Raiders Repeat As Div II State Champions
December 5, 2008
by Al Linsky
It started off a bit scary, as Radford QB Mosiah Manuma hit Andrew Forester in the endzone on the first play of the game. 7-0, Radford.
But the Raiders put together a solid drive that ended with a nice 34 yard touchdown run by Kellen Imada to tie it at 7-7.
The defenses of both teams then took over with no more scoring until Jarret Arakawa hit a streaking Trevyn Tulonghari who made a great catch in traffic for a 27 yard TD and a 14-7 lead.
The Rams weren't done, though, as they put together a nice drive to open the second half ended by an 18 yard touchdown pass to Brad Osborne. All tied up at 14-14.
Breland Almadova made quick work of that tie score, though, as he returned the kickoff 67 yards all the way. This was one beautiful run! 21-14, Raiders.
Almadova's run turned the tide and the momentum strongly in the Raiders' favor. Not so secret weapon Kela Marciel was put in on offense and responded with a 70 yard, vintage Kela, TD run. 28-14, Raiders.
Imada put the final nail in the coffin with a 49 yard run of his own. 35-14, Raiders.
The Rams scored on the last play of the game to make the final score 35-20.
This was a great team win with the defense controlling the Ram offense and constantly coming up with big plays. It seemed that Sealii Epenesa was everywhere stuffing the runs, sometimes behind the line of scrimmage to have a monstrous game. Carl Gibson had nine big tackles and an interception. All night long the defense outguessed the Ram strategies for a great team effort.
Superb season, Raiders!
To see more photos, please visit iolani-events.org.
