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With a quarterback who hadn’t practiced a snap and a converted linebacker lining up at receiver, Moanalua executed the perfect play call with the game on the line.
Facing fourth-and-8 and trailing Castle by two, Moanalua executed a hook-and-ladder play, with linebacker Micah Kim taking a lateral from receiver Makana Spencer 67 yards for the go-ahead score with less than two minutes remaining to pull out a 40-36 win on Friday night at the Knights’ field.
Senior receiver Ezra Grace, who finished with 107 yards receiving, began the play with a quick throw to Spencer, who then pitched it to Kim racing down the Moanalua sideline.
“When I got the pitch I thought don’t let anyone touch me. Just run for my life and score,” said Kim, who also had three sacks on defense. “That was our star play ever since I was on JV. Coach said he needed me, so he called my name and I was ready to deliver.”
The play capped a thrilling Division I opener in the OIA-ILH football alliance.
Four interceptions were returned for touchdowns in the game, including two by Castle senior Senituli Punivai, who had three picks and three touchdowns in the first half.
Moanalua quarterback Nick Au finished 38-for-55 for 375 yards and four touchdowns but was knocked out of the game on Chaz Ciacci’s 4-yard interception return for a TD in the fourth quarter that cut Moanalua’s lead to 34-29.
Grace took the remaining snaps at quarterback despite not having taken one rep in practice at quarterback leading into the season.
“In football you have a plan A, plan B, plan C, but you never think you’ll get to plan D and we were at plan W,” Moanalua coach Savai’i Eselu said. “It was all kinds of bad things. We had three quarterbacks, but again, plan W, we just figured it out.”
Castle got the ball back with one last chance to win, but Moanalua’s Aukai Grace sealed the win with the game’s seventh interception.
Na Menehune called passes on 37 of 38 offensive plays in the first half and had the Knights reeling early when Castle’s Punivai started his own personal highlight tape.
It began with a deflected ball off of a Moanalua receiver into the hands of the 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior, who raced the other way for an 86-yard pick-6.
Punivai picked off Au again early in the second quarter and returned it 51 yards inside the 5.
Castle was held on three plays and looked like it had settled for a field goal when Punivai, who lined up as the holder, faked placing the ball down and took off for the left pylon, scoring on a 9-yard run to tie the game at 14.
On a fourth-down play, Punivai stepped in front of another Au throw and intercepted his third pass of the half, going 78 yards the other way to put Castle in front 21-14.
The Knights took their last lead in the fourth quarter when Braxton Wilcox recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone to give Castle a 36-34 advantage with 3:39 to go.
Moanalua outgained Castle 408 to 73.
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GAME SUMMARY
Moanalua 40, Castle 36
At Castle
>> Moanalua (1-0, 1-0) 14 7 13 6 — 40
>> Castle (0-2, 0-1) 7 14 0 15 — 36
Moanalua — Drayden Von Oelhoffen 30 pass from Nick Au (Luke Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Von Oelhoffen 6 pass from Au (Palalay kick)
Castle — Senituli Punivai 86 interception return (Cheyden Costa kick)
Castle — Punivai 9 run (Costa kick)
Castle — Punivai 78 interception return (Costa kick)
Moanalua — Jesse Kaohi 54 interception return (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Paleafei 15 pass from Au (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Lawsen Lee 16 pass from Au (kick blocked)
Castle — Chaz Ciacci 4 interception return (Punivai run)
Castle — Braxton Wilcox fumble recovery in end zone (Costa kick)
Moanalua — Micah Kim 67 pass from Ezra Grace (kick failed)
RUSHING — Moanalua: Lee 1-0, Jacob Copeland 1-(minus 2), Grace 6-(minus 5), Au 5-(minus 11), team 2-(minus 22). Castle: Punivai 1-9, Bruce Pakele 5-7, team 1-(minus 5), Keanu Tilton 3-(minus 8), Austyn Acosta 8-(minus 44).
PASSING — Moanalua: Au 38-55-4—375, Grace 2-3-0—73. Castle: Acosta 7-14-2—65, Samuel Judd 4-11-1—49.
RECEIVING — Moanalua: CJ Paleafei 9-66, Javon Monico 9-127, Grace 7-109, Von Oelhoffen 7-44, Makana Spencer 5-17, Lee 3-18, Kim 0-67. Castle: Paul Omengebar 5-87, Elijah Catrett 2-12, Kanekulani Kahala-Giron 1-9, Punivai 1-7, Pakele 1-4, Tilton 1-(minus 5).
* JV — Castle 18, Moanalua 9
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