38-yard TD, as the speedy junior slashed and juked through the Mules defense. Radford trailed 16-7 with 7:30 to go in the first half.
Leilehua answered with a 12-play, 96-yard drive. Plunkett found Flemister open for a 4-yard TD as the Mules opened the lead to 22-7 with 3:44 remaining in the first half.
An interception by Radford linebacker Kellen Fortson stymied the Mules in the third quarter. Twice, Rams LB Zeke Schulz stuffed Leilehua on fourth-down run attempts during the third quarter.
Still, Leilehua’s defense kept a lid on the Rams’ offense.
The Mules stripped the ball from Togafau as he battled a gang of tacklers for yardage. Kingston Kennedy returned the ball 20 yards to the Radford 10, and on the next play, Plunkett delivered a strike to Logan Peters on a post route for another TD.
The Mules led 29-7 with 37 seconds to go in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was unkind to Leilehua, which suffered back-to-back injuries on the defensive side. Radford drove to the Mules’ 4-yard line, but Togafau’s fourth-and-goal pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
Arnold was unleashed on the ensuing drive with three receptions for 79 yards. Those included a sensational diving catch for 29 yards down the right sideline, and he capped it with a 24-yard TD.
Kurisu was apologetic about two recovered on-side kicks by his team late in the game. Leilehua uses non-kickers to send hard squib kicks downfield on kickoffs, and two ricocheted off a Radford player. After recovering the latter loose ball, Leilehua immediately punted the ball back to the Rams — on first down.
“I like how we played up until we had those kicks. We don’t have a regular kicker besides our PAT, so we ask a lot of our guys to toe kick. That’s why it’s good that everyone understood. We had this (post-game) talk. That’s why we punted. (On-side kicks) are not what we want to do,” Kurisu said. “There’s lessons. It’s hard. These kids have been through a lot these last two years. They got beat up a lot. The game’s out of hand, respect Coach Fred and his staff and his players.”
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At Hugh Yoshida Stadium
Radford (2-7) 0 7 0 7 — 14
Leilehua (5-5) 9 13 7 14 — 43
LEIL—Safety, Josh Simbre sack
LEIL—Cole Northington 7 run (Maci Rivera kick)
LEIL—Timothy Arnold 16 pass from Hanohano Plunkett (Rivera kick)
RAD—Jacob Sullivan 38 pass from Togafau (Luke Barner kick)
LEIL—Camren Flemister 4 pass from Plunkett (kick failed)
LEIL—Logan Peters 16 pass from Plunkett (Rivera kick)
LEIL—Arnold 24 pass from Plunkett (Rivera kick)
LEIL—Warren Alejado 25 pass from Plunkett (Chaystin Senas kick)
RAD—Bezeiah Togafau 1 run (Barner kick)
RUSHING—Radford: Wendell Harrison 13-46, Togafau 10-28, Sullivan 2-6, Team 1-(minus 4). Leilehua: Northington 21-167, Flemister 7-40, Plunkett 4-13, Team 1-(minus 17).
PASSING—Radford: Togafau 11-20-0-96. Leilehua: Plunkett 23-29-2-338.
RECEIVING—Radford: Sullivan 7-70, Harrison 1-21, Michael Robinson 1-10, Joel Gillies 2-(minus 5). Leilehua: Arnold 8-160, Flemister 8-83, Layton Domingo 1-33, Alejado 1-25, Peters 3-17, Zaeven Newman 1-18, Northington 1-2.
