Mustangs Extend Season At California Football Camp

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Kalaheo Mustangs sophomore quarterback
Phil Taui. Photo by Nathalie Walker,
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In the world of prep football, the weeks without a game wear long during the so-called off-season.With that in mind, Kalaheo coach Chris Mellor is hoping that a trip to the Mainland can extend the Mustangs’ season - at least figuratively.

“Eight games just isn’t enough for the hard work we do,” said Mellor, who enters his second season at the Kailua school this fall.“It’s a way to keep football on their minds, and it’s a reward for all the running and lifting. It’s also another way for all of us to get a little bit better.”

Although high school rules prohibit teams from competing as a “school,“the club-style format will nevertheless allow 28 projected members of the Mustangs’ fall team (and four coaches) to take part in a football camp this week at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga,Calif.The Mustangs were to have left the island on Saturday and to return on Friday.

In addition to the first-rate competition that will be featured at the camp, players will also live in a college setting. Kahuku and Radford are among the prep programs in Hawaii that have taken players to Mainland camps in past years.

“They’ll be exposed to the campus life - they’ll live in the dormitories, and they’ll have their own keys,” Mellor said, “and they’ll eat three meals a day in the cafeteria. It’s definitely a bonding experience. We want to create a brotherhood. We’ll be forced to come together. It will be four-and-a-half days of pure football.”

Among the schools that will be represented with players at the camp will be College Park, Las Lomas and Freedom High School of Northern California. Saint Mary’s recently dropped football as a sport, but will provide equipment to the players. Although held on the Saint Mary’s campus, the camp is coordinated by San Jose State linebacker coach Jeff Hammerschmidt. A college-like approach prevails at the camp,which includes 7-on-7 passing competitions, team practices and individual instruction. College coaches are among the camp’s staff.

Mellor credited the Mustangs’ Booster Club (spearheaded by Herb and Leslie Hanawahine, Vivian Kehrer and Nani Leong) with raising the $23,000 it cost to fund the trip.

“They worked really hard and made it all possible,” Mellor said.

Kalaheo is coming off a 1-7 season in 2006, but had a solid off-season, according to Mellor. The Mustangs, who finished spring practice last month, recently placed third behind Aiea and Waipahu in a 7-on-7 passing tournament at Kalaheo, finishing with a 6-1 record.

“Passing league is critical for us because it’s competition,” Mellor said. “Teams that haven’t been successful a lot in the past didn’t know how to compete, so we’re learning that.”

The Mustangs figure to be solid at the skilled positions this fall with the return of several key performers from last season.A relative newcomer, sophomore quarterback Phil Taui could also be a big boost to Kalaheo’s prospects down the road.

“He was the bright spot of passing league,“Mellor said.”(Projected starting quarterback) Cody (von Appen) was at a football camp, and you’d never know that he’d left. Phil knows and understands the option, and he has a good sense for the game. He’s right where Cody was at the same age. He’s definitely the future here after Cody leaves.”

Kalaheo officially begins fall camp the first week of August, leaving the Mustangs with about a 10-day break from football after returning from California.