OIA RED
Aiea ends Castle’s season in the mud
On a soggy night when simply hanging onto the ball proved to be a notable accomplishment, Aiea held off a furious Castle rally and advanced to the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference quarterfinals with a dramatic 18-12 win last night.
Na Alii recovered two Castle fumbles inside their 5 in the fourth quarter, the second coming with less than a minute to play in the game, to protect their lead and pick up an emotional first-round victory.
"It was a tough win," was all Aiea coach Wendell Say could manage as he hustled his team onto the bus after tempers flared at the end of the game.
Aiea (4-5), the fifth seed from the OIA Red West, advances to face division champion Waianae on Friday in a quarterfinal game at the Seariders' field.
Castle, which finished fourth in the OIA Red East, ends its season at 3-6.
Aiea ended Castle's season for the second straight year in winning for the first time since Sept. 15 after losing three straight to end the regular season. Na Alii upset the top-seeded Knights in the quarterfinal round last year.
The rain that soaked Castle's Kaneohe campus field played havoc with the offenses -- both ranked among the top passing attacks in the OIA during the regular season -- and with the equipment being used to televise the game. The scoreboard was also inoperative for most of the second half.
Castle turned the ball over eight times in the game, fumbling it away on four consecutive possessions in the second half, the last coming with the Knights 2 yards from the tying score with 44 seconds left.
"We both played with the same conditions and Aiea did what they had to do to win," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. "We got down to the red zone so many times, we just couldn't capitalize. It's very tough."
Aiea jumped ahead on its opening possession of the game as Alan Fonoti hauled in a 64-yard scoring pass from Alfredo Higa on Na Alii's second play from scrimmage.
Aiea increased its lead to 12-0 on Fonoti's second touchdown of the game, a 5-yard completion from Higa, who managed to complete 11 of 19 passes for 174 yards in a steady rain.
Castle turned to the running game and closed to 12-6 on Andrew Fakatoka's 7-yard TD run late in the first quarter.
After the rains returned at halftime, Aiea added to its lead in the third quarter when Lofa Liilii, who carried the offensive load for Na Alii with 90 rushing yards on 21 carries, scored on a 10-yard scamper through the middle of the Castle defense.
The Knights crept back into contention on a 52-yard connection from Bryson Ukauka to Scott Keiter-Charles, who slipped through the Aiea secondary for a touchdown with 4:27 left in the game.
The Knights appeared headed for a storybook finish with a dramatic drive starting at their own 28. Ukauka converted on fourth down twice in the drive, completing a 5-yard pass to Corey Paredes at midfield to move the chains, and finding Kaleo Silva at the Aiea 2 for a 30-yard gain on a desperation pass on fourth and 18.
With the Knights out of timeouts, Maeda said the Castle coaches were trying to signal for Ukauka to spike the ball to stop the clock. But the message didn't get through and Ukauka tried to sneak the ball over the goal line only to lose the handle and Liilii recovered in the end zone to seal the win for Aiea.
"This kind of game you have to get points on the board and if you fall behind early it's tough," Maeda said
The loss brought a sudden end to a trying season for Castle. After a 3-1 start in the Red East, the Knights lost their final two regular-season games while coping with the death of senior lineman Patrick Kapahu two weeks earlier. His funeral is set for today.
"This loss is really hard to take," Maeda said. "It would have been nice if we could have continued on, but it wasn't meant to be."
KIF
Waimea 19, Kapaa 14
Alan-Michael Gaspar rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Menehune over the Warriors.
MIL
King Kekaulike 44, Kamehameha-Maui 35
Na Alii clinched Maui's Division II title and state-tournament berth over Kamehameha-Maui and Pac-Three with their 4-2 record.
BIIF
Kamehameha-Hawaii 30, Hawaii Prep 7
Kolten Wong and Nick Miyasato each scored two touchdowns to lead the Warriors to a victory over Ka Makani. Wong rushed for a game-high 189 yards for Kamehameha-Hawaii.