OIA Red Playoffs
• The matchup: Waianae (6-2, 4-2 OIA Red West) vs. Castle (3-5, 2-4 OIA Red East)
• Location/Time: Waianae, 6 p.m., Saturday
• Head-to-head (since 1973): Waianae leads 13-3
• Biggest margin of victory: Waianae, 56-0, Aug. 24, 1990
• Smallest margin of victory: Waianae, 17-16, Nov. 22, 1985
Waianae’s offensive leaders
Updated: Oct. 20| PASSING | G | C-A-I | Yds | TD |
| Kekoa Kaluhiokalani | 10 | 68-157-7 | 1,137 | 10 |
| RUSHING | G | Att. | Yds | TD |
| Jemery Willes | 9 | 128 | 697 | 6 |
| Mahven Tau | 10 | 91 | 609 | 4 |
| Kekoa Kaluhiokalani | 10 | 118 | 360 | 5 |
| Trensten Spragling | 8 | 43 | 179 | 1 |
| RECEIVING | G | Rec. | Yds | TD |
| Pookela Noa-Nakamoto | 10 | 35 | 625 | 6 |
Castle’s offensive leaders
Updated: Oct. 13| PASSING | G | C-A-I | Yds | TD |
| Stephen Lee | 8 | 93-202-10 | 1,254 | 8 |
| Pono Makekau | 4 | 34-75-2 | 330 | 3 |
| RUSHING | G | Att. | Yds | TD |
| Kamukoa Oana | 7 | 17 | 105 | 1 |
| Makana Bee | 2 | 8 | 93 | 1 |
| RECEIVING | G | Rec. | Yds | TD |
| Kyle Urasaki | 8 | 34 | 430 | 5 |
| Kamukoa Oana | 7 | 27 | 401 | 1 |
| Joseph Lilio | 6 | 17 | 193 | 1 |
| Isaac Pakele | 4 | 13 | 105 | 1 |
Castle needed a win over Kaimuki last week to advance to the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season.
Its reward? A trip to Waianae.
The Seariders have won three of their last four and are rested and ready to go after a bye last week. Waianae’s chances at a first-round bye ended when Campbell held off Kapolei last Friday, but the Seariders still have an excellent shot to advance to the OIA Red quarterfinals.
Waianae, the No. 3 seed out of the West, is hosting an opening-round game for the third straight year and had little trouble in beating Kaiser, 35-14, in 2011 and Kailua, 29-6, in 2012.
Senior quarterback Kekoa Kaluhiokalani has one last shot to get the Seariders into the state tournament. Kaluhiokalani is 2-2 in the playoffs as Waianae’s starter but has lost both quarterfinal games, against Kahuku, by scores of 20-16 and 14-10. A Waianae win would set up a third straight meeting with the Red Raiders, but before the Seariders look that far ahead, they have to take care of the Knights.
Castle, which finished as the East’s No. 6 seed, has quietly been a tough opponent for teams despite its 3-5 record. Kamehameha got everything it could handle in the season opener. Castle didn’t allow the Warriors to complete a pass for positive yards and kept the game close in a 15-0 loss. The Knights opened the OIA season in heartbreaking fashion, losing back-to-back games in overtime, but no team in the OIA Red East gave division champion Farrington as tough of a game as Castle.
Quarterback Stephen Lee led the Knights into the playoffs with his first 300-yard passing game, finishing with 315 and a touchdown last week against the Bulldogs. He’ll need another big game through the air as Castle relies heavily on the pass. Receivers Kyle Urasaki and Kamukoa Oana need to both come up big in the same game for Castle to have a chance to pull off the huge upset.
With Waianae, you know exactly what you’re getting. A downhill rushing attack led by Kaluhiokalani at quarterback, Mahven Tau at fullback and Jemery Wiles as the lead running back. Castle has been able to slow some running teams down, most notably Kahuku, whose leading rusher in the game was Polikapo Liua Jr. with just 48 yards.
Farrington’s Sanele Lavatai, who led the division in rushing, was the Govs’ leading rusher with only 35 yards against the Knights.
Castle has a tough, tough task in trying to beat the Seariders in Waianae. Waianae is 4-1 this year at its newly renovated home at Raymond Torii Field, losing only to No. 3 Mililani. It’s the only game this weekend played on Saturday so the whole state will be watching.
Can Castle do the unthinkable? Or will Kaluhiokalani get his third and final shot at beating Kahuku in the playoffs?
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