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Three Windward OIA Teams Harbor Post-season Hopes

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For the prep football teams on the Windward side, the oneand-done mentality can’t help but make its way into each team’s collective consciousness.

Indeed, as the OIA playoffs play out over the next few weeks, every team will face the prospect of elimination - at least in its first post-season encounter - as they hope to earn the ultimate reward: a berth in next month’s state championships. A “two-minute drill” for each playoff qualifier from the Windward side follows.

Castle High School

The Resume: The Knights finished their regular season 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the OIA Red East conference.

Next Up: Friday night at Waianae.

Signature wins: Over Mililani (28-21 on Aug. 15) and Kaimuki (19-14 on Aug. 23).

Breaking down the Knights: The loss of senior quarterback Blake Rapozo to a broken collarbone in Castle’s regular-season finale with Kahuku was a big blow to the Knights, given his ability as a two-year starter to manage the offense. A silver lining was the play of his replacement, Jaysen Ferreira, who was on the offensive line before being pressed into action against Kahuku. Among his new priorities behind center will be to get the ball to wide-out Shaydon Kehano, who has had a stellar season with a state-best 712 receiving yards and 10 touch-downs.

Defensively, linebackers Mitchell Lum, Kawehi Sablan and Kevin Aipia Jr. remain the heart and soul of a solid unit that gave up 16.6 points per game in its six league games. Garrett Paredes, Mana Chang, Joe Kaahu, Lowen Rogers and Hans Reppuhn are all two-way players. A key question will be how well they can execute on special teams after giving up several big plays early in the season. Solid special teams play has always been a trademark of Nelson Maeda-coached teams.

Player to watch: Kehano, who has averaged a state-best 20.9 yards per reception on 34 catches. His big-play capability could go a long way for the Knights’ offense, which is in transition.

Make plans for the Division I state tournament if: The Knights’ offense can control the ball enough to keep its defense off of the field.

Kalaheo High School

The Resume: The Mustangs finished 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the OIA White conference, earning one of three berths for Sept. 20) and Aiea (7-2 on Sept. 5).

Next up: The Mustangs, who enjoyed a bye last weekend, will play an OIA White conference playoff game Friday night. Pairings for the DII post-season weren’t available at press time.

Breaking down the Mustangs: “Ball control” remains the prevailing theme for the Mustangs, who dressed about 26 players for most games. While the defense has been stout most of the season, Kalaheo’s best defense is often its veer offense, which is capable of accumulating a lot of first downs and keeping the ball away from opposing offenses. The catalyst for the Mustang offense is dual-threat quarterback Phil Tauai, who has thrown for 951 yards, while rushing for 556 more to go with 10 touchdowns.

The Mustangs’ defense, which yields an average of 10.1 points per game, is led by linebacker Shawn Reed, who is currently the No. 7-rated college prospect in the state according to the recruiting service Rivals.com. Place-kicker Dongwoo Kim is a big boost to Kalaheo’s hopes on special teams, having connected on 29 point-after kicks and three field goals, including a season-long 37-yarder.

Player to watch: Dwayne Mitchell. A transfer from Fallbrook High in California, he’s been a big-time performer, as evidenced by his play versus Radford, when he intercepted two passes, including one that ended the Rams’ last gasp to preserve a 13-10 win.

Make plans for the Division II state tournament if: The Mustangs can hold up, depth-wise. The Mustangs and their coaching staff have done an amazing job with a small roster. Coach Chris Mellor summed it up best when he assessed his team in August: “We have the makings of a good football team on both sides of the ball. The question is, ‘Will we have a good football team late in the game?’”

Kahuku High School

The Resume: The Red Raiders take a 7-1 overall record into this weekend. Kahuku went 6-0 in the OIA Red East, its second consecutive unbeaten regular season.

Next Up: The Red Raiders host the winner of last weekend’s first-round matchup between Kailua and Mililani at 7 p.m. Friday.

Signature wins: Over Farrington (13-6 on Oct. 3), Castle (35-20 on Oct. 10) and Kailua (28-14 on Aug. 22).

Breaking down the Red Raiders: The buzz around Kahuku back in August was due in large part to the one-back sets installed on the offensive side to help spread the field, but as in past years, the Kahuku defense has carried the day. Not that the offense hasn’t performed well, but the team is yielding only 8.8 points per game through six league contests and has two shutouts during a seven-game stretch, including a 30-0 win over Kealakehe Aug. 29. Leading the way for the defense are linebackers Justin Afalava, A.J. Atuaia and Kamalani Alo, junior Hau’oli Jamora up front, and veterans Jray Galeai and Shiloah Te’o in the secondary.

Offensively, the Red Raiders have relied on their run game, led by an offensive line that has paved the way up front for running backs St. John Lessary III (521 yards, 6.1 yards per attempt) and Alapeti Magalei, who have combined to provide the state’s best one-two punch in the back-field. Quarterback Allen Kubota has proved a good fit for the offense, meanwhile, having taken over for last year’s starter, Galeai, who is now playing safety and as a receiver.

Player to watch: Magalei. He brings balance to the Red Raider offense with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and is a nice complement to Lessary III in the run game.

Make plans for the Division I state tournament if: The Red Raiders can continue to stop the run on defense and run the ball on offense.