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Knight Defense Ready For ‘Mystery’ McKinley Team

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If there’s a “mystery team” in the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Red East Division this fall, it may very well be McKinley High, which has a new football coaching staff.

With that in mind, as the Knights prepare for a visit from the Tigers at 7 p.m. Friday, Castle High coach Nelson Maeda is understandably more concerned about his own team fine-tuning its approach than the scouting report on McKinley.

“We’re facing a lot of unknowns with them, and they’ve been very competitive, so we know it’s going to be a battle,” admitted Maeda, whose team took a 1-0 regular-season mark into last weekend’s game with Moanalua. We’re facing a very formidable opponent.

“You always have to take care of business on the home front first,” he added. “We have to make sure we’re playing disciplined and that we’re playing with great effort.”

To date, the Knights have played a great schedule - one which figures to benefit them down the stretch in the 2006 season. Castle’s pre-season games were against a physical Campbell team (a 17-6 loss) from the OIA’s Red West as well as perennial powerhouse Saint Louis of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, in a game the Knights were seemingly in control of before conceding a late touch-down in a 17-13 setback.

In between those encounters, the Knights defeated Kalaheo 34-6 in their Red East opener. McKinley marks Castle’s third league game with key match-ups remaining against Farrington, Kailua and Kahuku. Neither the game with Saint Louis nor the aforementioned game with Campbell count against Castle’s won-loss ledger or post-season hopes. And although the Knights missed an opportunity for a significant win over the Crusaders, Maeda was still encouraged, especially with his team’s defensive effort.

“It was an encouraging game overall,” Maeda said of the Saint Louis game.“No one likes to lose, but it was a step in the right direction. Our defensive coaches Harry (Paaga) and Tony (PangKee) came up with a real good scheme. Our defense played tremendous. Our concern from a defensive standpoint is always to stop the run first and foremost, and it’s been reassuring that although we’re not very big, we’ve been able to.

“Hopefully, we can continue that.”

Behind the steady play of line-backer Corey Paredes and safety Scott Keiter-Charles, Castle gave up only 87 rushing yards in the Saint Louis game.

“Both Corey and Scott have provided solid leadership,“Maeda said. “We just have to keep them healthy now.”

McKinley quarterback Tilton Kaluna rates as one of the top play-makers in the Red East and should have the attention of the Knights’ defense this week. While a fine passer, the Knights could also see some option from Kaluna and the Tiger offense, as McKinley’s first-year head coach Bobby Grey was an offensive coordinator previously at Moanalua. Moanalua has used the veer to revitalize its football turnaround.

“They (the Tigers) bring back a wealth of returnees, and they have some very good skilled people,” Maeda said.“They have some tall and talented receivers. Defensively, they have some big athletic boys, that’s for sure.”

How the Knights’ offense fares against the Tiger defense could go a long way in determining the outcome of Friday’s game, should the Knights’ own defense enjoy its now customary outing.

Injuries and illness have limited Castle’s offensive progress to date, meanwhile. Quarterback Bryson Ukauka missed the entire first half against Saint Louis after missing practice time that week while under the weather. He was back at 100 percent in practice last week. A couple of other Knights were also expected to be back for Friday’s game with McKinley.

“Hopefully, we’ll get back in the groove, offensively,” Maeda said. “We have to continue to work on the fundamentals. Against Saint Louis, we struggled. Part of that was them. But we didn’t help our cause at all. We have to be running on all cylinders, and we’re a little bit behind on offense. We’re not where we’d like to be there.”

Like its solid run defense, stellar special teams play has always been a Castle trademark. Maeda sees that aspect of the Knights’ play as a work in progress.

“That’s an area where we really need to re-focus,” Maeda said. “We gave up a long punt return against Saint Louis, and we also had one partially blocked. We’ve also had kickoff coverage concerns.”

For their part, the Knights have cut down on the self-inflicted wounds that plagued them in the Campbell game. Castle has had fewer dropped passes, and the Knights have held penalties to a minimum in recent weeks.

“That’s a positive sign,” he said.