The 2015 season was an eternity ago for the Damien football program.
Even as the Monarchs improved to 5-0 with a commanding 41-13 win at Castle to match their best start to a season since then, standards have been raised for Damien coach Eddie Klaneski.
“It’s good, but that doesn’t really matter,” said Klaneski, who is in his ninth season at the helm. “We have to face each game and each week. We’re happy to be where we’re at right now, but we just have a lot of work to do on ourselves. If we can correct those things, we’ll be OK.”
Damien got on the board first on Friday night when fullback River Iaea took a fourth-and-1 handoff 16 yards up the middle for a score.
>> Click here to see photos of the game between Damien and Castle.
Castle (1-3, 1-2 OIA Division I) has split time with Kila Kaio and Mana Kahoopii at quarterback this season, but with Kahoopii sidelined with an Achilles injury on Friday night, Kaio’s reps were undivided behind center. He struggled in the first quarter and didn’t complete a pass out of his four attempts through the air. All three possessions were three-and-outs for the Knights in the opening period.
That quickly changed in the second quarter. Iaea lined up to punt for the Monarchs, who converted on an earlier fourth down try. The junior received the snap and took off running but was stopped a yard short, giving the Knights the ball back on their own 46.
Kaio’s first pass of the second quarter was also his first completion, a 54-yard strike that EJ Dydasco caught in stride with 10:20 left in the period to put Castle on the board.
Damien answered. Apereamo Sulu took a pitch 7 yards to paydirt to extend the Monarchs’ lead to 14-6 with 4:29 left in the first half.
Perhaps the game’s biggest momentum swing came late in the first half, when Castle was flagged for running into punter Christian Souza, giving Damien the ball back on the Castle 36. The Monarchs took full advantage of it and capped the new drive with Iaea’s second touchdown of the night with 24 seconds left in the first half.
The Monarchs continued to pounce on Castle’s mistakes in the second half. After the Knights fumbled on their first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Sulu ran for a 36-yard touchdown on the very next play.
Damien quarterback Jake Holtz punctuated the game on a read-option keeper for a 28-yard touchdown in the third quarter. However, he was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, leading to some push-ups when he got back on the sideline.
“My offensive coordinator told me to do it,” Holtz said. “It was just a discipline thing. I regret (getting penalized), it doesn’t show our character well at Damien.”
Damien capitalized on one last Castle turnover when Kyle Kinney jumped a screen for a 37-yard pick-6 in the fourth quarter to briefly move the game into running-clock territory.
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OIA-ILH DIVISION I
No. 8 Damien 41, Castle 13
At Castle
>> Damien (5-0) 7 13 14 7 — 41
>> Castle (1-3) 0 6 0 7 — 13
Damien — River Iaea 16 rush (Christian Souza kick)
Castle — EJ Dydasco 54 pass from Kila Kaio (kick failed)
Damien — Apereamo Sulu 7 rush (Souza kick)
Damien — Iaea 2 rush (kick failed)
Damien — Sulu 36 rush (Souza kick)
Damien — Jake Holtz 28 rush (Souza kick)
Damien — Kyle Kinney 37 interception return (Souza kick)
Castle — Chazz Tom 4 rush (Cheydon Costa kick)
RUSHING — Damien: Sulu 8-100, Holtz 10-82, Iaea 2-18, Chance Maghinay-Santos 5-11, Duke Hoohuli 1-7, Logan Lacio 1-1, TEAM 3-(minus-6). Castle: Tom 20-71, TEAM 1-(minus-13), Kaio 5-(minus-19).
PASSING — Damien: Holtz 18-31-0-191, Lacio 1-2-0-10, Hoohuli 0-2-0-0. Castle: Kaio 8-24-1-192, Kala Matthews 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – Damien: Makanalea Meyer 5-74, Jarvis Natividad 4-45, Ezra Kaina 4-45, Sulu 4-23, Jayce Jay-Pedro 1-10, Tino Antonio 1-4. Castle: Dydasco 2-63, Ian Pakele 2-55, Logan Albinio 2-31, AJ Igafo 1-29, Tom 1-14.
