KANEOHE - Campbell ran over Castle, 35-13 in an O’ahu Interscholastic Association Division I cross-over game on Friday night at Castle High School. Although Castle (0-1) plays in the Red Division and Campbell (1-0) is in the Blue Division, this game will count in the regular season standings. 

Campbell totaled 454 yards of net offense and accumulated 306 yards of net rushing. Running back Terrell Johnson led the way with 11 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown. Jayce Bantolina led all Saber receivers with 5 catches for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns.  

“I felt that our o-line was going to be our strengths this year. With backs like Terrell Johnson and Austin May and of course getting our slots involved with the running game. Castle is a feisty team, they’re not big in size but they could create some havoc. Taito (Abiel) being our quarterback, we were limited in things we wanted to do offensively,” said Campbell coach Amosa Amosa. 

“I think it was more about patience and waiting on our blocks and working hard and keep going,” said Johnson, on the success of the running game. 

The Sabers got on the scoreboard after Austin May scored a 25 yard touchdown and added another touchdown after Abiel Taito passed it to Jayce Bantolina, who evaded several Castle defenders, for 34 yards to make it, 14-0. 

Taito, who is listed at linebacker, started at quarterback for Campbell in place of Ezra Savea, who was out due to academics. He finished the game 10-of-23 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown. 

“In the beginning the adrenaline was going and told him to settle down and manage our offense, I didn’t want to do too much with him but we wanted to use his athletic ability to help us, he did an awesome job,” said Amosa, on Taito. 

The Knights got on the scoreboard after Micah Halemanu intercepted Taito and returned it for a 10-yard touchdown. The kick was no good and Castle trailed, 14-6 with 3:12 remaining in the second quarter. 

Campbell’s defense picked off Castle quarterback Stephen Lee three times: Dominic Pantanstico had one and Dylan Villanueva had the other two. 

“On defense, our kids are very aggressive so tonight was a great way for us to be responsible with our alignment and execution,” said Amosa. 

After Villanueva’s second interception of the game, the Sabers took advantage of the turnover and Johnson rushed for a 70 yard touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in the half. 

“We all had to step up and contribute and make plays and come together as one and fix up our miscues,” said Johnson.

In the third quarter, Campbell scored on a safety after Castle was called for a penalty in the end zone and Jenesus Tago-Su'e rushed for a 5 yard touchdown to give the Sabers some breathing room. 

Back up quarterback Anthony Pablo threw a 37 yard touchdown to Alika Bantolina to make it 35-6. Stephen Lee threw a 15 yard touchdown to Chad Figueroa for the last score of the game. 

Campbell was penalized 11 times for 125 yards and had two opportunities to score in the red zone, but miscues backed them up. 

“Our goal today was to get better from our scrimmage from McKinley, that was the last time we played somebody. I thought we stepped it up, but there are a lot of things we need to fine tune and things we need to fix because every week gets harder and tougher,” said Amosa. 

Lee finished the game 25 of 49 passing for 174 yards and a touchdown and Figueroa finished with 6 catches for 61 yards. 

Campbell will take on Moanalua, who upended Waianae, 30-23 on Aug. 22 while Castle plays at Waipahu on Aug. 29.