Radford defensive lineman Dillon Sunday led the defensive effort with three and one-half sacks in a win over Nanakuli. CJ Caraang | SL

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Fri, Oct 2, 2015 @ Nanakuli [ 8:00 pm ]

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Radford

28

Nanakuli

7

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Radford (13-0-0)	7	7	7	7	28
Nanakuli (7-3-0)	7	0	0	0	7

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Nainoa Banks 63 yd 1 TD

Quintin Iriarte 97 yd 2 TD

Nainoa Banks 23 yd

Ace Faumui 134 yd 1 TD

Keanu Momoa 33 yd 1 TD

Blaise Manabe 28 yd 1 TD

NANAKULI — Radford dominated the trenches en route to a 28-7 win over host Nanakuli in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II contest Friday night.

The Rams, ranked No. 2 in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Football Power Rankings, totaled 10 sacks to remain undefeated in 2015. Radford improved to 8-0 and 7-0 while the third-ranked Golden Hawks dropped to 6-2 and 6-1.

"It feels great to be on top right now," said Radford defensive lineman Dillon Sunday, who had three and one-half sacks in the win. "We just came out ready to play and we prepared all week. It was more of a mental game than a physical."

Nanakuli saw little success against the Rams' defense and finished with 96 yards of total offense when the night was over. The Golden Hawks also turned it over on downs twice and could not take advantage of four Radford turnovers.

"They had answers for everything," said Nanakuli coach Keala Watson. "Whatever we threw out at them, they just countered it."

Linebacker Jordan Wallker had nine tackles and two sacks and Sunday had five tackles for loss to lead the defense.

Radford's strong defensive play helped lead to two second half scores. The Golden Hawks turned it over on downs inside their own 5-yard line on their first possession of the third quarter and Ace Faumui was able to score on a 1-yard blast for the Rams. Radford's final score of the night came after Thomas Reid strip-sacked Nanakuli quarterback Nainoa Banks and returned the loose ball 66 yards to the house.

"I think it's just the mindset of our defense and the way they play," said Radford coach Fred Salanoa. "We're going to come at you and you need to block us. The coaching staff did a good job with the game plan and the defensive unit executed what they needed to execute and it played into our favor."

Faumui was the catalyst for the Radford offense, having rushed for 134 of the team's total 231 yards on 16 carries. He also caught a 9-yard touchdown pass for the Rams' first score of the game. Kodi Ongory-Mathias chipped in 62 yards on 11 carries to supplement the rushing attack.

"Ace and Kodi did a tremendous job," said Salanoa. "They're a one-two punch and they feed off each other. We're able to put any one of them inside there and feel comfortable with what we're having as far as the running game."

Faumui's touchdown reception capped a 14-play, 94-yard drive on the Rams' first possession of the night. Faumui went in motion prior to the snap and caught a swing pass from Quintin Iriarte in open space for the score. Roman Gennero's PAT gave Radford an early 7-0 lead.

The Golden Hawks' lone score of the night came after a short punt went out of bounds at the Radford 29-yard line. Five plays later Banks hit Keanu Momoa on a slant route for a 6-yard touchdown pass. Clifford Cunningham tacked on the extra point to the tie game with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

Radford regained the lead for good with a 10-play, 90-yard drive just before the end of the first half. After converting on fourth-and-inches, the Rams went no huddle and got it down to the Nanakuli 10-yard line after a pass interference penalty and two quick strikes to Thomas Reid. Blaise Manabe's caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Iriarte to make the score 14-7 with 1.2 remaining before halftime.

The Rams wrap up regular season play with a road game against Waialua next Friday while Nanakuli will look to get back into the win column when it hosts Kalani next Saturday.