Hammer, meet nail.

An inspired Castle team pounded away at rival Kailua to lock up the third playoff seed out of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East on Friday night with a 39-21 victory on homecoming.

The spoils of victory weren't limited to postseason position. Castle took home a new perpetual trophy, The Hammer, until the meeting with their Windward-side foes next year.

It was a pivotal game for both teams, and Castle coach Nelson Maeda knew exactly how to get his team fired up before kickoff.

Maeda and his assistants told their players to go back into their locker room with just minutes to spare on the pregame clock. The Black Knights, clad in their normal maroon, white and gold jerseys, couldn't believe what they saw: all-black uniforms ready to let them fulfill their nicknames for the first time.

“;This is a big rivalry for us, so we wanted to find something to motivate these guys to play to even greater heights. I think we did,”; Maeda said.

“;It really lifted the team up,”; said junior quarterback Jaymason Lee as Castle fans chanted “;Ham-mer!”; in the stands. He passed for four touchdowns—three to stud receiver Shaydon Kehano—and 328 yards. “;It really got us pumped for the game.”;

Kehano, the team's proverbial hammer, ignited the Knights' spread offense by turning the first of two scoring plays in which he flat-out outran the Surfriders' secondary to paydirt. The senior finished with four catches for 189 yards, the bulk of which came on two catch-and-burn plays of 85 and 75 yards.

“;We told each other, 'Let's just relax. We know what we have to do, and let's just focus on the team,'”; Kehano said.

Kailua got 150-plus-rushing-yard games from running backs Clint Aina and Bubba Sato, but couldn't get the requisite stops to hang with Castle. The Surfers now sit among a logjam near the bottom of the Red East and must wait to see how the playoff picture shakes out.

“;We came out flat defensively, and they were ready to play,”; Kailua coach Gary Rosolowich said. “;And that's the difference.”;