Sat, Oct 8, 2011 @ Radford [ 6:30 pm ]

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Waianae

49

Radford

13

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Waianae (4-6-0)	7	7	14	21	49
Radford (1-7-0)	7	6	0	0	13

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Cody Lui-Yuen 89 yd 2 TD

Kekoa Kaluhiokalani 78 yd

Jordan Murao 40 yd

Leighton Panui 74 yd 3 TD

Dorsey Norris 37 yd 1 TD

Lawrence Akana 48 yd

Waianae RB Jaylen Mitchell fights for extra yardage against Radford. Brien Ing | SL

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Waianae RB Jaylen Mitchell leaps into the endzone, capping a 56-yard punt return. Brien Ing | SL

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Waianae RB Jaylen Mitchell fights for extra yardage against Radford. Brien Ing | SL

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Waianae RB Jaylen Mitchell leaps into the endzone, capping a 56-yard punt return. Brien Ing | SL

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Waianae turned a close game into a rout with 35 unanswered second-half points to beat Radford, 49-13, Saturday night at John Velasco Stadium to close out the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West season.

The Seariders (3-5 overall, 3-3 Red West) clinched the third seed in the West, while the Rams (1-7, 1-5) were eliminated. In the process, Waianae avoided a dreaded five-way coin toss.

"We were so worried about that," Waianae coach Dan Matsumoto said of the urgency to win. "Five guys on the coin toss, you don't want to end a season that way."

Mililani, Kapolei and Aiea finished tied for fourth with 2-4 records. Head-to-head, each beat one, but not the other, so the next tie-breaker was common opponents to derive the quality of record. Since the Trojans were the only one of the three to beat Waianae, Mililani won that tie-breaker to become the fourth seed, football coordinator Harold Tanaka said. With Kapolei and Aiea left, the tie-breaker reverts back to head-to-head; the Hurricanes beat Na Alii to become the fifth seed, leaving Aiea sixth.

First-round matchups will have West third seed Waianae hosting East sixth seed Kaiser; East third seed Kailua hosting West sixth seed Aiea; West fourth seed Mililani hosting East fifth seed Castle; and East fourth seed Moanalua hosting West fifth seed Kapolei. Dates for first-round games will be decided in a few days.

East top seed Farrington and runner-up Kahuku, as well as West top seed Leilehua and second-seed Campbell, have first-round byes. They will host quarterfinals the following week.

Meanwhile, the Rams tried to keep their playoff hopes alive by staying close with the Seariders in the first half. But Waianae exploded for five second-half touchdowns.

Running back Leighton Panui had 14 rushes for 74 yards and three TDs, two in the second half, including one for 37 yards, for the Seariders. But RB Jaylen Mitchell led with 86 yards on just eight carries. He also returned a punt 56 yards for a TD.

Jason Towne had just four carries for 42 yards, but scored twice. Koali Opunui also scored for Waianae.

Yet, the Seariders labored in the first half, as they lost a fumble on their first series of the game. The Rams quickly cashed in with Andrew Togiailua's five-yard TD reception from Cody Lui-Yuen. Cayman Conley's PAT gave Radford a 7-0 lead.

But the Seariders responded by scoring on their next series on Towne's 28-yard TD run. Shaughn Spencer's PAT tied the game at 7.

Waianae took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter following recovering a muffed punt by Radford at midfield. Panui scored the first of his three TDs on a four-yard run.

The Seariders threatened to score midway in the second quarter when they reached the Rams' 9, but lost a fumble that was returned to the Radford 25. During the drive, the Rams faked a punt with punter Cayman Conley completing a 13-yard pass to Dorsey Norris for a first down. That eventually set up Lui-Yuen's 24-yard TD pass to Norris just before the half. But Conley's PAT was smothered, keeping the Rams behind, 14-13.

"We told this team, we need to win this game so we don't have to decide it by a coin toss," Matsumoto said. "That was the talk the whole week. We needed to win this game."