Castle’s Strong, Ready For Camp
By Jack Danilewicz
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Countdown to Camp - This is the first in a series of summer football reports, looking at the Castle High School offense.
When it comes to productivity and style points, Castle’s Shaydon Kehano was in a league all his own last season when he went on to earn All-Conference honors on both sides of the ball for the Knights in the OIA Red East.
To hear his coach, Nelson Maeda, tell it, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior was no less impressive in the off-season.
“He worked hard from day one - even with all the accolades he’s gotten,“Maeda said. “He lets his actions speak for him. He has the goal of playing after high school, and he’s definitely on people’s radar.”
Kehano did much of his damage with the ball in his hands, averaging an OIA-best 22.9 yards per catch on 38 receptions with nine touch-downs en route to earning Offensive Player of the Year honors in the OIA Red East Conference. He added another two scores as well as a two-point conversion to rank among the state’s scoring leaders at year’s end in addition to having been the state’s leading pass catcher for most of the season.
As the Knights look ahead to fall camp at the end of July, they are understandably eying a big season from Kehano.
“He possesses great athletic ability, great hands and football instincts, smarts, and he’s very coachable,” added Maeda, whose team went 3-3 in the OIA Red East last year.“He’s an elusive runner, great in the open field. He’s a player who needs to have 15-20 touches a game. He’s a threat that no opponent can disregard.”
In addition to Kehano, the offense also is bolstered by the return of slot backs Lowen Rogers and Hans Reppuhn. They started on both sides of the ball as juniors and are poised for great senior seasons.
“We’re looking for good things from both of them,” Maeda said.
He also expects juniors Noah Makainai and Jacque Hough to make an impact in the passing game. Makainai posted the fastest time of any Castle player at the recent combine, according to Maeda, and is among the quicker players in the program. Hough has “big play” capability, meanwhile, having established himself as an up-and-coming player at the JV level.
Less certain is the battle to replace Blake Rapozo, last year’s starting quarterback. Senior-to-be Jaysen Ferreira and junior-to-be Jaymason Lee, a Kamehameha transfer, are vying for the job. While there was no front-runner coming out of spring drills last month, the Knights can take solace in the fact that they’ve been able to replace stellar quarterbacks in the past without missing a beat.
“They’ve basically split the reps coming out of spring and in the first few days of summer,” Maeda said. “Jaysen was on Maui recently, so Jaymason got all of the reps in our pass league game (versus McKinley) and at the UH camp.
“Jaysen is a product of our system - he did a great job as the starter for the JV team as a sophomore,” Maeda said of Ferriera, who was an All-Conference linebacker on the defensive side of the ball last year.“He’s very athletic and very durable. He can do a lot of things.
“Jaymason is a pure quarterback, who throws a nice ball. We’re fortunate to have him. He’ll help our program.” Asked what might tip the scale in one’s favor, Maeda said,“The guy who manages the game the best and who makes good decisions.”
The line was dealt a big blow when it lost projected starter Justin Mana Chang, who transferred to Waianae, but Maeda is excited about the impact of center Eric Owen-Watts, who plays bigger than his size, and who now anchors the re-vamped unit.
“He’s a real spark plug. He’s the smallest lineman we have at 5-6, 175, but he’s the most tenacious kid we have. He never backs down.”
Also back is Kamalu Kaluhiokalani, while Maeda will bank on solid play from senior linemen Rocky Kahanu and Isaac Makekau, both of whom are relative newcomers to the team. Kahanu transferred in from Las Vegas, while Makekau is returning to the program after not having played his junior season.
“He’s really trying to cram two years into one year,” Maeda said of Makekau.
The return of running back Garrett Paredes also is huge for Castle and should help balance out the offensive attack.
“We like having the flexibility to do both (run or pass). We just try to take what the defense offers us.”
Castle will be busy with its 7-on-7 pass league over the next few weeks before the official July 29 starting date arrives. But as in past years the season really began in the weight room in the early winter. “We had a good off-season with over 90 percent of our returnees participating, as well as newcomers. The potential for success is unlimited. We can go as far as the team wants to. It’s how disciplined we can be as a team, how much we are willing to sacrifice as individuals for the sake of the team, and as a coaching staff, being able provide the structure and environment for success while being able to motivate the players to maximize their potential.”
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