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Castle Knights

Interim Head coach: Junior Pale (1st season)
Offensive coordinator: Kip Botelho
Defensive coordinator: Kaipo Pale

Players to watch: DB Malachi Rombawa (5-9, 155, Sr.), DB Pekelo Poomaihealani (6-1, 165, Sr.), LB Haloa Sadowski (6-1, 190, Sr.), LB/DL Kaden Loa (6-3, 210, Sr.), SB/WR Kalahikiola Estacado-Matthews (5-7, 165, Sr.)

Coach's words: "You can expect that our boys will be playing hard from the first play to the last play of every game and that whatever the outcome, each player left everything on the field. Due to the cancellation of last season, it's going to be a surprise for all teams, so we're just excited that football is back for all the kids." - Junior Pale

SL's take: Change is in the air for the Knights this fall - at least, in the interim it is. Junior Pale takes the reins of the program for one year while coach John Hao is on a leave of absence to tend to personal matters. Pale, a 1985 Mid-Pacific graduate, was the former longtime defensive coordinator at PAC-5, where he coached beside Botelho for 33 years. After Botelho decided in the spring to step down from the PAC-5 program that his father, Don, brought to prominence decades ago, Pale - who is the head of security at Castle - was approached by Knights' athletic director Laynie Sueyasu about taking over as interim coach for the 2021 season. Pale made sure he brought his fellow coaches over from PAC-5 - including Botelho, who will direct the offense - and his son, Kaipo, who has ascended to defensive coordinator. Pale also has the benefit of a few holdover coaches from Hao's staff, including Arnubi Bruhn, Hao's DC in 2019. Another 'returnee' that the Knights will benefit from is Estacado-Matthews, who led the team in rushing (593 yards), receiving (350 yards) and total TDs (10). Estacado-Matthews is expected to carry much of the load offensively and will also see lots of time at RB and even wildcat QB, in addition to spot duty at DB. The offensive line is not short on size and will be anchored by a pair of towering tackles in LT Dorian Williams (6-8, 290, So.) and RT Victor Lenchanko (6-3, 310, Sr.). Williams is raw, to be sure, but a promising prospect with his size and being relatively new to the sport, while Lenchanko is a more polished product at this point with good feet and deceiving quickness for his size. Lefty Dante Ching (5-7, 155, Jr..) is the starter at QB. With his ability to scramble, expects Botelho to utilize more sprint-outs and half-rolls to move the pocket for his height-challenged signal-caller. Diesel Goya (5-7, 135, Sr.) has good hands and brings shiftiness out of the slot. The linebacking corps will be the strength of the defense, which is undersized up front. Loa is steady at MLB, while Sadowski and Utah-transfer Ezekiel Lafo (6-2, 225, Sr.) are a pair of versatile OLBs. Bronson Pakele (5-10, 210, Jr.), a Maryknoll transfer, is also expected to contribute at LB. Rombawa and Poomaihealani, who will also play slotback on offense, will draw the opponent's top receivers each week.

SCHEDULE

Sat Oct 23@   Roosevelt W, 18-14
Sat Oct 30  Moanalua L, 49-26
Fri Nov 05@   Iolani * L, 49-14
Fri Nov 12  Aieaat RadfordL, 43-21
Sat Nov 20@   Waipahu W, 26-19
Fri Nov 26  Kailua L, 30-13

league games bold *non-league **HHSAA tournament


2019 TEAM STATS

AVERAGESOFFENSEDEFENSE
POINTS19.233.3
YARDS258.8311.1
PASS153.6175.0
RUSH105.2136.1

TEAM CAPSULES


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