Q&A
Knights, Surfriders set for late-season clash




The playoffs in the Oahu Interscholastic Association will get underway in two weeks, but for the Castle Knights this weekend is all that matters.

Castle (2-5 overall, 2-3 league) will look to end a two-game losing streak when it takes on its windward Oahu neighbor Kailua (3-5, 2-2) in a crucial late-season meeting at Alex Kane Stadium Saturday night.

The teams are separated by just one-half game in the OIA Division I standings.

A win by the Surfriders would lock up at least a fourth-place finish and a spot in the four-team OIA tournament. However, the Knights need a win Saturday just to keep their playoff hopes alive, as well as some help next week to sneak into the postseason. A Knights' loss would eliminate them from playoff contention.

Provided Castle beats Kailua this weekend, a Waipahu victory over Kailua next week would secure the fourth seed for the Knights. However, if Kailua defeats Waipahu it would leave a three-way tie between the teams at 3-3. In that scenario a coin flip would be held to determine the final two teams in the tournament, according to league football coordinator Harold Tanaka.

The Knights were the fourth seed in last year's OIA playoffs and upset top-seeded Moanalua in the semifinals, but saw their season come to an end a week later with a loss to eventual-state champion Waipahu in the title game.

The Surfriders are seeking their first playoff appearance since the 2016 season — two years prior to the current three-tier classification system — when they finished sixth in the then-D1 Red Conference and exited the 12-team OIA tournament with a first-round loss at Waianae.

Castle, which has yet to win back-to-back games this season, has had its share of struggles defensively. Opponents are averaging 34.4 points and 330.6 yards per game against the Knights. The offense is averaging 17.7 points and 242.7 yards per contest, but is coming off of a 48-0 loss at Moanalua last Friday.

Kailua is averaging 22 points and 241.1 yards per game on offense, while its defense is holding opponents to 21 points and 262.5 yards each time out.

The Surfriders saw their two-game win streak snapped by Damien last Friday in a 28-12 loss at Aloha Stadium. They started off the season 0-3 with losses against Punahou (40-0), Leilehua (14-0) and Moanalua (19-18), but went on to win three of their next four games, including a 58-6 non-league win over Buckeye Union (Arizona) and a 49-7 rout of Aiea.

We caught up with Castle coach John Hao and Kailua's Joe Wong a few days before their teams face off in the shadow of the Koolau mountain range.


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

John Hao, Castle coach: "Driven. Even though the season is not going the way we expected it to, my players are driven to become better every week. They are driven to make each other better."

Joe Wong, Kailua coach: "Execution. As long as we execute what we're supposed to do out there on the football field — because we've been going at this since whenever we started the offseason, but this is the eighth or ninth week of the season — but it's just execution and playing fast. When we execute we play a lot faster than our opponents and it's shown on film. When we execute what we're supposed to do, it's just beautiful, (but) we're our own worst enemy. As long as we do what we do, it's not who we play, it's how we play; that's the bottom line for us and hopefully we can execute in these next two weeks left in the season."


How close is your team to playing at its full potential?

Hao: "Castle is just one block away from breaking big ones. We have to keep driving to correct the mistakes and play aggressive and confident."

Wong: "I mean, we're right there, to me. When I played in the NFL with the Raiders there were sometimes we went on win streaks, where we won four games, then we lost one, then won four and lost one, then won four more and we were 12-4 and that's pretty damn good in the league, so hopefully we went on that two-game win streak and then we lost to Damien and that opens your eyes because we were averaging 51 points a game for those two games and then it brought us back down to reality that it's not going to come easy. Hopefully we can go on another two-game win streak and be one of those teams that are getting hot just as the playoffs start."


Which game has proved to be the most beneficial to your team this season, regardless of result?

Hao: "Moanalua. I am confident our defense has found their identity. Now we just need our offense to make its way to the front of the line."

Wong: "I want to say the game that I feel that might not have been our best offensive output of the season, but I want to say against Moanalua. Moanalua is a good team and so are we and it was a dogfight between the two of us. We were just coming off a loss to Leilehua and that was a dogfight as well — they scored two quick touchdowns on us and then it was zeroes for the rest of the way — so those are two big early games in the season and it just shows that if we play our game, we can play with the best of them in our division and right now Moanalua is the best in our division."


Who has been an unsung hero on your team and why?

Hao: "Our seniors. They want this season to be successful and they are trying hard to make it happen from the efforts of some to the leadership of a few."

Wong: "I would have to go with our special teams units. They've really picked up the slack and the importance of the kicking game, especially the punt coverage and kickoff coverage teams. If you give our defense a long field they make it really hard for opposing offenses and when we do that it results in either no points or good field position, so they understand their importance. Everybody looks at the defensive front and how they get after the quarterback, they look at the offense and see Cameron (Friel) and the receivers, but nobody really looks at the special teams except for the coaches and that's a third of the game, so if you can take care of that phase you're in pretty good shape no matter who you play."


What are your thoughts on this week's opponent and what will be a key matchup within the game?

Hao: "Kailua's defense has been getting better every week. We just need to play assignment football to match their athleticism. We need to stop Cameron (Friel) from making big plays."

Wong: "Castle is always going to be Castle. Castle and Kailua will always be Castle and Kailua. It's gonna be an intense game and who makes the most mistakes is gonna be who falls short in the score. The key matchup for us always, always is the fronts — defensive line and offensive line for us, versus their fronts — and if we can get after their quarterbacks and disrupt the timing and put a lot of pressure on him with our D-line, that's going to be a big thing for us and if our O-line can establish the line of scrimmage and get off the ball and move people around, then we can do a lot of things offensively."


Fill in the blank. We will win Saturday's game if __________.

Hao: "If we do all our assignments."

Wong: "We'll win Saturday's game if we get to the quarterback often and create havoc in that backfield."


Both teams have two games remaining. Kailua will visit Waipahu (3-5 overall, 3-2 league) on Oct. 12 in a game with heavy playoff-seeding implications, while Castle will host Iolani the night before in a game that will not count toward the final OIA standings.

Kailua can finish as high as the third seed with a win over Castle Saturday and a win over the Marauders next week.

Moanalua (7-0, 5-0) and Leilehua (6-1, 4-1) have already clinched the top two spots in the league tournament.

Saturday will mark the fifth consecutive season that the Knights and Surfriders have played each other; they have alternated wins over the previous four meetings. Castle won last year's game over Kailua, 38-21.

Kickoff at Alex Kane Stadium is scheduled for approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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