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Healthy ‘Cross-town’ Rivalry Year-round For Castle, Kailua

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Kailua boys head basketball coach Tim Harrison gives his team a pre-game pep talk. Photo by Nathalie Walker, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

To think Castle-Kailua is to think football. That will never change. Indeed, that should never change.

But the fervor felt between the schools is no less evident in other sports to fans of their programs, basketball included. Last winter was a prime example when they met March 7 for the Division II state championship at Blaisdell Arena. Kailua won the game 53-36 to post the school’s first state title in basketball since 1982.

Asked in the days that immediately followed if Kailua’s state title had sunk in yet, Tim Harrison said, “It’s starting to.”

“When I got back to school that Monday, everyone was real excited for us,” he said. “Before that, it had been a grind, and it didn’t hit me.”

That game marked the sixth meeting between the Windward schools during the 2008-09 season, with the each winning three of them. Castle, coached by Jeff Hiro, had defeated Kailua, 37-36, Feb. 28 to capture the OIA DII championship - its first boys hoops title of any kind since 1970.

In that sense, both programs earned the hardware for their trophy cases they both deserved. The biggest winners may have been the fans, who saw them enjoy extraordinary seasons.

Any discussion of the 2009 prep season has to begin with the “Six-Game War” between Castle and Kailua DII basketball. A look at some of the other memorable moments from 2009 prep season on the Windward side follows.

* When it came to Windward basketball, March Madness wasn’t limited to Division II. Kalaheo made an unprecedented 19th straight state tournament appearance of its own in March, finishing 14-8 overall under Chico Furtado.

Up the road, Kahuku coach Hiram Akina became the first basketball coach in the history of the OIA to lead two different schools to the league championship in back-to-back seasons last winter. On Feb. 27, he coached Kahuku to a 45-41 win over Kaimuki in the DI OIA championship game. He had led Mililani to the 2008 OIA title before returning to Kahuku the following off-season to coach in the community in which he lives.

* In girls basketball, Kahuku won the OIA DII championship with a 61-48 victory over Kaimuki in the title game Feb. 20.

* On the baseball diamond, controversy marred Kailua’s 2-1 loss to Pearl City in the OIA DI title game April 27 at Hans L’Orange Park when an interference call ended the Surfriders’ seventh-inning rally - and the game.

* In girls softball, Castle made a second straight state tournament appearance under Jon Berinobis in May. Kailua coach Bernard Victor retired, meanwhile, after 32 years at the school at season’s end.

* On the football field, Kahuku lived up to all pre-season projections in winning its 10th OIA title since 1998, beating Leilehua 24-20 in the championship game Nov. 6. The Red Raiders, coached by Reggie Torres, finished their remarkable season at 12-1 after falling to Kamehameha in the DI state title game Dec. 6.

Also on the gridiron, the Castle football team had a solid 6-5 season under Nelson Maeda that was highlighted by wins over defending DII champ Iolani and rival Kailua, their seventh in the last eight meetings for the program in their storied rivalry. In the semifinals of the OIA DI playoffs, the Knights put on one of their best efforts of the year, when they led then-unbeaten Kahuku 14-13 before conceding a late touchdown to the Red Raiders in a heart-wrenching 19-14 loss.

* It was a banner year for both Kailua’s boys and girls soccer teams. Tiffany Nakata and Ashley Kanoho both scored first-half goals to lead the Surfrider girls to a 3-0 win over Waianae in the OIA DII title game last Jan. 23. Surfrider coach Wil Kimura passed away Dec. 16. (See related story.) On the boys side, Waialua’s Kainoa Rosa’s goal stood up as the game-winner as the Bulldogs held off Kailua 1-0 in the DII OIA title game Jan. 30 at Waipio Soccer Complex.

* The Kahuku girls volleyball team won its second straight OIA DI title under Uila Fotu-Vendiola Oct. 23 when it defeated Moanalua in the final. In DII, Castle also made the OIA championship game, losing a heartbreaker to Kaiser on the same evening.

In girls water polo, Roosevelt ended Kahuku’s run of six straight OIA titles with a 7-5 win over the Red Raiders on May 2 at Central Oahu Regional Park.