Jordan Taamu lofted a 13-yard fade pass to Israel Kaleo in the back right corner of the end zone with 2:17 left to lift Pearl City past OIA Division II rival Radford 34-26 on Saturday night in Aiea.
Taamu hit Kaleo again with the 2-point conversion, and then Joseph Komomua intercepted a pass by Radford’s Quintas Ward to deny the Rams’ next drive. Komomua’s pick was the only turnover of the game, and it came at the most opportune time.
The game wasn’t over yet, however, as the Chargers (5-0, 5-0) were stopped on a fourth-and-1 at their own 43.
Radford (4-2, 4-1) gave it one last-gasp effort in the final minute but was thwarted when Pearl City’s Jackson Fuamatu blazed in for a sack. On the last play of the game, with one second to go, Ward fumbled, and lineman Cameron Senegal picked it up and tried to bull-rush it, but he only made it 5 yards before being tackled to end the game.
"It was a good game by two good teams," Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. "Our kids were resilient. We don’t want them to ever lie down, even in the final seconds. We need to fight all the way to the end and we did that.
"When a team has a good quarterback like Taamu and a good running back like (Dominic) Maneafaiga, it’s really hard to key on one of them."
Maneafaiga rushed for 95 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground and another on a 56-yard bomb from Taamu.
Taamu went 20-for-31 for 241 yards and three touchdowns.
"We practice that play a lot," Taamu said, referring to the winning fade pass. "We work on it with our tall receivers (including the 6-foot-2 Kaleo), trying to perfect it.
"We just tried to stay confident tonight. It didn’t matter that (we were in a pressure situation)."
The Chargers built a 20-6 lead in the second quarter, but the Rams fought back to make it 20-12 with 2:03 to go in the half when Ward connected with Solomon Loggins for a 33-yard touchdown.
Pearl City controlled the ball for most of the third quarter, and it appeared the Chargers would keep Radford at bay. But the Rams scored on their only possession of the period with a quick-strike, Ward-to-Reid Thomas 50-yard touchdown down the right sideline to push the Rams within 2 at 20-18.
Maneafaiga’s 10-yard touchdown run on the last play of the third quarter put the Chargers up 26-18, but the Rams struck right back with a 55-yard drive capped by Chance Cacatian’s 1-yard TD run.
A trick-play, 2-point conversion pass from receiver Justin Lugo to Ward made it 26-26 early in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the dramatic ending.
"It was a very good game," Pearl City coach Robin Kami said. "We told the kids that with 22 days off without a game we would probably struggle and that we’ve got to weather the storm.
"Jordan had a great game and the O-line and the defense played great."
Both coaches know there’s a good chance that the two D-II front-runners will meet again in the OIA playoffs or states.
"It’s a long season," Salanoa said. "Right when the ‘L’ sank in, we talked to the team about how we’ll be seeing them again sooner or later."
| At Aiea |
| Pearl City (5-0, 5-0) |
12 |
8 |
6 |
8 |
— |
34 |
| Radford (4-2, 4-1) |
6 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
— |
26 |
Rad–Dylan Frank 11 pass from Andrew Morgan (pass failed)
PC–Jarrett Sanchez 18 run (kick failed)
PC–Dominic Maneafaiga 56 pass from Jordan Taamu (pass failed)
PC–Maneafaiga 9 pass from Taamu (Taamu run)
Rad–Solomon Loggins 35 pass from Quintas Ward (pass failed)
Rad–Thomas Reid 50 pass from Ward (run failed)
PC–Maneafaiga 10 run (kick failed)
Rad–Chance Cacatian 1 run (Ward pass from Justin Lugo)
PC–Israel Kaleo 13 pass from Taamu (Kaleo pass from Taamu)
RUSHING–Pearl City: Maneafaiga 17-95, Taumu 5-38, MJ Keopuhiwa 5-16, Sanchez 2-13, Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa 1-(minus 1). Radford: Cacatian 15-45, Morgan 5-8, Ward 3-(minus 7).
PASSING–Pearl City: Taamu 20-31-0-241. Radford: Morgan 8-11-0-60, Ward 9-15-1-186.
RECEIVING–Pearl City: Domingo-Ishikawa 7-87, Kaleo 3-38, Dante McGee 3-34, Maneafaiga 2-60, Kavossie Mason 2-11, Keopuhiwa 2-4, Garrett Kanamu 1-7. Radford: Reid 6-110, Lugo 6-46, Loggins 2-71, Cacatian 2-8, Frank 1-11.
Junior varsity–Radford 18, Pearl City 0
