Kailua RB Samson Rasay looks for some running room in the Surfriders' 2017 regular season meeting against the Castle Knights. Leighland Tagawa | SL

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Week 8 of the prep football season will feature a windward Oahu matchup between two teams looking to continue their winning ways.

Kailua, who is coming off its first victory of the season after a 27-0 homecoming win over Nanakuli, will travel to Kaneohe to take on Castle Friday night in a key Oahu Interscholastic Division I contest.

The Surfriders (1-5 overall, 1-3 league) dropped their first five games of the year but bounced back with a smothering win where they held the Golden Hawks to just 13 yards of total offense.

Quarterback Cole Weber ran in his first two touchdowns of the season and threw for another score — a 9-yard TD pass to Kase Oshiro.

Meanwhile, the Knights are coming off a thrilling 45-33 win against Radford which gave Castle its second-straight victory to improve to 2-4 and 2-3.

Converted running back Senituli Punivai led Castle over the Rams, throwing for four TDs — two to Jonah Figueroa — while adding 151 yards and another score on the ground.

We caught up with Surfriders coach Hauoli Wong and Knights coach John Hao before they take to the field.

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation.

Hauoli Wong, Kailua coach: "I just feel we're on the cusp of doing a lot of good things ... but it's just the quarterback play. As long as the QB play continues to get better, we can be really good. I feel we're in a place where defensively we're playing solid football. We just have to take care of the football on offense."

John Hao, Castle coach: "We're on the rise. I would say it's an uplifting feeling for the kids where there's light at the end of the tunnel."

SL: What was the biggest adjustment or change in your team that helped end your losing streak?

Wong: "The biggest thing is they played together and they had fun out there. We did have one turnover, but we were also in the plus margin of the turnover margin. For us, for the first time, we were the ones causing the turnover."

Hao: "Our quarterback play. Tuli stepping up in the quarterback position, our guys making offensive adjustments to revolve around Tuli, and he just executed."

SL: Which one of your losses proved to be the most beneficial for your team this year?

Wong: "It would be the Iolani game because we moved the ball up the field, but we just couldn't get into the end zone as much as we wanted to because of the turnovers. It proved that if we can take care of business, we can compete and beat anybody. I feel we beat ourselves in that game and they believed that we can compete if we don't make those mistakes. In that game the boys realized that if we just capitalized on those situations, the outcome of the game could be completely different."

Hao: "Our Waipahu game. It gave us some vision in the adjustments that we needed to make offensively and going into the very next week we practiced what we needed to do and we took care of business."

SL: Which player or unit on your team has impressed you since the start of the season?

Wong: "A player I would say that impressed would be Kase Oshiro because he plays all over the defensive side. He'll come down and roll as a linebacker, play corner, safety. On offense he plays all the receiver positions and he even plays running back. He just goes wherever we ask him and he does well."

Hao: "For sure Tuli, but there's a handful of them. I would say at least five or six players have impressed me throughout our games, but ultimately Tuli (at quarterback) has been that next step for us as a team to succeed."

SL: What are your thoughts on your opponent this week?

Wong: "Castle looks like they're finding their groove. They got a lot of athletes on that team. I feel it's a good matchup for us. It's going to be a good test for our defense. We have a really good defense. I'd like for us to take care of the football (on offense). If we have to punt in situations, punt, play the field position game and have our defense create havoc and hopefully give us the ball in good field position or cause a turnover. It'll come down to whoever makes the least mistakes and capitalizes on the opponent's mistakes."

Hao: "They're tough. I've seen some minor adjustments we have to make to fill the needs of stopping their run and their offensive game. For our offense, we just have to be prepared for all their blitzes. I know their record doesn't show it, but I think once that team comes around, I think they're going to be a helluva of a team."

SL: What do you feel will be a key matchup within the game?

Wong: "I feel the key matchup is going to be our defensive line vs. their offensive line, getting after their quarterback and just being disciplined in their lanes and their stunts and just being physical upfront with their offensive line.

Hao: "The chess match is going to be their defense against our offense. I think they have such great defensive linebackers and they have a great D-line that they can put a lot of damage to a lot of offenses."

SL: Your team wins on Friday if _____ happens?

Wong: "Our team wins on Friday if we just take care of the football on offense."

Hao: "If we can make adjustments in a timely manner. Kailua brings all kinds of looks defensively. Offensively they have athletes that we have to focus on stopping. If we can make the adjustments as we see them, that will help ups get that 'W.'"

Kickoff between the Surfriders and the Knights is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday at Castle's field.