4:03 p.m. Radford and Pac-Five are ready to rumble.
Pupule picks:
Pupule Paul: Radford 41-7. The difference, the biggest one, is that Radford has a veteran quarterback in Cody Lui-Yuen, while the ‘Pack have a lot of inexperienced, first-year players.
Felipe “Please spell my name right” Ojastro: Radford 17-10
Kalani Takase: Radford 24-10
Michael Lasquero: 27-20
It’s been a HOT and HUMID day. I won’t be surprised if we have some cases of cramps and dehydration out there.
4:14 p.m.
SAFETY! Radford goes 3-and-out from its 1-foot line, then the punter blasts the ball off his teammate’s (up back) okole. The ball bounces out of bounds. Pac-Five leads 2-0!
4:19 p.m.
Couple of thoughts as Pac-Five crosses midfield against the Rams. 1) How did Tsubasa Brennan of Pac-Five get a first name like Tsubasa? Felipe asked and I don’t know. 2) Walter Quitan, University’s boys basketball coach, is not enjoying the football season as much as last year. His talented point guard, Anthony Canencia, is the starting quarterback for the Wolfpack.
Rewind a bit. As a freshman, Canencia broke a collarbone. The following season, he broke the other one. As a junior, he sat out of football. But now he’s back on the football field.
How’s he doing? Canencia just threw a long touchdown pass to give Pac-Five an 8-0 lead. Not too shabby!
4:34 p.m.
Lui-Yuen launches a nice, soft long pass down the middle for a touchdown. Rams call time out, go for 2 on the conversion and the run is stuffed at the 1-yard line. Why teams go for 2 early in a game never ceases to amaze me.
Pac-Five 8, Radford 6, 3:31 left in the first quarter as the ‘Pac begins its drive. Rams aren’t sitting back any more. They’re bringing people from all angles against Canencia now.
4:59 p.m.
Long interception return for a touchdown by Radford got called back due to a personal foul. Rams drive stalled at the Wolfpack 8-yard line.
5:20 p.m.
Score remains Pac-Five 8, Radford 6, at halftime.
5:47 p.m.
Rams score on a run up the middle, now lead 12-8 with 8:42 left in the third quarter. Time out. They’re going for 2 again.
5:50 p.m.
Play-action pass by Lui-Yuen on the 2-point try is good. Rams lead 14-8.
5:52 p.m.
Rams defense continues to bring the heat on Canencia. He isn’t roaming to the sidelines anymore. They’re “pinching” him.
And there’s a possible explanation for Tsubasa Brennan’s first name. Tsubasa is “wing” in Japanese. Really.
6:05 p.m.
Lui-Yuen with a sweet, deep touchdown pass on a wheel route. Rams opt for a regular PAT kick and now lead 21-8. I can’t figure the logic of going for 2 earlier and now going for 1. I’ll ask later.
6:21 p.m.
Touchdown pass by Canencia cuts the lead to 27-15 with 1:57 to go in the third quarter.
6:34 p.m.
Lui-Yuen to Jameson Pasigan for a touchdown. Radford leads 34-15 with 9:52 remaining.
6:39 p.m.
Radford ball after another Pac-Five punt. Rams have done an outstanding job of limiting Canencia’s effectiveness near the sidelines. I’d love to see the ‘Pack try a shovel pass. Radford’s giving up the hash area to contain Canencia, so why not?
Then again, does anyone have a shovel pass in the ol’ playbook anymore?
6:48 p.m.
Long touchdown play off a screen pass by Lui-Yuen. Rams lead 41-15 with 7:04 left.
7:04 p.m.
Touchdown run for Radford up the middle. PAT wide left. Rams lead 47-15, 2:44 to go.
8:02 p.m.
Jordan Ross, a sophomore, has bolted for two touchdown runs for the Raiders in the second game. His first TD gave ‘Iolani the lead and they scored on a two-point run, a muddle-huddle style sneak.
Kalani needed just two plays from scrimmage to score its first touchdown via air, but their fake PAT run was stopped short.
Ross scored again with 7:30 left in the first quarter for a 15-6 lead.
Tyler McKenna scored on a short blast up the middle to give the Raiders a 22-6 lead with 4:27 left in the opening quarter.
8:15 p.m.
Another touchdown run by Ross, a great cutback from left to right, his third TD of the game. ‘Iolani scored again on a 2-point run for a 30-6 lead with 2:37 to go in the first quarter.
Here’s a look at ‘Iolani’s throwback jerseys. Nice touch in honor of Father Bray.
8:38 p.m.
Raiders score again to open the lead to 37-6. J.T. Los Banos has an interception for ‘Iolani. More than 5 minutes left in the first half.
Raiders look like a machine. Nothing like a team that lost so many key starters to graduation.
8:51 p.m.
Austin Jim On with a TD pass, Raiders lead 44-6 with 1:20 remaining in the half. If his name sounds familiar, Jim On is a pitcher on the baseball team.
8:59 p.m.
Touchdown catch by Brandon Roberts, his second TD grab of the game, from Noah Brum. Kalani cuts the score to 44-12 with 6 seconds left in the first half.
9:30 p.m.
Nice TD run by Kalani running back Ikona Mamiya. Kalani cuts the lead to 44-20 with less than 5 minutes left in the third quarter.
9:53 p.m.
Lateral to Roberts, who throws a TD pass. Roberts then leaps high for the 2-point PAT pass. ‘Iolani’s lead is now 44-28 with 8:47 left.
10:05 p.m.
Mamiya leaps to the goal line for a touchdown run and a 2-point PAT pass brings Kalani within 44-36 with 4:25 left. Shades of last year’s wild ‘Iolani-Konawaena game.
10:14 p.m.
Fourth and 2 at the Kalani 25, the Raiders hit a crossing route for a catch-and-run touchdown to ice the game. I think. PAT is good, ‘Iolani now has a 51-36 lead with 1:40 left.
10:45 p.m.
Final score: 51-36. The Raiders played a lot of reserves on defense in the second half and Coach Wendell Look was, seemingly, content, that his guys had to battle for the win. It’s hard to find anything flawed when a team racks up 51 points, but he usually is as good as anyone at finding them in his own team.
On this night, though, ‘Iolani was voracious offensively. Look is already looking ahead to next Saturday’s home game against Leilehua.
As for any comparisons of his new speedy running back, Ross, to all-time great Joe Igber, it’s too early.
“I wouldn’t want to put that kind of pressure on him,” Look said.
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