HondaReport.com
Castle pulls out another miracle win over No. 5
By Paul Honda
Editor
HondaReport.com
MILILANI—Tarann
Bajet scored on a two-point conversion with
The win elevated Castle to 2-0 in Oahu Interscholastic
Association Red East play (3-1 overall).
Bajet’s play came on the heels of a miraculous comeback by
the Knights, who trailed 28-14 midway through the second half. Castle’s
resilience, coupled with
Moments before Bajet’s run, Blaine Kobashigawa scored his
third touchdown of the game on a 61-yard pass play. In frustration, a
That set Castle up just a yard-and-a-half from the goal line for the PAT. Trailing 28-27, the Knights conferred and decided to go for two. They lined up in a double-tight end set for the first time all night. Third-string quarterback Jordan Nakayama gave to the fullback, Bajet, who burst through the middle to give Castle the lead.
“Once he threw the helmet, we knew that would be a conduct penalty,” Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. “It was a staff decision to go for two, (Nakayama) had the option. Fortunately for us, he made the right choice.”
The Knights recovered at the
The loss overshadowed a remarkable performance by Torres, who finished with 265 rushing yards on 30 attempts. He scored on runs of 6, 79 and 47 yards. “He scored untouched on those runs,” Maeda said.
Torres had just 39 yards in the first half.
Castle slotback Blaine Kobashigawa scored on touchdowns of 59, 6 and 61 yards. He finished with five receptions for 177 yards.
“They had all their guys on me,” said Kobashigawa, who was slightly surprised that a linebacker was covering him on the final touchdown play. The ‘backer slipped as Kobashigawa ran by for the score. “We watched video all week to get ready for this game.”
The biggest statistic was penalties. Castle was whistled
eight times for 48 yards, but
Castle, operating out of Run and Shoot shotgun sets, wound up with minus-24 yards rushing, but passed for 323 yards. Louis Mansanas was 10-of-21 for 202 yards. He threw for two scores and was picked off three times before sitting down with an ankle injury.
Nakayama, third on the depth chart, stepped up and finished 4-of-8 for 121 yards with one interception.
The interception came during a crucial stint in the fourth quarter, with Castle still rallying. “We told him, it was okay,” Kobashigawa said. ”We had faith in him.”
Maeda was quite impressed. “He was outstanding, considering he’s our No. 3 quarterback and didn’t get that many repetitions at practice,” Maeda said.
Castle got on the scoreboard first on a 59-yard pass play from Mansanas to Kobashigawa on the second play from scrimmage. Both defenses dominated the rest of the half, and Castle led at the break, 7-0.
Using mostly offset I formation all night, the Surfriders
began to wear the smaller Castle defense down. Torres scored on a six-yard run
to tie the game at 7 with
Castle responded quickly on a six-yard touchdown pass from
Mansanas to Kobashigawa for a 14-7 lead with
On
Torres galloped for a 47-yard touchdown run moments later,
and
With Castle reeling, Maeda used time outs to help his Black Knights regroup. “They rolled off three touchdowns in a row against us. We had to call time out,” he said. “We asked them, ‘What are we here for? Believe in yourself.’”
Nakayama entered for good and connected with Lihikai Domingo on a nine-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. Castle then came up with the 61-yard touchdown play from Nakayama to Kobashigawa, setting up the winning play.
Now, Castle is in position to make a strong run for a post-season berth. Regaining focus after a win over its archrival will be challenging. “The seniors will keep us humble,” Kobashigawa said.
Castle 07 00 07 15 — 29
Cas—
Kai—Damien Torres 6 run (Brian Jacobsen kick).
Cas—Kobashigawa
6 pass from Mansanas (Gonsalves kick).
Kai—Torres 79 run (Jacobsen kick).
Kai—Torres 47 run (Jacobsen kick)
Kai—Makana Atisanoe 27 interception return (Jacobsen
kick).
Cas—Lihikai
Domingo 9 pass from Jordan Nakayama (Gonsalves kick).
Cas—Kobashigawa
61 pass from Nakayama (Tarann Bajet run).
Rushing
Passing
Receiving
Defense
Interceptions
Fumbles recovered