In a clear-cut case of a power team against a struggling one, Waianae hammered Radford 54-0 on Friday night at Raymond Torii Field.
The Seariders (6-1, 5-1 Oahu Interscholastic Association Blue), who are ranked No. 4 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Top 10, made it look easy, scoring on all but one of their first-half possessions for that same lopsided 54-0 count at halftime.
The scoring differential was no surprise. Waianae got as far as the Division I state semifinals a year ago, and although that’s when the Rams (0-6, 0-5) captured the D-II state crown, they moved up a class and lost a bunch of leaders to graduation. Just one week ago, Radford took it on the chin, 83-0, to defending D-I state champion and No. 1 Kahuku.
“They’ve got some good players, but they’re young and rebuilding,” Waianae coach Walter Young said about the Rams. “We did some good things on offense, defense and special teams. I’m proud that they did what they needed to do. They came out early and got the job done.”
Seariders quarterback Jaren Ulu threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in the Waianae win, and four running backs scored one TD each to power up the offense in a big way in front of an impactful offensive line. Isaiah Freeney latched on to two of Ulu’s TD passes.
“I liked that we shared the ball a lot and shared all of the love we could,” Ulu said after his senior-night game. “I’m glad all of the seniors could make plays on this wonderful last game that we can play on this home field.”
Defensively, the Seariders ramped it up, too, with interceptions by Donald Willets and Jonavan Valdez.
All told, Waianae held Radford to minus-41 rushing yards and minus-25 yards from scrimmage. Offensively, the Seariders gained 353 yards, including 223 on the ground.
“We try to be balanced on offense,” the Seariders’ Young said. “That is our focus and we got a good all-around effort. “On defense, we made stops and put them in bad predicaments.”
Two Radford quarterbacks, Randy Wright and Austin Antoni, went a combined 3-for-23 passing against a heavy Seariders rush. Waianae’s Devin Cabrera-Anetipa, Francis Kilioni, Francis Mailo and Jaylen Gonzales contributed with sacks. Gonzales’ sack was on Rams punter Chase Murphy on fourth down and it led to a second-quarter touchdown.
“We’re a young team and we’ve got to get back to the drawing board and get the fundamentals down,” said Rams senior defensive back Jonah Soakai, who was part of last season’s D-II state championship team. “This is a growing year, but I think they (teammates) can do it next year once they get the feeling of D-I.”
Lon Passos, the first-year Radford head coach, said simply, “Waianae ran the ball well, they passed well and their defense was solid. They’re a good team.”
