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A week after an overtime win, Leilehua rode emotion and momentum to a commanding 43-6 victory over Castle on Friday in Kaneohe.
Mules running back James McGary reached the end zone the first two times he touched the ball and quarterback Konapiliahi Andres threw two touchdown passes to Jeremy Evans and ran for another to power Leilehua (3-2, 2-2 OIA Red) to its highest point total of the season.
“It was just a collective effort,” Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu said.
“We wanted to establish our run again. I thought that took the stress off our quarterback and receivers, and once we started running we were able to pass the ball a little bit better.”
After pulling out a 20-19 overtime win at Kapolei, the Mules turned in big plays in all three phases to pull away from Castle.
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* Hawaii high school football scoreboard, Sept. 8
>> Pac-Five vs. Damien, 3 p.m., Aloha Stadium
>> Kahuku vs. Bingham, 4 p.m., at Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas
>> Campbell vs. Moanalua, 5:30 p.m., at Roosevelt
>> Punahou vs. KS, 6 p.m., Aloha Stadium
>> Kapolei at Kailua, 6:30 p.m.
>> Waianae at Radford, 6:30 p.m.
Special teams set up Leilehua’s first two touchdowns, and a fumble recovery set up another quick score to give the Mules a 21-3 lead going into halftime. The Mules defense added to the scoring with lineman Kalaika Sinclair’s 12-yard fumble return in the third quarter.
Leilehua scored in bunches, with two touchdowns in a span of 1:08 in the second quarter and two more within 50 seconds of each other to break the game open in the third.
McGary finished with 84 yards in just eight carries and caught two passes for 34 more yards. Evans led the Mules with seven receptions for 119 yards and Andres threw for 185.
The back-to-back wins pushed Leilehua back above .500 after being shut out by Kahuku and Mililani in the first two weeks of the OIA schedule.
“It’s hard when you play such great teams early and you’re asked to stay positive,” Kurisu said.
But enduring the early hardship, “just brought them together and we’re fortunate. These kids worked really hard to stay together and it’s showing.”
Castle (3-3, 3-2) was coming off a 49-35 win over Nanakuli but struggled to sustain drives on Friday, with kicker Cheyden Costa accounting for the Knights’ scoring with field goals from 39 and 45 yards.
“Our defense played well,” Castle coach John Hao said. “I don’t count the (43) against the defense, because when you’re on the field most of the game, it’s only going to get worse.
“We need completions and we need yardage when we run the ball. Right now we’re trying to find a way to have these kids get confidence in themselves.”
Castle closes its home schedule on Friday against Kailua, while Leilehua returns to Hugh Yoshida Stadium to take on Nanakuli.
More photos of the game between Leilehua and Castle.
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