Prep preview: Radford eager for playoffs, Leilehua
Oct. 19—It's survive and advance time for Leilehua, Radford and the rest of the playoff teams in the OIA. Historically, Leilehua and Radford have a unique connection as schools with strong ties to military communities.
It's survive and advance time for Leilehua, Radford and the rest of the playoff teams in the OIA.
Historically, Leilehua and Radford have a unique connection as schools with strong ties to military communities.
They have produced elite talent—Leilehua's Adrian Murrell played for the New York Jets and Radford's Ashley Lelie played for the Denver Broncos—and are part of the OIA's title town lore.
They have not met on the gridiron since'19. Leilehua has won the last 16 matchups. Radford last beat the Mules in 1987, even though Murrell was in his heyday as a Leilehua game changer. The Rams limited Murrell to 29 rushing yards in a 13-7 win. Just two weeks earlier, Murrell had rushed for 246 yards in a win over Mililani.
When the teams meet on Friday at Hugh Yoshida Stadium in the opening round of the OIA Division I playoffs, the Mules (4-5, 3-3 ) will be a decisive favorite against Radford (1-6, 1-5 ), which won its first game last week.
"Everyone goes into their next game 0-0, the same clean record. Bottom line is we need to win on the scoreboard our we'll be turning in our pads, " longtime Radford coach Fred Salanoa said. "It's just like every week. We don't try to get more hyped for any game, to try and amaze the team and the crowd. We lift, we condition, we watch film. We meet as coaches for two to three hours each night practice. Just a normal grind that all the other schools are possibly doing."
The Mules are stoked about being in the postseason. The Open Division schedule of 2022, and the blended Open /Division I slate this fall was a mighty task.
"The challenge of being placed in the Open the past two years has given our players a sense of joy and accomplishment making the playoffs, " Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu said. "It's about hard work, sacrifice and selflessness. They've learned how to commit and invest into the process of building a winning program. Each player has accepted his role. It's reflected on the field and in the classroom."
The journey has been dry and dusty, but the Radford Rams also have resilience and grit. There is no other way under the guidance of Salanoa and his staff. The Rams have endured through a second tough season in Division I. After going 1-5 in OIA D-I play last year, Radford closed the'23 regular season with its first win, 33-24.
It's the second year in a row that the Rams have beaten Castle in the regular-season finale to prevent an oh-fer league mark. Friday's playoff battle against Leilehua gives the Rams a chance to wreak havoc on any of the probabilities, including the Mules' win streak against Radford.
"To see the victory, see the kids come out on top (against Castle ), it was great to see. I've played on a team where we had wins and had to forfeit them all because of an ineligible player. I've coached teams that were winless. I've had teams where we won every single game and a state championship. But this feeling was special because they showed up, " Salanoa said.
"Every day, they clean up the lockerroom. We have so much going on here with construction. What makes this team special isn't the outcome, but that they kids continue to arrive and practice on a consistent, daily basis. A majority of kids these days, seeing our scores, would not show up. You deal with social media says, your classmates, what auntie and uncle and brother and sister say, your peers from other schools. It's tough to go through a season like this knowing that you are probably outnumbered, outmanned, outweighed against the teams we're going against in the Open Division. I think that's the biggest accomplishment and payback to us as coaches, seeing what kind of character these kids have."
Leilehua will put a balanced offense on the turf with running back Cole Northington as a focal point. Tim Arnold has been one of the breakout playmakers in the OIA, a reliable possession receiver with go-route speed. The Rams know plenty about the Mules.
"This team is big and fast, but the thing about Leilehua that is consistent in my mind, they have a coach in Mark Kurisu who I hold as one of the top defensive minds in the state. He always has his team prepared, " Salanoa said. "A very cerebral guy, a teacher on campus and close with his kids. They have a lot of looks on the defensive side. They're going to bring exotic blitzes, the standup look."
With a smaller enrollment, Radford's success in more recent years has been in Division II, when it won the state championship. Since bumping up to D-I, the struggle has been real for the Rams : 0-8 in 2016, 1-8 in'17, 2-8 in'18, 0-8 in'19, 6-3 in'21 and 2-6 in'22.
The blended Open /D-I schedule this fall included four Top 10 teams on Radford's schedule in the first four games. Farrington, Kapolei, Mililani and Waipahu were followed by Waianae and Kailua. In other words. Waipahu, already a D-I powerhouse, was injected with a big dose of transfers in the offseason.
A mainstay in D-I, Kailua is another sizable program on the cusp between Open and D-I when it comes to talent.
There are no breathers. Leilehua is a hungry team that took its lumps in'22 as an Open Division team. The Mules were 3-3 in OIA Open /D-I play, beating Kailua, Moanalua, Aiea and Nanakuli while losing to Campbell and Farrington, then forfeiting to Kahuku last week.