Friday, August 31, 2001
[ PREP FOOTBALL ]
Castle hopes effort Castle hopes finesse will triumph over power tonight when the Knights take on Waianae in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference football game at Aloha Stadium.
can counter
Waianae’s size
The Seariders feature a lineup
loaded with beef, but Castle has
Botelho at quarterbackBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe varsity contest will start approximately 35 minutes after the conclusion of the junior varsity game, which kicks off at 5:05 p.m.
Both Castle and Waianae enter the game at 1-0 in conference play. And for Castle to topple the defending OIA Red champions, it will have to figure a way to counter Waianae's size advantage at the line of scrimmage.
The Seariders have 13 players on its roster weighing at least 250 pounds, while Castle has only three. And most of the Knights' starting linemen will play on both sides of the ball.
"We're hoping our effort, pursuit and quickness can compensate for our lack of size," said Castle coach Nelson Maeda.
Castle carries the momentum from its 35-28 comeback win over Mililani last week into tonight's game. The Knights trailed 21-7 at halftime and scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to rally for the win.
Senior quarterback Joel Botelho passed for 286 yards and a touchdown, and managed the winning score on an 8-yard run late in the game. Ola Keliiholokai rushed for two touchdowns for the Knights, while Ikaika Ho posted 110 yards receiving on just five catches.
"What impressed me most was the way they came back from the deficit at halftime," Waianae coach Dan Matsumoto said. "That team has got character and that's something we'll have to contend with."
Matsumoto said Botelho's arm strength and his ability to improvise on the run make him one of the best quarterbacks the Seariders will face this season. He said the Waianae defense has worked on preventing big plays by maintaining coverage in the secondary when Botelho scrambles out of the pocket.
"(Botelho's) arm is unreal," Matsumoto said. "He can roll one way and throw back the other way."
The Seariders will try to control Botelho and Castle by keeping him off the field. Waianae's beefy offensive line powered the Seariders' rushing attack in last week's 41-2 win over Leilehua. Quarterback Kekoa Reyes rushed for three touchdowns as Waianae rushed for 226 yards.
"Defensively, we need to fly to the ball," Maeda said. "We can't have just one guy trying to make the tackle, it's going to have to be swarm."
Just one other Red Conference game is scheduled for tonight. Campbell travels to Mililani, with both teams recovering from opening week losses.
In OIA White Conference action tonight, Roosevelt travels to Pearl City. Rough Rider quarterback Chris Mols passed for 469 yards and three touchdowns last week in a comeback victory over Kaiser.
Tomorrow night's schedule features a Red Conference showdown between Farrington and Kahuku at the Red Raiders' field. Kahuku opened the season with a convincing 41-13 win over Kaimuki last week, while Farrington will try to rebound from a 14-0 loss to McKinley.
The ILH concludes its preseason schedule tomorrow with four games against Big Island teams. Punahou hosts Waiakea at noon. Pac-Five travels to Honokaa and Kamehameha will split its team for games at Konawaena and Kohala.
The ILH regular season opens Sept. 7 with a doubleheader at Aloha Stadium.
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