[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
Radford’s defense
keeps Falcons
grounded
Although Radford head coach Fred Salanoa's job description also includes the duties of offensive coordinator, he admits the Rams' emphasis to date has clearly been on defense.
That was true again last night under the lights at Kaiser Stadium in Hawaii Kai, where the Rams had their second solid defensive effort in as many weeks en route to a 31-0 victory over Kalani in an Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference game.
Kalani trailed just 7-0 through three quarters and managed 129 yards -- 101 on the ground -- against the Rams in the first half, but Radford regrouped after intermission to force four turnovers (the Rams forced six on the night) and limited the Falcons (0-2) to minus-19 yards the rest of the way.
In the series that best typified Radford's defensive grit, the Rams posted three consecutive stops behind the line of scrimmage (for a total of 18 yards) on Kalani's first possession of the second half after the Falcons recovered a fumble on the second-half kick-off. That seemed to provide the Falcons the break they needed and gave them a first down at the Radford 13-yard line, but the threat ended on fourth down when defensive back Jordan Rellin made the first of his two interceptions.
"Our defense has been holding us in this season, and they did a great job again tonight," said Salanoa, whose team recovered a fumble in the end zone to help fuel its season-opening win at Waialua.
"I'm an offensive coach, but I want to stack our defense first, and that's what I told our coaches coming into this season. We have a better chance of winning if the other team has a hard time making points. Offensively, we started out slow. Our quarterback (Stephen Baughn) made some of the wrong reads, but he's a young guy, and as time goes on we're going to do better."
Radford (2-0) took its 7-0 lead on only its second play from scrimmage when Roderick Price burst outside from 21 yards out. However, the Rams, who had three touchdowns called back because of penalties, were hard-pressed to deliver the knockout punch. A 4-yard scoring toss from Baughn to Sunny Belcherfinally gave the Rams some breathing room (at 14-0) a minute into the fourth quarter. Baughn finished 10-for-24 for 97 yards through the air.
"We just needed to pick it up in the second half," said Rellin, who had 41 return yards on his two interceptions.
Added Derrick Douglas, who also had a pair of interceptions: "(After the break) we had to close those gaps and stop them from running against us. Our line put pressure on the quarterback, and that gave us the time to make plays; and the offense did their job in the second half, and that was good."
Eric Venglar booted a 35-yard field goal and converted four point-after kicks for the Rams, while Radford linebacker Russell Wantowski raced 62 yards with a fumble recovery as a closing gesture to finish the scoring. Aaron Perry also added an 18-yard rushing touchdown for the Rams in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, Radford finished with 231 total yards.
Radford 31, Kalani 0
At Kaiser Stadium
Rad -- Rodrick Price 21 run (Eric Venglar kick).
Radford (2-0, 2-1) 7 0 0 24 -- 31 Kalani (0-3, 0-3) 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Rad -- Sonny Belcher 5 pass from Steven Baughn (Venglar kick)
Rad -- Eric Venglar 35 field goal
Rad -- Aaron Perry 18 run (Venglar kick)
Rad -- Russ Wiantowski 63 fumble return (Venglar kick)
RUSHING -- Radford: Price 10-53, Baughn 6-27, James Armstrong 11-50, Perry 4-32, Dennis Medina 1-0, Lincoln Kakina 4-4. Kalani: Carson Kim 1-(-3), James Miyashiro 10-41, Hoang Nguyen 1-0, Blane Tanabe 4-16, Darren Goya 4-(-1), Preston Pires 6-(-10).
PASSING -- Radford: Baughn 9-26-1-103, Medina 2-5-0-22. Kalani: Pires 1-15-5-20.
RECEIVING -- Radford: Venglar 4-27, Price 1-13, Belcher 4-44, Bruce Stales 1-16, Ray Burciaga 1-15, Nick Kaiser 1-14. Kalani: Brandon Liao 1-20.
Junior varsity -- Radford 27, Kalani 0.
