Rams earn D-II title

Daniels carries Radford to a 9-7 victory over Moanalua in the championship game

>> Kahuku stops Aiea

Alex Daniels didn't want the title to slip away.

The shifty Radford running back took the load on his shoulders as the Rams rallied for a 9-7 victory over Moanalua last night in the OIA Division II football championship game at Aloha Stadium.

In what was otherwise a defensive slugfest, Daniels ran wild -- especially in the decisive second half -- to finish with 151 yards on 28 carries and the winning touchdown.

"We came out and fought because they were giving us nothing," said Daniels, who played a lot bigger than his 5-foot-7, 150-pound frame.

Daniels ripped off runs of 13, 19, 20 and 11 yards late in the third quarter and early in the fourth before scoring on a 1-yard run to cap a 72-yard drive with 10:39 left. Jamie Whitworth's extra point hit the upright, but the Rams still led by two, 9-7.

"I got a great block by my (first) cousin, Trevor (Maldon)," said Daniels. "This (title) feels great. I like the feeling. Hopefully, we can give the same look we had in this game at the state tournament."

The season continues for the Rams (8-2) and the Menehunes (8-2), who enter the D-II state-title chase next week.

Radford won its sixth OIA championship and first since 1981. Moanalua has never won an OIA football crown.

Head coaches Fred Salanoa of the Rams and Arnold Martinez of the Menehunes took over sagging programs in 2003 and the rebuilding is nearly complete at both schools.

"You're champions in here," Martinez told his players in the locker room after the loss. "I don't care about the game. We love you."

Martinez was surprised his offense was stifled for much of the game.

"This is the first time on offense that we've had little production," he said. "We'll take a look at the film, but it never looks as bad as you think it is and it never looks as good as you think it is."

Radford, led by defensive end Ryan Wantowski, held Moanalua to 104 yards of offense. Menehunes quarterback Stanford Leti, a fearsome runner all season, gained only 7 yards on eight carries.

"Moanalua is a very good defensive team, so we knew we had to use our defense to stop them and get good field position in order to win the game," Salanoa said. "We stressed to the players that defense was going to win this game. We weren't looking for a blowout."

Alex Daniels' brother, Travis Daniels, recovered two fumbles for the Rams, including one with 7:27 remaining at the Radford 47.

The Menehunes' defense, although it gave up 289 yards, was nearly as good as the Rams' defense. Linebacker Quinton Tang gave the Menehunes a 7-3 lead with his interception of Ryan Burciaga's pass and 31-yard touchdown return with 1:12 left in the first half.

After Tim Guting intercepted another Burciaga pass on the first play of the second half, the momentum was with the Menehunes -- until Daniels stole their thunder.

"Man, I don't know what happened," Tang said. "It was a hard night. We wanted it so much. Now we'll have to step it up at states."

Burciaga rushed for 54 yards and passed for 86, but he hurt his collarbone, which teammates fear is broken, at the end of the third quarter and left the game.

Moanalua tried five fake punts and three were successful. A fourth appeared successful, but was called back because of a penalty.

"We saw a weakness in their punt-return team," Martinez said. "We thought we could catch them sleeping."

The Rams get a first-round bye in the states and play the Kauai vs. Kamehameha-Maui winner in two weeks. The Menehunes, whose only two losses this season are to Radford, play the Big Island champion (either Kamehameha-Hawaii or Konawaena) next week.

"We're not done. We have a lot of football left," Martinez said.

Salanoa has similar thoughts.

"It's great to have a title, but we want a state title. That's what we're going for," he said.

Salanoa's brother, Thor Salanoa, was on Radford's 1981 OIA title team that went on to win the Prep Bowl.

"Hopefully, we'll have the same mojo going and take it right to a state D-II title," he added.

---