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Arch-rivals Kailua And Castle Face Off On Surfrider Turf

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For all the emotion that normally accompanies a Castle-Kailua game, Surfrider coach Gary Rosolowich’s team recognizes that a win over their arch-rivals in Friday night’s Kailua homecoming game would also speak volumes about their upward ability.

“We keep asking the kids whether they want to be a top-ofthe-pack, middle-of-the-pack or bottom-of-the-pack team,” Rosolowich said.“Each week out, we’ve gotten better, and if we can continue that, we’ll be where we want to be in October. Each week is a new challenge. That’s kind of the way we’re looking at it (Castle week). You have to beat teams like Castle to be a top-of-the-pack team. If that (being among the league’s leaders) is our goal, and it is, we have to beat the top-tier teams.”

SPORTS SCORE BOX
Kailua leads all-time series 31-20
1955	Castle	54	Kailua	0
1955	Castle	34	Kailua	0
1956	Kailua	19	Castle	0
1957	Castle	6	Kailua	0
1958	Kailua	21	Castle	13
1959	Kailua	13	Castle	12
1960	Kailua	26	Castle	6
1961	Kailua	41	Castle	0
1962	Kailua	31	Castle	0
1963	Kailua	26	Castle	0
1964	Kailua	54	Castle	7
1965	Kailua	20	Castle	6
1966	Kailua	41	Castle	0
1967	Kailua	18	Castle	12
1968	Kailua	33	Castle	15
1968	Castle	21	Kailua	0
1969	Kailua	13	Castle	0
1970	Kailua	28	Castle	12
1971	Castle	20	Kailua	16
1972	Kailua	15	Castle	0
1973	Kailua	15	Castle	14
1974	Kailua	21	Castle	0
1975	Kailua	26	Castle	12
1976	Castle	14	Kailua	10
1977	Kailua	2	Castle	0
1978	Kailua	27	Castle	14
1979	Castle	18	Kailua	6
1980	Castle	29	Kailua	7
1981	Castle	14	Kailua	7
1982	Castle	17	Kailua	3
1983	Castle	35	Kailua	0
1984	Castle	14	Kailua	0
1985	Castle	17	Kailua	15
1986	Kailua	19	Castle	2
1987	Kailua	17	Castle	6
1988	Kailua	30	Castle	20
1989	Castle	14	Kailua	12
1990	Kailua	26	Castle	0
1991	Kailua	15	Castle	6
1992	Kailua	7	Castle	6
1993	Kailua	28	Castle	0
1998	Kailua	40	Castle	20
1999	Kailua	48	Castle	13
2000	Castle	7	Kailua	6
2001	Castle	34	Kailua	29
2001	Kailua	13	Castle	6
2002	Kailua	20	Castle	0
2002	Castle	25	Kailua	0
2003	Castle	40	Kailua	32
2004	Castle	29	Kailua	28
2005	Castle	24	Kailua	6

The entire Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East conference has taken note of Castle in recent years. Entering their game with McKinley last weekend, the Knights had won 13 of their last 14 regular-season games, dating back to 2004, and were 6-0 last year en route to winning the East Red crown. Along the way, the Knights even toppled eventual state champion Kahuku for their first win over the Red Raiders in 17 years.

For their part, the young Surfriders, who are playing 12 sophomores (including six in the starting lineup), have found their footing recently with workmanlike wins over Damien of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and conference foe McKinley on Sept. 9, adding more intrigue to a series that may be the most tradition-rich in Hawaii prep football.

Castle coach Nelson Maeda, who played and coached at Kailua, has been on both sides of the rivalry.

“We always look at it as two seasons,” said Maeda, whose team has won four straight meetings between the schools, including a 24-6 victory in 2005. “There’s the Kailua game, and then there’s the rest of our schedule. It’s always been an intense rivalry because of the close proximity between the schools, and because there’s a lot of history. If you play with too much emotion, you can lose sight of what you’re supposed to be focused on.You have to play a controlled game.”

Both teams have played two of the tougher schedules in the state to date. Castle’s non-league opponents were Campbell and Saint Louis, while Kailua has already played Kahuku and West power Leilehua. The Surfriders were to play Farrington last weekend. In the Knights, meanwhile, Rosolowich sees the prototypical Castle team.

“The immediate thing that comes to mind about them is their great skill and their team speed,” Rosolowich said of the Knights. “You have to deal with that offensively and defensively.”

Castle is led by linebacker Corey Paredes, one of the top players in the state at his position, and twoway standout Scott Keiter-Charles.

“Those two guys have played a big role on our team- they’ve had solid games throughout,” Maeda said.

The Knights also boast impact players in Jesse Humalon, Bronson Nakoa-Fraticelli and Lolegi Maae.

While defense has remained Castle’s forte, the Knights’ offense is perhaps due for a break-out game after being plagued by self-inflicted wounds earlier in the season.

“That has gotten better, but we’re still not very polished at this point,” Maeda said. “We need more repetitions to get better at what we do. The offense has a lot of potential; we’ve seen signs of execution in practice. We just need to get to a point where the kids know the offense like the back of their hands.”

So far in 2006, the catalyst for Kailua, offensively, has been senior quarterback Zach Akamine, who moved behind center in the spring after having been a safety/wide receiver in the program last season.

“He’s made huge gains every week,“Rosolowich said of Akamine. “He’s still learning, but part of our week-to-week improvement has been his week-to-week improvement. I wish he was only a junior.”

Should Friday’s game be cut from the same cloth as the standard Castle-Kailua game, special teams play could go a long way in determining the outcome.

“That is a crucial area,” Maeda said. “We’ve been able to gain an advantage in some of the games, and they’ve had an advantage in some of the games. We’re making sure we cover all of our bases there. A miscue (in special teams) could lead to some very pivotal points.”