WAHIAWA - Fire power isn't limited to offense at Leilehua.

The Mules' defense contained Castle to 141 yards in total offense in a 26-13 win in an O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red quarterfinal Saturday night at Hugh Yoshida Stadium.

Leilehua (6-2), ranked fourth in the ScoringLive-OC 16 Power Rankings, will play top-ranked Kahuku (9-0) in a semifinal Friday at Aloha Stadium. No. 3 Mililani will face Wai'anae in the other semifinal.

Jordan Kalaau passed for 175 yards and three touchdowns and Kenan Sadanaga came off the bench and passed for 85 yards and one TD to fuel the Mules' offense that helped dispatched the Knights (5-4) from postseason.

But it was Leilehua's defense that diffused Castle's strong passing attack with eight sacks of QB Jaymason Lee, who entered the game as the second-leading passer in the state. Lee, who entered the game averaging 232.6 yards per contest, was held to season-low 112 yards.

Defensive end Penitito Melei had three of the Mules' eight sacks. Linebacker Reece Acohido had two.

"Everyone likes to come and watch our offense," Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda said. "But it's our defense that keeps us in. They're the life line of our team."

The Knights could not mount any consistency with their vaunted passing game. Lee had only two stretches where he completed consecutive passes.

"We had difficulty protecting the QB," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. "We weren't in synch and that was largely due to Leilehua's defense. They prepared for us well."

The Knights also were hampered by holding penalties, in part to Leilehua's constant pressure.

The game was marred by a combined 36 penalties totaling 357 yards. The Knights were called 16 times for 155 yards, including three holding infractions. The Mules were hit 20 times for 202 yards. Leilehua was called for three personal fouls for leading with their helmets on tackles,while Castle was called one.

The helmet calls come during a week when the NFL announced a crackdown on certain types of hits. But neither coach said he does not know if that was the reason for those calls. Coaches were warned of the rule at an OIA preseason meeting.

"I don't know why they were calling it," Tokuda said. "Our guys were hitting with their shoulders downwards, but they were calling the helmets, so I don't know why they were calling it."

But the onus still falls on the teams, Tokuda said.

"If the referees are going to make that call, it's up to us to make that adjustment, the coaches and the players," Tokuda added.

The Mules took a methodic 19-0 lead, scoring on TD passes by Kalaau in each of the first three quarters. An 11-yard TD pass to Allen Racette gave the Mules a 6-0 lead, a 53-yarder to Fred Padrones in the second quarter made it 13-0 and a seven-yard strike to Darrien Shealy in the third made it 19-0.

The Knights ended their drought in the third quarter on a 44-yard TD pass from Lee to Jacques Hough to pull them to 19-7.

Castle threatened in the fourth quarter when Lee scored on a seven-yard run with 2:41 left in the game.

But a failed onside kick put Leilehua at its 36. Three plays later, Kenan Sadanaga threw about a 10-yard pass to Padrones, who broke a tackled near midfield and sprinted to the end zone to complete a 61-yard TD with 2:09 left and seal it for the Mules.

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