CJ Caraang | SL

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Radford faced its toughest challenge of the year last weekend and was able to come away with a 28-7 win over host Nanakuli.

The Rams were able to shake off four turnovers to improve to 8-0 and 7-0 in Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II play. The Golden Hawks could not turn these takeaways into points and fell to 6-2 and 6-1.

"That happens in a game," Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. "That's why we talk about so much that our team is close and they never wavered. Us coaches got mad on the sideline for a couple of minutes, but our players stuck together and they still believed that they could make it happen at the end."

Radford's high-scoring offense was held to a just three touchdowns, its lowest output of the season. Quarterback Quintin Iriarte threw a season-high three interceptions and running back Ace Faumui fumbled the ball once after a pass reception.

"You always want to keep the defense honest and that's why we have to throw in some pass plays at times," said Salanoa. "Unfortunately the times when we threw in the pass plays, it ended up going for Nanakuli's good."

However, the Rams defense did not allow a single point off of a turnover and accumulated 10 total sacks on the night. The Golden Hawks' lone score of the night came after a short punt went out of bounds to give Nanakuli possession at the Radford 29-yard line.

"We kept them on the field too much with all those turnovers, but they played resilient and played lights out on Nanakuli's offense," said Salanoa.

Defensive standouts for the Rams include defensive lineman Dillon Sunday, who had three and one-half sacks, and linebacker Jordan Walker (nine tackles, two sacks).

The defense's ability to get in the backfield was rewarded when Thomas Reid strip-sacked Nanakuli quarterback Nainoa Banks and scooped up the loose ball for a 66-yard touchdown return.

While the Golden Hawks were able to neutralize Radford's passing game, they had no answer for Faumui and the Rams' rushing attack. Faumui finished with 134 of the team's 231 total rushing yards on 16 carries. He also ran in a 1-yard score and caught a 9-yard touchdown pass.

"Going into the game, we planned to stop their passing game, more than their running game," said Nanakuli coach Keala Watson. "Their scores on the pass is real quick and they can run scores up real fast just by passing. Of course they got a little more yards on the run, but I think that was one of the ways we contained their scoring."

Radford will wrap up its regular season schedule at Waialua Friday.