Radford finally got its chance to get onto the field and rallied late for a victory.
After winning its league opener by forfeit, Radford used a fourth-quarter rally to beat host Roosevelt 28-20 in an OIA Division II game on Friday.
Radford (2-0) won its league opener over Anuenue by forfeit on Aug. 15 and struggled to find a rhythm and consistency against Roosevelt (0-2) in its first live action of the season.
"A lot of mistakes," Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. "Hopefully we can get that squared away before we head out for San Diego on Tuesday.
"Coming into this game, I felt we were OK."
Chance Cacatian scored the go-ahead touchdown from 3 yards out to put Radford ahead 21-20 with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. The score was set up when the Rams got the ball deep in Rough Riders territory after Roosevelt bobbled its punt attempt.
Later, Radford’s Vaaalotasi Jerome intercepted Roosevelt quarterback Keanu Furtado’s pass on the next play. But Radford failed to gain much yardage and was forced to punt.
On Roosevelt’s first drive, Rexford Domingo intercepted Furtado’s pass and returned it for a touchdown. Roman Gennero’s PAT put the Rams up 28-20 with 7:16 remaining.
The Rams stopped the Rough Riders’ final drive to seal the win.
"It shows what they’re about," Salanoa said of his team. "Nothing to take away from Roosevelt, they played a great game. Fortunate for us, we came out on top."
Roosevelt took a 20-15 lead with 2:29 left in the third quarter when Furtado connected with Ethan Okimoto on a 27-yard touchdown pass. Furtado ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Rough Riders a 20-15 lead.
Radford quarterbacks Andrew Morgan and Quintas Ward switched off with each other throughout the game. Ward got the start and Morgan ran in for a touchdown. Ward completed six of 10 passes and Morgan was 7-for-12 with two interceptions.
The Rough Riders scored twice in the first quarter behind their defense. Brendan Namba intercepted Morgan’s pass and returned the ball to the Rams’ 11-yard line. Three plays later, JD Walker ran in from the 1 to help Roosevelt close to 8-6 with less than five minutes left.
Roosevelt then recovered an on-side kick and found the end zone with less than a minute remaining in the quarter on Furtado’s 22-yard pass to Kenneth Kaili to gave his team a 12-8 lead.
In the second quarter, Morgan ran in for a touchdown from 42 yards out. Gennero’s PAT gave the Rams a 15-12 lead heading into halftime.
| At Roosevelt |
| Radford (2-0, 2-0) |
8 |
7 |
0 |
13 |
— |
28 |
| Roosevelt (0-2, 0-2) |
12 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
— |
20 |
Rad–Thomas Reid 22 pass from Andrew Morgan (Vaaalotasi Jerome pass from Mogan)
Roos–JD Walker 1 run (pass failed)
Roos–Kenneth Kaili 22 pass from Keanu Furtado (pass failed)
Rad–Morgan 42 run (Roman Gennero kick)
Roos–Ethan Okimoto 27 pass from Furtado (Furtado run)
Rad–Chance Cacatian 3 run (pass failed)
Rad–Rexford Domingo 20 intereception return (Gennero kick)
RUSHING–Radford: Morgan 8-74, Cacatian 9-26, Iuliano Tauanuu 2-6, Quintas Ward 3-2. Roosevelt: Bishop Moore 10-52, Furtado 5-(-1), Walker 4-(-5), Shayne Teruya 1(-6), Kevin Crespo 4-(-9).
PASSING–Radford: Morgan 7-12-2-61, Ward 6-10-0-53. Roosevelt: Furtado 12-20-4-135.
RECEIVING–Radford: Justin Lugo 6-43, Reid 3-32, Dylan Frank 2-27, Cacatian 2-12. Roosevelt: Shayne Teruya 3-48, Ethan Okimoto 3-29, Temujin Grey-Wolf 3-25, Kaili 2-34, Chaston Marcos 1-(-1).
Junior varsity–Radford 14, Roosevelt 0
