The Windward Oahu rivalry will be renewed Friday when Willie Ewaliko and the Castle Knights visit Alex Kane Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against Noah Auld and the Kailua Surfriders. ScoringLive photo illustration

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The last time the Castle and Kailua football teams faced off, it came down to a Naia Graham-field goal in overtime as the Surfriders just edged the Knights back in August of 2013.

The Windward Oahu rivalry will be renewed Friday — the opening night of the 2015 prep football season — when Castle visits Alex Kane Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against Kailua.

A few days before the meeting, ScoringLive reached the head coaches of both teams by phone for a Q&A session.

ScoringLive: "Describe your team's current situation in one word."

Nelson Maeda, Castle coach: "Small, in both size and quantity. This is the smallest Castle team we've ever had, size-wise and as far as numbers. We have 29 (players) on this team so it's going to be a challenge and there will be a lot of guys having to go both ways. We'll need to stay healthy. It will be very interesting season."

Joe Wong, Kailua coach: "Scrappy. I think they feel being that as Kailua, with our student body and the amount of kids that we have out there (on the team) in comparison to the school, I would say that these kids are scrappy. They claw, they scratch and they fight with everything they have — and I'm not saying scrappy like they are undisciplined — but coming off of last season and with the quarterback (senior third-year starter Noah Auld) that we have and the record that we had, the kids have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. I wouldn't say it was a rebuilding year we had last year, I would call it an install year. The record didn't show it, but football-wise and academically we're on the right track at Kailua."

SL: "What did you learn about your team from the scrimmages you had last weekend?"

Maeda: "I think we had two very good scrimmages — we played Kalani and we layer Kapolei — and the team is headed in the right direction. We had some very positive things that came out of it. They persevered, never quit and they fought. It was good. They showed some fight in them. Kapolei is always a good scrimmage — we've scrimmaged them the last several years — and it's always very good for us. It gives us a boost going into the preseason. I'm happy that we have a preseason game. It's great that we get this opportunity with Kailua because with Pearl City and Waipahu both having academic problems it opened the door for this game, so it all worked out."

Wong: "My biggest thing at Kailua — being that this is my eleventh year there and second as head coach — is just the way that the players respond to the coaching. They're very attentive, they listen to whatever the coach says, they take in the details and technique of it all. I'm just very pleased with the way that they've been playing in these scrimmages. They've kept their composure and remained disciplined. I just explained to them to never be satisfied off of yesterday's work, that today is a new day and to never be satisfied."

SL: "As this is a non-league game and won't count toward your division records, how do you balance playing to win versus addressing other issues, like developing depth, this weekend?"

Maeda: "This being a preseason game — and even though we're playing Kailua and there's always a little extra flavor when we play — but it's most important for us to stay healthy for the regular season. The following week we'll face a big challenge in Campbell, who is just loaded with talent, so we're going to go out and try our best against Kailua, but we want to make sure we emerge from it healthy and ready to challenge Campbell the following week."

Wong: "For me, I've got ones (first stringers) and one and-a-half, so as far as depth goes our starters will play regardless and if I can switch out some guys and put a second teamer in there, I will. For me, this preseason is big because we got hit with the hurricane last year and our game got canceled and then we have this storm again this year. We'll have coaches in the box, communicating, working on special teams, so it's a dry run for us. Even though it is Castle, the way I look at it, the whole old East or West (divisions), that whole division is a rival — Castle, Kalaheo, Kahuku, Farrington, Roosevelt — I consider them all rivals. Castle is our Windward-side counterpart, but that doesn't change how I prepare our guys. It doesn't mean anything. It just means we have got to get ready for our next opportunity and get ready to go out and start fast, as always."

SL: "How would you describe the rivalry between the two schools?"

Maeda: "We haven't played Kailua for a couple of years. I think it's always there, the rivalry, but it's not as intense as years ago. There was a coaching staff that kind of ignited the flames to go even higher than what it was already, (but) I would characterize it as a friendly rivalry."

Wong: "Over the years that I coached with (former Kailua) coach Gary Rosolowich, they had ‘The Hammer Trophy,' which the winner would keep, but I told my kids that as a player and as a coach, I don't play for a hammer and I don't coach for a hammer. I'm coaching to get better and to get results on the field and they understand that. These kids at Kailua have bought into everything that I've said and that my coaches have reinforced and just trying to change the dynamic of Kailua football. They don't believe that one game is going to define our whole season. I've played on teams that we lost one game and went on to win nine in a row, so one game isn't going to make or break you, but it's good to get in there and be playing with live bullets."

SL: "What's your take on your opponent this week?"

Maeda: "This Kailua team is very big, they're very physical and the word over the summer was that they were struggling with numbers and talent, but that's not the case now. I think they're about mid-30's or more, but size-wise they're big. Their front seven on defense is very physical, they bring it to you and they've got some talented defensive backs, so we definitely have our work cut out for us."

Wong: "Castle is going to give you everything they've got regardless of their size or stature. They're not going to hold any punches. I'm going to prepare for Castle the same way I would for anybody else. We'll prepare the same as if we were playing Kahuku. We won't ever take any team lightly, we're always going to prepare to the best of our ability. I know Nelson; Nelson is a former alumni (of Kailua) so I'm sure he's going to want to come out here and have a good showing. It's always a good match when Castle and Kailua get together."

Kailua leads the all-time series, 34-28. Kickoff between the Knights and Surfriders will follow 25 minutes after the conclusion of the 5:30 p.m. junior varsity game.