Knights’ Post-season Exciting Time For ‘Big Play’ Kehano
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usShaydon Kehano’s vision as a ball carrier isn’t confined to “after the snap.” He executes his big plays for the Castle football team in his mind first.
“In the huddle, every time I know I’m getting the ball, I tell myself it’s going to be either a first down or a touchdown,” he said. “To have the ball in your hands and be running for a touch-down is the best. I don’t hear anything when I’m running - not until I get to the end zone. Then I hear everyone.”
In a career that plays out like an NFL films highlight reel, Kehano’s impact has been felt since he cracked the varsity lineup last fall. On the second play from scrimmage his junior year, he scored his first touchdown against a good Mililani team and was well on his way.At the end of last year, he was named OIA East Red Offensive Player of the Year. He also was a First Team pick on defense at safety.
None of that, however, compares to the feeling he had in the OIA quarterfinal win over Waianae Sept. 23, when he hauled in a pair of touch-downs from junior quarterback Jaymason Lee, including one from 33 yards out on a screen pass with 47 seconds remaining to move the Knights into the semifinals for the first time in six years.
The screen play he took the distance remains his favorite in the Knights’ offensive package, called from the sideline by head coach Nelson Maeda.
“It sure is,” Kehano said, adding, “or a long bomb. It was the perfect time for the screen because they were showing blitz. If we all do our jobs, that play will work, and all I can see is green grass. Right when the play was called, I knew I was going to the end zone.”
With six receptions for 119 yards versus Waianae, Kehano remained the top receiver (47 catches, 879 yards, 16 receiving touch-downs) and scorer (110 points) in the state, entering Castle’s OIA semifinal against Kahuku last Friday at Aloha Stadium. Pending the game’s outcome, Kehano and Castle will play in either the OIA title game or the third-place game this Friday at Aloha Stadium. The top three finishers in the OIA’s post-season earn the league’s berths at the Division I state championships.
“I’m loving every second of this season,” he said.“To win versus Waianae and know we were going to get to play two more games was great. I saw tears in some of my team-mates’ eyes. It had been six years since Castle went to the semifinals.
“We’re getting better as a team,” he added. “Everyone has come together, and we feel like this is our year.”
Kehano geared up for this season by stepping up his weight training and conditioning in the off-season under supervision of training coach Dave Coesar. Most summer mornings began with him going to the 24-hour Fitness near campus. At night, he’d go through “speed” training.
A Pop Warner veteran, Kehano made perhaps his biggest leap improvement-wise between his sophomore and junior years.
“From JV to varsity, that was a big step,“he said.“I knew I would have to train harder. Right when I got to varsity, I felt like I belonged.
“I loved football from the beginning. I wasn’t that good, but I started to practice with my dad (Ralph) on our own, and I got better.”
Kehano also has developed good timing with Lee, a Kamehameha transfer who is a big-play threat himself.
“We connect,” he said. “He’s been a big help. I’m happy he came to us. Everything’s worked out for him. Hopefully, a lot of colleges will recognize him when he’s a senior.”
As for his own prospects, Kehano has been hearing from a few schools, but communication between coaches and recruits is in a lull at present during both’s respective seasons.
“Hopefully,at the end of the season, I can get a full scholarship somewhere,” he said.
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