Castle makes playoffs with win over Kaimuki

Playoff pressure arrived a week early for Castle and Kaimuki.

With the OIA Red East’s final postseason berth at stake, Castle extended its season another week with a 28-13 win Friday night at Kaiser High field

With the win, Castle (3-5, 2-4 OIA Red) finished sixth in the division and will face the OIA Red West’s third seed in the opening round of the conference playoffs.

The Knights will travel to the west side for their 10th straight playoff appearance. Not that they mind the extra mileage.

"We’re fine (with traveling)," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. "At last we’re practicing and playing."

Castle fell behind in the first quarter when Kaimuki running back Randon Tuitama covered 98 yards on his first two carries of the game. But quarterback Stephen Lee rallied the Knights back, throwing for 315 yards and a touchdown and running for two scores, including a 66-yard dash late in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

"I’m glad he started executing because it was a struggle at first," Maeda said. "But once he settled down things started looking better for us."

A Kaimuki win would have sent the Bulldogs to the playoffs, and they twice held leads in the game. But they ended their season at

1-7 overall and 0-6 in the OIA Red East despite Tuitama’s 184-yard, two-touchdown performance.

"Our boys are resilient. They hung through low numbers, through tough times," Kaimuki coach Clint Onigama said. "I have a lot of respect for them and a lot of love for them because they stuck through it."

Castle took the opening kickoff and held the ball for 13 plays and the game’s first 6 minutes and 22 seconds. But Kaimuki held after facing first and goal at the 4 and took over when a fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

A false start on Kaimuki’s first play attempt pushed the Bulldogs back to the 2. On the next snap, Tuitama burst through the middle and raced 83 yards before being dragged down at the Castle 15. He then swept around the left side for a touchdown run.

After another trip to the red zone came up empty, Castle broke through on its third venture inside the Kaimuki 20. A 40-yard connection from Lee to Kyle Urasaki sparked the drive, which ended with Lee’s quarterback sneak that helped tie it at 7-all.

"We just had to settle down," Maeda said. "I think we weren’t very focused. Kaimuki came right at us and took it to us, and we had to settle down."

Kaimuki reclaimed the lead at 13-7 with a 10-play drive to open the second half, with Tuitama scoring on a 4-yard run.

Castle then jumped ahead with two touchdowns in a span of 50 seconds late in the third quarter. A 27-yard completion from Lee to Urasaki set up Ryan Mohika’s 2-yard run and the PAT gave Castle a 14-13 lead. The Knights then recovered a squib kick and Lee connected with Isaac Pakele on three consecutive throws, the last a 4-yard touchdown pass.

After punting with 2:18 left in the game, Kaimuki hoped to get the ball back with Castle facing third and 13 at the Knights 34. After a timeout, Lee faked two handoffs, then kept the ball around the left side and sprinted to the end zone for the clinching score.

"With such a short six-game (regular season), you always want to extend your season. It’s great we at least have another week to live," Maeda said.

"The good thing is with way the OIA’s set up everyone’s 0-0 and we hope for the best."