Castle loses more than game to Damien
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
KAILUA — The Castle High School football team, ranked No. 7 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, lost more than just pride in a 14-10 defeat to Damien last night at Kailua Stadium.
The Knights (1-1) also lost starting quarterback Bryce Kalauoka'aea — probably for the season — when he suffered a knee injury late in the first quarter. Kalauoka'aea, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior, was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament after being tackled on a scramble.
Torn ACLs often require surgery and a recovery period of about nine months.
The injury hurts Castle in more ways than one, because Kalauoka'aea's backup is Junior Mansanas, a 5-7, 145-pound senior who was a starting slotback.
"It changes our whole offensive thinking," Knights coach Nelson Maeda said. "Junior is very versatile and can do a lot of things, but we'll need to make adjustments. It was a costly game for us."
Damien's starting quarterback, Zachary Shimizu, also left the game in the first half with an apparent shoulder injury, but the Monarchs (1-0) were able to rely on a surprisingly strong running game (263 yards) and attempted only eight passes, completing one for seven yards.
Kealoha Pilares' 55-yard touchdown sprint with 3:25 remaining in the game helped put Damien up, 14-10.
Castle went three-and-out on the ensuing series but got the ball back with 1:45 left after forcing a punt. But the Knights came up a couple yards short on fourth-and-13 from their own 24 with 26 seconds left.
Damien, which won the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Division II championship last season, is competing in the same division this season. Castle competes in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's Red (top tier) Conference.
"We didn't really care what division they play in, we just practiced hard all week and did our thing," said Pilares, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior. "We lost a lot of senior leaders from last year, but we're still trying to raise it to a higher level."
Castle (1-1) 0 3 7 0—10
Damien (1-0) 0 7 0 7—14
CAS—FG Ethan Gonsalves 27
DAM—Va'a Faualo 26 run (Faualo kick)
CAS—Junior Mansanas 4 run (Gonsalves kick)
DAM—Kealoha Pilares 55 run (Faualo kick)
RUSHING—Castle: Justin Kruse 14-47, Bryce Kalauoka'aea 3-(minus-10), Blaine Kobashigawa 1-(minus-3), Mansanas 6-43; Dam: Kaimana Balanon 7-15, Pilares 15-151, Faualo 9-83, Zachary Shimizu 1-7, Landen Dela Cruz 1-3, George Martin 4-4.
PASSING—Cas: Kalauoka'aea 1-1-0—10, Mansanas 4-16-0—58; Dam: Shimizu 0-3-0—0, Martin 3-5-1—7.
RECEIVING—Cas: Lihikai Domingo 3-63, Kruse 1-(minus-7), Naeole McFadden 1-12; Dam: Faualo 1-(minus-4), Dela Cruz 1-18, Pilares 1-(minus-7).
Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.
