Waianae goes to Towne in domination of Castle

Waianae’s ground production helped contain a dangerous Castle offense in the Seariders’ 36-20 win over the host Knights on Friday night.

Waianae running back Javen Towne ran for four touchdowns, Ezekaiah Moniz-Hopeau ran for 130 yards and the Seariders controlled the ball and the clock while improving to 2-0 in the OIA Red with the win in Kaneohe.

“We tried to just establish the running game, that was our plan,” Waianae coach Walter Young said.

“That’s that we try to do, try to shorten the game with our offense.

“We’ve got a pretty decent backfield, so we can alternate them. They’re getting carries and they are getting rest coming out, so that helps us a lot.”

Waianae ran 39 plays for 172 yards in the first half, while the Seariders defense was on the field for just 15 plays, limiting Castle to 53 yards in total offense.

The Seariders established control of the line of scrimmage on their opening possession, driving 76 yards in 16 plays while taking more than seven minutes off the clock, with Towne scoring on a 1-yard plunge.

“We started off pretty strong in the beginning,” Towne said. “Established the run and set the tempo for the game.”

Waianae then recovered a surprise onside kick, and Towne scored three plays later on a 14-yard burst.

Castle’s special teams got the Knights back in the game when Royce Simeona-Townsend blocked a punt and lineman Elijah Villanueva returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.

But Waianae answered with an 11-play march capped by Towne’s 15-yard touchdown run.

After the teams traded interceptions to open the third quarter, Moniz-Hopeau extended Waianae’s lead with a 10-yard reception from Seariders quarterback Jaren Ulu.

Castle receiver Jeremy McGoldrick, who picked up 354 yards in the Knights’ first two games, was held without a reception until he caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Willie Ewaliko with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.

Waianae stifled Castle’s comeback hopes with Towne’s fourth score of the night, a 12-yard run with 5:46 left in the game.