It took a seasoned senior to outduel the super sophomore.

That put a damper on Kailua’s homecoming in what was otherwise a dry night for its normally explosive offense. Castle senior Jaymason Lee passed for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and got plenty of help from a surprisingly effective ground attack in the second half as the Knights fought off No. 7 Kailua 26-17 last night.

The win lifted Castle to 3-2 in Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East play (5-2 overall) and put a dent in Kailua’s solid run in regular-season play. The Surfriders dropped to 4-2 in league play (5-3 overall).

Kailua gunslinger Kahaku Iaea, one of the hottest passers in the state, lofted 45 pass attempts, but five were picked off and he finished with just 136 yards in the air.

Linebacker Cy Pana had one of Castle’s picks.

"We were just dropping into coverage, looking for the open windows and going after that ball. We set up our D-ends to go after the running back (Sato) because he’s fast and quick," Pana said.

Kailua, which no-huddled for a good portion of the game, finished with 186 total yards. Castle tallied 348 yards even while eschewing its usual no-huddle attack.

Even with the aerial troubles, Kailua rallied from a 17-point deficit and was down 20-17 in the third quarter. A 66-yard run off right tackle by Isaac "Bubba" Sato with 1:39 left in the first half gave the Surfriders a boost.

After Billy Fautt’s diving 19-yard touchdown catch near the pylon, Kailua was within 20-17 with 6:20 to go in the third.

Two minutes later, Kailua defensive end Ethan Mahaulu, a 6-foot-4 senior, picked off a Lee pass to give his team the ball at Castle’s 5-yard line.

Kailua settled for a field-goal try from normally reliable Eric Lum, but he missed from the left hashmark on a 22-yard try.

From there, however, Castle’s unheralded ground game took control. Out of shotgun, trip sets, reserve running back Teawe Olds tore off gains of 13, 37 and 12 yards as the Knights regained momentum. Lee rolled out and connected with Moses Alimott for a 17-yard touchdown in the corner to give Castle a 26-17 cushion with 11:41 remaining.

Iaea was picked off in each of Kailua’s final three series.

OIA RED WEST
No. 5 Leilehua 30, Waianae 26

Kenan Sadanaga passed for four touchdowns, including a game-winning 6-yarder to Russell Siavii in the fourth quarter, to rally the Mules over the visiting Seariders.

Sadanaga completed 21 of 31 passes for 220 yards and scoring tosses of 5 yards to Darrien Shealy, 23 to Jeremiah Andrade and 21 to Allen Racette.

Bryson Panui and Puletua Wilson rushed for two touchdowns each for Waianae.

OIA WHITE
McKinley 28, Kalani 6

Senior Solomon Dixon had 21 carries for 186 yards and a touchdown to carry the Tigers over the winless Falcons.

Junior quarterback Mathias Tuitele-Iafeta scored on a 2-yard run and senior running back Joash Togiai on a 4-yard run as McKinley built a 13-0 first-quarter lead. Dixon ran 82 yards to score with 5:37 to play in the first half as the lead grew to 21-0.

Jun Cho answered with a 24-yard touchdown run less than 2 minutes later for Kalani’s lone score.