Suddenly needing a win to preserve its season, No. 9 ‘Iolani took care of business on its end with a nail-biting 33-28 victory over Castle.
No. 10 Damien’s 22-17 win over No. 6 Moanalua at Aloha Stadium became final shortly before Friday night’s 7:39 p.m. kickoff in Kaneohe, meaning the Raiders would have to win to match the Monarchs’ 8-2 overall record and force a one-game ILH playoff on Oct. 25 for the right to compete in the HHSAA Division I tournament.
The Raiders barely got it done, nearly blowing a 17-point fourth quarter lead.
“We’re lucky to get away with a win here,” ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. “We didn’t finish well. We got a lot of work to do.”
The Raiders entered the fourth quarter with a comfortable 31-14 lead after a pair of Brock Hedani 3-yard rushing touchdowns in the third. But Castle, which was eliminated from OIA playoff contention with a loss to Kailua last week, showed pride in front of a vibrant senior night crowd and made it interesting in the end.
Chazz Tom scored on 1-yard rush with 5:46 left. The Knights then forced an ‘Iolani punt on a three-and-out. On its next play, Kila Kaio and Jonah Figueroa connected on a 72-yard touchdown with 3:08 left.
The Knights defense held strong again, forcing another punt to get the ball back on its own 3 with 2:05 left. A high snap caused wildcat quarterback Kala Matthews to get tackled in the end zone for a safety. Although ‘Iolani recovered the ensuing onside kick, the Knights got the ball one last time on their own 17 with 21 seconds left, but a desperation pass at the end barely crossed midfield.
“It’s a hard loss, but it was a good game. We played our hearts out,” said Matthews, who finished with 185 yards on 36 carries. “My body is so sore, my head. But it’s all good. We had a good team. I wish we went (to the OIA Division I) playoffs, but it is what it is.”
‘Iolani quarterback Jonah Chong gashed the Knights on the game’s opening possession, completing three consecutive passes for 37 yards before rushing for a 22-yard touchdown with 10:14 remaining in the first quarter.
Castle responded with a touchdown of its own during its first possession, leaning heavily on Matthews on direct snap runs. He ran the ball 13 times in the team’s first drive alone, finishing it off with a 9-yard touchdown.
Wailoa Manuel scored all the points for ‘Iolani in the second quarter. His 22-yard field goal gave the Raiders a 10-7 lead. On their next drive, he hauled in a 5-yard touchdown from Chong and knocked the extra point through.
The Knights cut the lead to 17-14 at the half after Matthews’ 3-yard rushing touchdown with 22 seconds left in the second quarter. At the break, he had already carried the ball 22 times for 140 yards.
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No. 9 ‘Iolani 31, Castle 28
At Castle
>> ‘Iolani (8-2, 6-2) 7 10 14 2 — 33
>> Castle (2-7, 2-4) 7 7 0 14 — 28
‘Iolani — Jonah Chong 22 rush (Wailoa Manuel kick)
Castle — Kala Matthews 9 rush (Cheydon Costa kick)
‘Iolani — FG Manuel 22
‘Iolani — Manuel 5 pass from Chong (Manuel kick)
Castle — Matthews 3 rush (Costa kick)
‘Iolani — Brock Hedani 3 rush (Manuel kick)
‘Iolani — Hedani 3 rush (Manuel kick)
Castle — Chazz Tom 1 rush (Costa kick)
Castle — Jonah Figueroa 72 pass from Kila Kaio (Costa kick)
‘Iolani — safety, Matthews tackled in end zone
RUSHING — ‘Iolani: Chong 4-45, Hedani 18-40, Brody Bantolina 3-10, Jake Lee 1-3, Cole Ichikawa 2-(minus-3). Castle: Matthews 36-185, Tom 4-58, AJ Igafo 7-38, Kahiau Kanoa 1-6, Brandon Frey 1-1, TEAM 1-(minus-3).
PASSING — ‘Iolani: Chong 14-26-0-148. Castle: Kaio 3-7-0-77.
RECEIVING — ‘Iolani: Carter Kamana 8-64, Manuel 5-67, Hedani 1-17. Castle: Figueroa 1-72, Igafo 1-8, Matthews 1-(minus-3).
* Junior varsity —Kaiser 20, Castle 3
