HondaReport.com - Football: Radford edges Waipahu, 24-23

Here is the original, uncut version.

The shorter, edited story ran in Saturday's Honolulu-Star Bulletin.

MILILANI—Kyle Blair scored on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Burciaga with 1:16 to play, lifting Radford over Waipahu, 24-23, last night at Mililani Stadium.

Blair caught the pass at the Waipahu 15-yard line and beat a defender to the sideline for the touchdown. Eric Venglar, who had his only catch of the game during the game-winning drive, nailed the extra-point kick for the final margin of victory.

Radford improved to 2-0 in Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference play (2-1 overall). Waipahu, which had rallied from a 10-0 deficit to take the lead, dropped to 1-1 in league play (1-2 overall).

“That’s what football is all about, having fun,” Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. “We’re not perfect, but we can minimize mistakes. We never gave up.”

Blair finished with five receptions for 116 yards. Burciaga completed just 7 of 20 attempts for 136 yard with one interception, but was relatively mistake-free.

Radford committed two turnovers, but Waipahu fumbled the ball away five times to the Rams. In addition, Waipahu committed seven penalties for 74 yards in the first half. Those mistakes nullified 298 total yards in offense by the Marauders.

Austen Benito completed 11 of 21 attempts for 177 yards, but fumbled twice on fourth-and-short situations in Radford territory. Operating out of a single-back, slot receiver set most of the night, Waipahu rushed for 121 yards in 32 attempts.

Radford, operating out of a single-back, three-receiver formation much of the time, ran 35 times for 84 yards. The Rams were determined to run the ball on most first downs.

“Maybe we should’ve passed a little more. We wanted to establish our running game,” Salanoa said. “We’ve got a big offensive line.”

Waipahu, which arrived at the stadium during the singing of the national anthem, seemed off-key for the entire first quarter. At one point, the Marauders fumbled away three consecutive possessions. Radford cashed in for 10 points with a 34-yard field goal by Benglar and a 1-yard touchdown run by Alex Daniels.

The Rams led 10-0 with 10:44 left in the second quarter.

Waipahu finally responded with an 18-yard option keeper to the end zone by the nimble-footed Benito. After missing the PAT kick, Waipahu trailed 10-6 with 8:11 left in the first half.

The Marauders seized the lead on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Benito to Ben Ameperosa with 2:27 to go in the half.

Radford drove 69 yards in six plays, and Russell Wantowski’s 9-yard touchdown run gave Radford a 17-13 lead with 50 seconds to play before intermission.

Radford punter Stephen Baughn stepped back and out of the end zone as the third quarter ended for a safety. That brought Waipahu within 17-15.

Waipahu went ahead after a 56-yard drive that consumed 5 minutes and 16 seconds. Benito scored on a play-action rollout from 14 yards out. Krypton Taito’s PAT run gave Waipahu a 23-17 lead with 6:44 to play in the game.