Radford holds off Kalaheo, 21-16, in the mud

Rams QB Cody Lui-Yuen tries to escape the pass rush of two Kalaheo defenders. Sylvia Lee | Special to SL

Cody Lui-Yuen's three touchdown passes and then a steady rain helped Radford fend off Kalaheo, 21-16, Saturday night at John E. Velasco Stadium.

The Rams improved to 4-0 overall and gained sole possession of first in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White at 3-0, while the Mustangs dropped to 3-2 and 3-1.

Lui-Yuen was 8 of 20 for 173 yards with one interception. He threw second-quarter TD passes of five yards to Jameson Pasigan and 47 yards to Chris Jackson, and a third-quarter TD of 62 yards to Mason Manuma to account for the Rams' scoring. His last TD pass was his only completion in four attempts before the rain forced the Rams to keep the ball on the ground.

"With the offense that we're running, definitely the weather and the playing surface is an equalizer in two teams coming together," Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. "We can't make any excuses on why we cannot produce. We just have to learn how to play in the different elements that are presented to us by nature. I'm just glad that we came out with a victory."

After a scoreless first quarter, the Rams got on the board in the final three minutes on Lui-Yuen's TD passes.

The Mustangs took the second-half kickoff and used just seven plays to move 80 yards with running back Willie Lynch scoring on a 28-yard run to cut their deficit in half.

But Radford answered quickly, scoring on its next series on Manuma's 62-yard TD reception to increased its lead to 21-7 with 8:23 in the third quarter.

From then, the rain came down harder. Zach Herman intercepted a Stephen Lee pass and it appeared the Rams were going to take control. But Chase Hanawahine intercepted a Lui-Yuen pass. The rain, though, started making it harder for the offenses to jell and the Mustangs were unable take advantage and eventually punted.

Later, Radford gave Kalaheo field position at the Rams' 45 when a low snap from punt formation went for a three-yard loss.

Again, Radford's defense forced the Mustangs to punt. But a 39-yarder pinned the Rams at their 1. On first down, Lui-Yuen had trouble with the snap and was tackled in the end zone for a safety to pull Kalaheo to 21-9 as time ran out in the third quarter.

The ensuing free kick gave Kalaheo the ball at the Rams' 45. Radford used just six plays - all on the ground - ending with a 21-yard TD run by Cristian Johnston with 9:56 left in the game. Johnston ran the ball five times for 36 yards in the series, while Lee carried once, but it was a for a crucial nine-yard gain on a fourth-and-1.

The kickoff went out of bounds and gave Radford possession at its 35 with 9:49 left in the game. The Rams ran 14 consecutive running plays - 13 of them by Jackson - to the Mustangs' 18, where Radford lost the ball on downs. But the Mustangs used all three of their timeouts during that series to stop the clock.

Kalaheo took over at its 18, but eventually faced fourth-and-8 from its 20. But Helaman Kakiva's interception with 2:15 ended the series.

Radford only managed to take off 2:11 off the clock before losing the ball on downs at Kalaheo's 25. But Lee's last-ditch pass fell incomplete as time ran out.

Jackson finished the game with 64 yards on 25 carries for the Rams.

Lynch led all rushers with 94 yards on 18 carries, while Johnston had 65 yards on 14 rushes for Kalaheo.

Ammon Se'ei, who also had an interception, had a sack for Radford.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].