Zeke Schulz might just be the epitome of a student-athlete.

The Radford junior has worked quietly, but tirelessly both in and out of the classroom and things are seemingly starting to pay off for the three-sport athlete. Schulz, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound two-way player for the Rams' football team had himself a game to remember over the weekend.

Schulz, who starts at both running back and inside linebacker, ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in Radford's 24-13 road win over Kailua Saturday. In addition, he also racked up 14 tackles on defense, including 13 solo stops.

Rams' coach Fred Salanoa was "very happy" to see Schulz have the type of success he did against the Surfriders.

"I'm a firm believer in rewarding the guys that come to work every day with their lunch pail and hard hat and try to work hard and sometimes you don't always get to reward them in those ways, but with him being recognized, I think it's being given to the right person, in my opinion," said Salanoa, now in his 22^nd season leading his alma mater.

"I've been around this game for a long time and seen a lot of good players and sometimes they're good players but they have deficiencies in academics, or how they carry themselves, or attitude-wise, but I think this young man is well deserving for the plain fact that he represents his family and what they stand for and also our program and our school the way that we want it to be represented," Salanoa expressed.

Schulz, Salanoa noted, is a high-achieving student – see his 4.0 grade point average and his 1,300 SAT score. He's also a standout wrestler for the Rams during the winter season and a member of the school's track and field team in the spring.  

"He's very, very smart and is just one of those guys that is driven. He's here working every day, even on off days, and he's not a ‘rah-rah' guy – he's super quiet, he doesn't talk, he doesn't celebrate, but he's the hardest worker in the weight room, on the field and in the classroom. He's just a stick-his-head-down-and-just-go kind of guy who leads by example. I mean, just everything about him is what you would want in a player. I can't say enough about him," Salanoa said.

Salanoa cautioned that Schulz is a classic example of not judging a book by its cover.

"He's definitely undersized for the position that he plays, but his instincts and his speed will make up for his size deficiency at a position that we're more accustomed to seeing bigger guys. He's very deceiving because you would see a smaller player and you would think ‘this guy is gonna get smashed,' " Salanoa chuckled.

The size disparity between Schulz and the opposition was especially apparent in Saturday's afternoon matchup against the much-larger Surfriders.

"They're huge, right? They're mammoths," Salanoa said of Kailua. "A lot of their players look like collegiate players already and for (Schulz) at his size and stature to be able to withstand and accomplish the things that he did on both sides of the ball – not just one side of the ball, but both sides of the ball – is a tribute to his hard work, his attention to detail, his willingness to go above and beyond for his team."

Schulz ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run in first quarter Saturday to get the Rams on the board after Kailua had taken an early lead. Salanoa said that the long run by Schulz had a little bit of everything.

"It was right up the middle and it wasn't an untouched run – he had to break three or four tackles – and then he had to outrun a few (defensive backs) that had an angle on him, but it was a nice run," said Salanoa, who couldn't help but give Schulz a bit of a ribbing after the latter was forced to pirouette his way across the goal line.

"He had to a ballerina jump at the end because somebody jumped for his legs, so I was teasing him and he said, ‘Well, coach, I had to do that. It was either that or get tackled at the 4-yard line,' " Salanoa laughed. "Well, it worked."

Defensively, Schulz and the Rams recorded six takeaways, including three interceptions by fellow linebacker Kellen Fortson, to hold Kailua to its second-lowest scoring output of the season.

"Him being a smaller guy he's able to use leverage to his advantage – being able to slip by guys and use his quickness and his football IQ to get by guys who are way bigger than him – and he's not afraid to get in there, get dirty and I think that's something that he has learned from wrestling," Salanoa surmised.

Schulz has recorded double-digit tackles in three of Radford's four games this season. He tallied 11 tackles in a narrow loss to Moanalua in the season opener and followed that up with 10 ½ stops five days later in a one-sided win over Redlands, of California.

"He has a knack for the ball and being able to elude blockers. He's able to read and anticipate the gaps on defense, but I think that also pays tribute to the rest of the players on defense. They're doing their job to allow Zeke to free up. If they're not doing their job up front and trying their best to maintain their gap control or the offensive linemen, there's no way that Zeke can scrape around or make these plays, so I think we need to give credit to not just Zeke, but to the defensive linemen and the guys around him, even the (defensive backs), right. If they're not giving good defensive coverage, the quarterback can sit back there and throw it around, so it allows Zeke to do his job at linebacker with the rest of the guys on defense," Salanoa said.

Schulz, who primarily played linebacker as a sophomore last year, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father, a former collegiate football player at the United States Naval Academy, where he played for Radford graduate and former University of Hawaii quarterback Ken Niumatalolo.

"That's the one school that Zeke wants to pursue to play at, the Naval Academy. Their linebacker coach came down and expressed a lot of interest in Zeke," Salanoa shared.

As for the Rams (2-2), the win helped them avoid back-to-back losses after a 34-27 defeat at Skyview (Vancouver, Wash.) the week prior. It also evened their league record at 1-1 in the Division I standings of the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

"I think it was huge. We went over there in their territory, when everybody should be at the beach – I mean, that's how hot that sun was that day – and our guys showed up and we played and did what we needed to do," Salanoa said.

Salanoa credited his players and coaches for persevering through a couple of rough seasons the past two years. Radford won two games in 2022 and just one game in 2023, when it played a mix of D1 and Open division teams and lost by an average of more than five touchdowns per game.

"We've been getting our butts handed to us, for lack of better words, but I just feel like we're a better team this year. We're seasoned, we have one butt-whooping season under our belts and we've learned from it," Salanoa said.

He added, "Our players have bought into what we're doing and not a lot of young men will stick around after a season like we had last year, so to come back and to have that fire speaks volumes about our team and our coaches being able to motivate them because it's tough as a coach to be able to motivate young men in today's society while they're losing and I don't even know if losing is the right word – we were getting waxed – so I just think that our players are amazing and our coaches are amazing because they put in a lot of work that people outside don't see."

Schulz and the Rams will return to the gridiron Friday, when they host Pearl City (0-4 overall, 0-2 league). Kickoff at John E. Velasco Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

FOOTBALL

Ashton Akau, Kamehameha II — Ran for 150 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in a loss to Iolani 

Zayden Alviar-Costa, Campbell — Caught seven passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in a win over Farrington 

Germaine Bagasol, Waialua — Caught 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Castle

Tyson Ball, Campbell — Caught three passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Farrington 

Kaeo Bush, Roosevelt — Threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-26 passing with one interception in a win over Kaimuki 

Takeo Eckart, Kalani — Ran for 110 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries in a win over McKinley 

Austyn Filoteo, Campbell — Intercepted a pass and scored on a 44-yard fumble return for touchdown in a win over Farrington 

Kellen Fortson, Radford — Made three tackles and intercepted three passes in a win over Kailua 

Hunter Fujikawa, Punahou — Threw for 236 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-29 passing with one interception in a loss to Kamehameha

Sky Hirota, Waialua — Caught six passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Castle 

Kawika Hueu, Kamehameha-Maui — Ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in a win over Lahainaluna

Nui Kaapana, Kamehameha — Scored on a 95-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Punahou 

Shonn Keaunui, Moanalua — Made six tackles, including one for a loss, and scored on a 52-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Waianae 

Slater Kaleiohi, Waianae — Scored on a 98-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a loss to Moanalua 

Kekama Kane, Iolani — Caught seven passes for 154 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kamehameha II 

Malakai Kaumavae, Moanalua — Made six tackles, including two for losses with one sack, forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles in a win over Waianae 

Koo Kia, Punahou — Made 10 tackles in a loss to Kamehameha 

Lautiti Liufau, Farrington — Scored on a 51-yard interception return for touchdown in a loss to Campbell 

Aisiah Paogofie, Campbell — Recorded one sack, forced a fumble, broke-up a pass and scored on a 64-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Farrington 

Dillon Reis, Kaiser — Ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in a win over Kalaheo 

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Campbell — Threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns on 18-of-30 passing with one interception in a win over Farrington 

Kingston Salausa, Nanakuli — Threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing without an interception in a win over Pearl City 

Charlie Salazar, Keaau — Ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in a win over Waiakea

Caysen Samson, Kailua — Ran 12 times for 111 yards in a loss to Radford

JHeart Sisra, Castle — Scored on a 90-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Waialua

Shayden Takamatsu, Keaau — Caught four passes for 114 yards in a win over Waiakea 

Logan Thompson, Castle — Ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in a win over Waialua

CJ Villanueva, Iolani — Threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-27 passing without an interception in a win over Kamehameha II

Zion White, Punahou — Caught nine passes for 163 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kamehameha

Coming into the girls' volleyball season, Tyanah Mokiao-Atimalala was challenged by her coach. 

Tristan Ehia, entering his third season as coach at Campbell, knew that the senior-to-be middle blocker would have to play a pivotal role for the Sabers this fall. Safe to say that so far, Mokiao-Atimalala has lived up to the lofty aspirations that her coach had for her. 

Through Campbell's first two regular season matches last week, Mokiao-Atimalala leads the team in kills (24) and solo blocks (11). The 5-foot-10 middle blocker has also accumulated 17 digs and one ace for good measure.

"She was excellent. Not only her number of kills, or her block numbers, but her leadership and just keeping us tight because they were very contested games, especially against Mililani and she was a steady force," Ehia said. 

Against the Trojans last Tuesday, Mokiao-Atimalala posted a team-high 11 kills with five solo blocks and nine digs. The Sabers eked out a thrilling five-set win over the home team; they won the final two sets after falling behind two games to one. 

"Just rallying the team even when we were down, not giving into that despair and honestly, pushing them through and rallying the team and just celebrating the win with the team, that was the most impressive thing because maybe in previous seasons we fold in that situation, but her leadership really helped push us through and kept us steady and kept us focusing point forward," Ehia described. 

Mokiao-Atimalala is, by far, the player with the most varsity experience for the Sabers this fall. It is her fourth year on the team and her third in the starting lineup. With only four returnees from last year's squad, which went 6-5 in league play and finished fifth out of seven teams in the OIA Division I West. 

In looking ahead to the current season, Ehia said that before the last one even ended he knew that Mokiao-Atimalala would figure into a position of leadership. This fall she was tabbed as a team captain. 

"Over the years she's always been an important part of the team, but this year more so than previous years, she's really embracing that role. I believe she's finally realizing that it is her senior season, so she actually had to evolve from being one of the players to being more of our leader-type players and with a lot of our younger ones, she would be able to set the tone a lot better because a lot of them look up to her," Ehia said. 

The Sabers lost eight seniors to graduation in the spring, which left a void in leadership — one that Mokiao-Atimalala has most certainly helped to fill. 

"She's been that big part, she's been that senior leadership, along with the other seniors, but for her, because she's so physical and because she's done such a great job playing her position, the young kids follow her and she provides that leadership," Ehia stated. 

Being comfortable in a position of leadership didn't necessarily come naturally for Mokiao-Atimalala, but it is one that she has learned to embrace, according to her coach. 

"The biggest thing for her this season is her impact on and off the court, even in practices she's been our leader this season and she's really embraced the whole ‘student-athlete' part of it and that was in our conversations over the summer and in the preseason," Ehia said. 

Mokaio-Atimalala has proven to be both the by-example and vocal type of leader.

"She pushes them to get us to where we need to be during practices and just keeping up our energy and our effort and setting the tone," Ehia said. 

When describing her skillset on the court, Ehia circles back to one word. 

"Speed," Ehia stated. 

"She's speedy in the sense that she's got a quick arm swing, a dynamic arm swing, and she gets to her spot quickly as a middle blocker and as an attacker," he added.

In addition to her front-row talents, Mokiao-Atimalala has also shown vast improvements in her back-row abilities. 

"I think she's taking it a little more upon herself to take on not only her attacking, but her blocking and also her back row and her serving. Even though she's not a six-rotation player for us, she takes all those skills a lot more serious this season and it's kind of transferred to the girls to see how hard she's been working on those skills and if we needed to, we can have her play all six rotations," Ehia detailed. 

Mokiao-Atimalaa put her all-around talents on display again in Thursday's four-set triump at Nanakuli. She put down 13 kills, came up with eight digs, rang up a half-dozen solo blocks and served up one ace. 

Ehia recalled the final points of the fourth set, when the Sabers closed out the match with a seven-point run that was largely fueled by Mokiao-Atimalala. 

"In that stretch she had like, three kills and two blocks and was just in on every play. She was in the front row and we had a great matchup and I mean, she physically pushed us through on that one, so it's not only her numbers, but her presence," Ehia said. 

Campbell is off to its first 2-0 start to a season since 2019. The fact that its two wins were on the road against a pair of better-than-average West teams in Mililani and Nanakuli has Ehia's squad at the No. 10 spot in this week's ScoringLive Power Rankings. 

"For us it was huge. It was a huge win for us opening up against Mililani," Ehia said. "When I saw the schedule and what we had to start, we knew it was going to be a challenge for us, so to get two wins was huge for the girls and our program as well."

Campbell fell to Kapolei in four sets Tuesday night. Mokiao-Atimalala and the Sabers (2-1) will look to rebound Thursday, when they visit Pearl City. First serve for that match is scheduled for 7 p.m. 

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Taimane Ainuu, Iolani — Had 15 kills, eight digs and four set assists in a four-set win over Kamehameha and had 20 kills, nine digs, two set assists, two block assists and one ace in a four-set win over Punahou 

Lauren Brown, Maui Prep — Had 12 kills, six digs, two solo blocks and two aces in a three-set win over Lanai and had 14 kills, three digs, one solo block and an ace in a four-set win over Lanai 

Kalaweloilehua Chock, Kamehameha — Had 15 kills, six digs, two set assists and one block assist in a four-set loss to Iolani 

Kealoha Cox, Iolani — Had 23 kills and 10 digs in a four-set loss to Iolani 

Gianna Facciola, Waianae — Had 41 set assists, three aces and one dig in a four-set win over Waipahu

Poema Kalama-Kingma, Iolani — Had 16 kills, nine digs, two block assists and two aces in a four-set win over Punahou 

Khiana Kauweloa, Nanakuli — Had 34 set assists, 16 digs and three kills in a four-set loss to Campbell 

Savai Kilaulani, Campbell — Had 26 digs, two aces, two set assists and one kill in a five-set win over Mililani 

Avery Kirkham, Maui Prep — Had 13 kills, 17 digs and nine aces in a four-set win over Lanai 

Shaeniah La Fountain, Waipahu — Had 19 set assists, 13 digs, six kills and two aces in a three-set loss to Nanakuli 

Zsiare Lakalo, Campbell — Had 35 set assists, 10 digs and four kills in a five-set win over Mililani and had 45 set assists, 16 digs, three kills and one solo block in a four-set win over Nanakuli

Evan LeClair, Leilehua — Had 16 set assists, 14 digs, five kills and five aces in a five-set loss to Radford

Lisimaani Matautia, Kailua — Had 19 digs, 12 set assists, one kill and one ace in a four-set loss to Kaiser 

Marley-Alzie Matautia, Nanakuli — Had 11 kills, 10 digs, two aces and two block assists in a four-set loss to Campbell 

Makana Mello, Punahou — Had 44 set assists, six digs, two kills and two aces in a four-set loss to Iolani

Bailey Nakanelua, Iolani — Had 42 set assists, 11 digs, six kills, three total blocks and two aces in a four-set win over Kamehameha and had 46 set assists, 17 digs, three kills and three total blocks in a four-set win over Punahou

Zoey Offergeld, Maui Prep — Had 20 digs and two aces in a four-set win over Lanai 

Callie Pieper, Iolani — Had 12 kills, 14 digs and one block assist in a four-set win over Punahou 

Kailie Theler, Campbell — Had 15 kills, nine digs and one ace in a four-set win over Nanakuli

Brooklyn Tibayan, Leilehua — Had 16 kills, six aces, five digs, three block assists, three set assists and two solo blocks in a three-set win over Aiea