Aiea storms Castle

Aiea upset No. 3 Castle 52-31 in a shootout last night at Kaiser High School stadium. The matchup was an Oahu Interscholastic Association quarterfinal playoff game between the Knights, the No. 1 seed from the Red East, and Na Alii, the No. 4 seed out of the Red West.

Aiea quarterback Kali Kuia completed 25 of 41 passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Josh Blakemore was on the receiving end of all four scores. He caught eight passes for 183 yards.

Castle jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead when Blaine Kobashigawa returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown after darting back and forth across the field.

On Aiea's ensuing possession, running back Lofa Liilii fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by the Knights on the Aiea 29-yard line. Castle took advantage of the turnover as Nicholas Rapoza booted a 50-yard field goal with the aid of a stiff wind at his back, and the Knights led 10-0 with 9:48 still to play in the first quarter.

Na Alii answered 4 minutes later when Kuia found Blakemore on a 35-yard touchdown pass. A Mark Atta extra point narrowed the lead to 10-7 in favor of Castle.

The Knights responded with a scoring drive of their own. Quarterback Bryson Ukauka threw a 40-yard toss to receiver Alika Kalopodes, and after a 17-yard run by Kobashigawa, Castle was in good shape at the Aiea 10-yard line. Ukauka found Kalopodes again for the 10-yard touchdown pass and after a successful 2-point conversion, the Knights were ahead 18-7.

After both teams forced punts, Na Alii took over on their own 5. A series of accurate passes and positive rushes, coupled with a defensive pass interference penalty against Castle, allowed Aiea to reach the Knight 15. Liilii then carried the ball for gains of 6 and 9 yards, the latter of which went for a touchdown. Na Alii failed to convert the 2-point conversion and still trailed 18-13 with 6:04 to go before halftime.

Castle went four and out on its next drive, and a bad bounce on the resulting punt gave Aiea excellent field position at the Knight 32. Na Alii did not waste the opportunity and picked up another touchdown when Kuia hit Blakemore again, this time for a 10-yard score. Kuia converted the 2-point score on a pass to Aleni Loa to give Aiea its first lead of the game, 21-18.

The Knights took the lead right back when Ukauka and Corey Paredes hooked up for a 40-yard touchdown reception with 53 seconds left in the first half for a 25-21 halftime edge.

Ukauka saw most of the action behind center because regular starter Bryce Kalauokaaea left the game with an injury. The replacement gunslinger threw for 231 yards and three touchdowns.

Liilii returned the second-half kickoff to the 46 of Castle, but Na Alii was held to an Atta field goal of 31 yards to decrease the deficit to only one point, 25-24.

Castle responded with an 88-yard touchdown pass from Ukauka to Paredes.

But, Liilii answered right back with a 98-yard kickoff return for touchdown on the next play to tie game at 31-all with 3:38 to go in the third quarter.

Aiea kept the momentum going after forcing a Castle punt. Kuia and Blakemore hooked up for their third touchdown connection, this time for 47 yards with 1:55 to play in third quarter. An unsuccessful conversion attempt gave Aiea the 37-31 lead.

On the next possession, Castle was driving, but Kobashigawa fumbled, and Aiea got the ball on its own 37. Na Alii drove, and once again, the tandem of Kuia and Blakemore teamed up for a 35-yard touchdown pass. The successful 2-point conversion increased the Aiea lead to 45-31 with 10:51 to play in the game.

Na Alii added another touchdown for insurance, as Liilii scampered for 2 yards into the end zone to put Aiea up 52-31, which proved to be the game's final score.

Note: Aiea's Falealii Tausaga was taken to a hospital with a neck injury after he was attended to on the field for about 15 minutes near the end of the second quarter.