Taking A Look At Windward Football’s Fall OIA Schedule

Prep football fans won’t have to wait long for a marquee matchup to kick off the 2012 season. With a rematch of last year’s state championship between Kahuku and Punahou set for week one, the coming season should begin with a bang.

The Kahuku-Punahou game is just one of the highlights of the 2012 OIA football schedule. MidWeek‘s Windward Islander takes a look at the recently released schedules for Castle, Kahuku and Kailua. (Kalaheo’s schedule will run later.)

Castle Knights

2011 record: 2-7 overall, 2-4 in OIA Red East

2012 schedule: Aiea (Aug. 17-18); Farrington (neutral site, Aug. 24-25); Moanalua (Aug. 31-Sept. 1); Kahuku (Sept. 14-15); at Kailua (Sept. 21-22); Kaimuki (Sept. 28-29); McKinley (neutral site, Oct. 5-6).

Schedule breakdown: Any home date is a good thing for the Knights, who weren’t able to play all of their scheduled home games last year because of stadium renovations. The state-ofthe-art upgrade should be quite a boost for the storied program. As for the complete 2012 slate, getting Kahuku and Moanalua at home is huge, and the Farrington contest will be at a neutral site. The only true road game is the Hammer Trophy battle with Kailua in late September.

Key stretch: at Kailua, Kaimuki, McKinley

Must-see game: at Kailua Must-see game II: versus Kahuku

Game to be on upset-alert for: Versus Moanalua

Kahuku Red Raiders

2011 record: 12-1 overall, 5-1 in OIA Red East. The team won both the OIA championship and the Division I state tournament.

2012 schedule: Punahou (Aug. 17-18), Kailua (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), McKinley (Sept. 7-8), at Castle (Sept. 14-15), Kaimuki (neutral site, Sept. 21-22), Farrington (neutral site, Sept. 28-29), at Moanalua (Oct. 5-6).

Schedule breakdown: The Red Raiders will be challenged in the first month with defending state runner-up Punahou, Kailua, McKinley and Castle on the bill. The good news is that the first three will be at home before a much-anticipated trip to play the Knights.

Key stretch: Kailua, at Castle, Kaimuki

Must-see game: versus Farrington

Must-see game II: versus Punahou

Game to be on upset-alert for: at Castle

Kailua Surfriders

2011 record: 4-5 overall, 4-2 in OIA Red East

2012 schedule: Campbell (Aug. 17-18), Moanalua (Aug. 24-25), at Kahuku (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), Kaimuki (neutral site, Sept. 7-8), Castle (Sept. 21-22), McKinley (neutral site, Sept. 28-29), Farrington (Oct. 5-6).

Schedule breakdown: For Kailua followers, there isn’t much not to like about this schedule. For starters, the Surfriders get rival Castle at home in addition to opening the season with home dates against Campbell and Moanalua. Although that road trip to Kahuku is no picnic, the Kaimuki and McKinley games will be at a neutral site.

Key stretch: versus Castle, McKinley, Farrington

Must-see game: versus Castle

Must-see game II: at Kahuku

Game to be on upset-alert for: versus Kaimuki