Carney Stands Out For Mustangs In Rushing, Humility
By Jack Danilewicz
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If Chris Mellor stops short of calling Jesse Carney the “face” of Kalaheo football, it’s only because the senior running back wouldn’t want it that way. He’s too much the team player.
“He’s not a look-at-me type of guy,” Mellor said. “He doesn’t seek the attention, but it is well-deserved. He’ll usually tell me, ‘It was all the offensive line, coach.’”
On Sept. 10, Carney had one of the best games a Hawaii prep player has ever had, amassing 379 yards on the ground on just 15 carries - an eye-popping average of 25.2 yards per attempt - in a win over Kalani. Heading into last weekend’s game with Kaimuki, he already had rushed for 794 yards in only three outings (as well as 11 touchdowns), plus a 16.4 yards-per-carry average.
The Mustangs have thrived with the veer offense since Mellor brought his version from De La Salle High in California. Through three games, Kalaheo ranked third in the state in total offense, right behind Division I powers Saint Louis and Mililani, with 1,645 total yards.
Carney’s efforts are magnified by the stellar play of the offensive line (Quincy Mason, Kainoa Lauriano, Michael Borges, Lole Sugituraga, Harrison Seto and Toa Fonoimoana) and good decision making by senior quarterback Justin Pagan, who also ranks among the state’s rushing leaders with 354 yards on the ground to date. Running back Anthony Maglinti also has rushed for 227 yards in three games.
“We don’t have guys who can plow other guys over,” Mellor said, “but we want to develop a culture where our best athletes are our linemen. We want our studs to be on the line. I think our group understands its job is down the field - 15 or 20 yards - and not at the line of scrimmage.”
In the veer, Mellor emphasized that “the defense dictates who gets the ball.” The team also adjusts a play or changes a play altogether at the line of scrimmage “about 25 percent of the time.”
“They’re simple checks mainly - we might move it over a hole or switch the side we’re going to,” he said.
Packing 187 pounds of muscle into a 5-foot-10 frame, Carney ran wild against Kalani. “My line is making it easy for me to run,” he said. “They got off the ball before I got started. I could have driven a car through those holes. I didn’t know I’d get that much.”
Said Mellor: “Jesse is elusive. You see him on film and you see him in person, and he looks like just another kid. When he gets the ball, it’s different. I thought he had a great night against Kalani. He had only 15 carries. That’s what was amazing to me.”
Carney credited conditioning, in part, for the fast start. “We run choke in practice so we can last in a game,” explained Carney, who also is a starting linebacker on the defensive side. “I think we run more than a lot of teams because we have less people.”
At 7 p.m. this Saturday at Kailua High, the Mustangs face their biggest challenge to date in Waipahu, which was in the Red West a year ago.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Carney said. “They have a good offense, but our defense is good, too. We have great linebackers like Kainoa (Lauriano).”
Waipahu also features a stellar running back, Victor Moananu, who entered last weekend third overall in the state in rushing behind Carney and Mililani’s Zach Payomo with 583 rushing yards.
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