A night after heavy rains in Windward Oahu left Carlton E. Weimer Field a soggy mess, Kahuku took some time to find traction against Castle in Saturday’s weather-delayed OIA Red matchup.

But once the Red Raiders found their footing, they sprinted away from the Knights in a 42-6 victory on homecoming night on the North Shore.

Kahuku quarterback Kesi Ah-Hoy relied on the Red Raiders offensive line to lead him through the mud, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown on just five carries. He also threw for two touchdowns, the first to Keala Santiago, who also scored on a punt return to help the fourth-ranked Red Raiders improve to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the OIA Red.

"It was hard to make cuts, but there is still a little traction where you can run," Ah-Hoy said. "That’s how good the O-line was tonight. They made nice holes for me, so the majority of the time I could just run straight and make plays."

Kahuku had to wait a day to celebrate homecoming and senior night after lightning in the area Friday afternoon forced the game to be postponed. Castle had made it to Kualoa when the Knights learned the junior varsity game was called and turned around to return to Kaneohe.

The teams gave it another shot on Saturday, and while the rain stayed away the field remained slick.

"We tried to be smart because it was wet," Santiago said. "So we had to play smart and still play fast."

Castle (2-4, 2-3) seized the momentum early as an aggressive Knights defense shot through gaps in the Kahuku front and forced a punt on the Red Raiders’ opening possession.

Castle’s first drive was extended by a roughing-the-passer call, and the Knights capitalized with Jeremy McGoldrick running down a 42-yard touchdown pass from Willie Ewaliko to give Castle a 6-0 lead.

But Castle couldn’t muster much else against the Kahuku defense the rest of the way.

"It was nice to get that and we thought it would give them some confidence, but things just fell apart after that," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said.

"(Kahuku has) a lot of talent, they’ve got a lot of weapons, just a tenacious defense up front."

After falling behind, Kahuku did all of its scoring in a span of seven minutes, 47 seconds, starting with Ah-Hoy’s 39-yard burst on a quarterback draw.

Santiago accounted for the next two scores by splashing across the field on his 45-yard punt return and hauling in a 30-yard pass from Ah-Hoy early in the second quarter.

"Keala’s a quintessential student-athlete," Kahuku coach Vavae Tata said. "He’s dynamic, he’s smart, an overall student athlete. When you’re the total package like he is, he’s bound to make plays."

After LeRod Tongi capped a five-play drive with a 1-yard plunge, Castle came out in an unorthodox formation with its linemen split to the left with the center and quarterback on the right side. After Kahuku pushed the Knights back inside their 5-yard line, Hirkley Latu intercepted a pass in the end zone to give Kahuku a 35-6 lead.

Kekaula Kaniho came up with another pick at the Castle 44, and Ah-Hoy rolled to his left and found Ocean Tuia, who pulled away from the Knights to extend the lead heading into halftime.