Kong-Lee Passing Game Improves Each Week For Knights
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usDifference-makers can be found at every position on a football field, but senior Joshua Kong relishes his opportunities at slot back.
“It’s fun to be a receiver at Castle,” said Kong. “We like to throw the ball a lot, and we know Jaymason (Lee) can get the ball to us.”
Lee and Kong had collaborated 23 times this season for an average of 17.1 yards per completion, heading into last weekend’s OIA East Red finale, making them one of the more dangerous duos in the state. They hope it continues this weekend when they open the post-season.
Regardless of the opponent, Castle’s passing game should be key. That they’re a big part of the offense is hardly a surprise to Kong, who was a teammate of Lee on the Kahaluu Broncos Midget Pop Warner team that won the state in 2007 en route to a trip to Florida for the national championships.
“We’re really good friends - we played PAL basketball together, baseball and football when we were young,” Kong recalled.
In high school, Lee spent his first two years at Kamehameha before transferring to Castle. Kong was on Castle’s JV team as a sophomore, so the pair were reunited last season as juniors on the varsity.
Kong said the current season has ups and downs. “We feel like we should have won the games we were supposed to win (over Moanalua and Roosevelt),” he said. “I think we took them kind of lightly. We didn’t come out hard.”
The Knights rebounded from the Moanalua loss with a big win over Farrington. In the aftermath of the Roosevelt loss, they beat rival Kailua.
“We really wanted that game. We came together and played hard and were physically tough. We practiced so hard for that. It was a must win, and we went all out.”
Castle’s offense is averaging 220.6 yards a game through the air (third best in the OIA Red behind Kailua and Leilehua) with a wide receiver corps that also features Jaques Hough, Ryan Kealoha, Noah Makainai and Moses Alimoot, among others, in addition to Lee and Kong.
“I feel like we’re getting better and better each week,” said Kong of the offense. “The line’s been blocking well and giving Jaymason a lot of time to get us the ball. I’m glad he’s our quarterback. He’s been making all the right reads (on where to go with the ball).”
With his own gift for concentration, Kong is a good fit for the spread offense. “We’re usually reading the coverage and running our routes off of that. We just (try to) go to the open areas. As a slot back, I have to make the right reads.”
Kong also has competed in basketball and track at Castle, but football moved to the fore-front for him after his freshman year, while still playing for Kahaluu.
“It was one of my best years,” he said. “We were underdogs, and we won a championship and went to Florida.”
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