Knights’ Football Camp: Learning From Mistakes

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While Castle’s 2006 football season could be neatly summarized as one of missed opportunities, coach Nelson Maeda and the Knights won’t underestimate the lessons they learned along the way.

The Knights open spring practice June 4, with their public unveiling set June 15 at the annual Maroon and Gold scrimmage.

“Good teams find ways to win games, and last year we found ways to lose them,” said Maeda, whose team finished 3-6 in 2006.“We’re looking to build on last year as a learning experience. Discipline has always been one of our strong points, and we were very undisciplined as a whole. We had touchdowns called back, penalties, turnovers ... we’re trying to re-focus and be the most disciplined team we can be.”

Based on their off-season work-outs, Maeda expects nearly 60 varsity players to take part in spring ball. Under OIA guidelines, they are allowed a 14-day period in which to conduct 10 practices. Maeda expects the amount of contact at the workouts to expand gradually before the spring game.

The Knights also were hit hard with off-the-field adversity in 2006. On the eve of a much-anticipated regular-season game at Kahuku, Patrick Kapahu, a senior lineman for Castle, died from injuries suffered in a skateboarding accident two days earlier.

“It was a very tough season to deal with,” the coach admitted.

On the field, the Knights will have plenty of fresh faces when they start pre-season in August. Standouts Corey Paredes and Scott Kieter-Charles were among the 22 seniors who completed their eligibility last November.

“We have a long way to go,” said Maeda, the OIA Red East’s Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2005 when he led the Knights to 5-1 and 6-0 records, respectively. “We have some holes to fill, so it is a formidable challenge. We hope we can develop some kids (in the spring).”

Four key returnees - slot/defensive back Bronson Kekahuna, lineman Solomon Koehler, lineman Tauoli Maae and quarterback Thomas Ilae - will be counted on for leadership early on.

Ilae was starting JV quarterback two years ago before missing all but Castle’s final game last year with injuries. He enters spring as the projected starter for 2007.

“His rehabilitation has come along - he’s hungry to play,” Maeda said. “Thomas is very athletic and elusive in the open field. We want to get the ball in his hands as much as possible.”

At 6-2, 315 pounds, Koehler “is a big kid by our standards,” he added.“He’s very athletic for a big kid. He has a lot of potential.”

Like Koehler, Maae will likely play both sides of the ball. “He’s a very tenacious player,” Maeda said. “He’s very aggressive.”

Maeda expects Kekahuna to be the next in a long list of stellar slot backs at Castle. “He’s a big-play guy for us,” he said of Kekahuna, who will also be a return specialist. “He’s a guy you want to get the ball to in the open field.”

Castle’s fall schedule will be among the toughest in the state. They open with Mililani and Kamehameha in pre-season and meet Kailua and Kahuku in successive weeks late in the regular season.

Both Castle’s spring workouts and Maroon and Gold scrimmage will be held on the school’s baseball field. The football field was re-sodded in the off-season and won’t be ready until August.