Mustangs’ Football Talent Pool Rivals Its Hoops Prowess
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usFirst-year Kalaheo High football coach Chris Mellor never tires of hearing how he is a football coach at a basketball school.
A former member of the football staff at nationally-known De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., he knows all about fuel for motivation.
“I hope we win 10 more state championships in basketball - I’ll be their No. 1 fan,” said Mellor, who was Kalaheo’s offensive coordinator last year under Russ Ramos.“All I hear is how we can’t compete (in football), and I love it. Success has always been here - just not in football. But it’s a great school athletically and academically.
“I see no reason why any school shouldn’t be good in every sport. I would invite everyone to come out and see the final product. We’ll compete.”
The Mustangs, who meet Kalani at 6:30 p.m. Friday in their pre-season game on the Kaiser High School field, have a productive off-season behind them as they embark on their 2006 season with an entirely new varsity coaching staff. In the fold under Mellor are defensive coordinator Damon Nails, defensive assistant Richard Dew, offensive line coach Rob Crowell and defensive line coach Dave Stephens.
Crowell, who prepped at Saint Louis School, played under John Robinson at UNLV, while Stephens played two years at the University of Hawaii in the mid-‘70s.
Mellor has 10 years of coaching experience, including the aforementioned stint at De Las Salle, which is known for compiling a 151-game win streak at the varsity level.
Like De La Salle, Kalaheo will run a split-back, veer option offense. While Mellor is the first to acknowledge Kalaheo will be a running team, they’ll be far from one-dimensional with the return of junior quarterback Cody von Appen, who started the last seven games of 2005 for the Mustangs. The son of former UH head coach Fred von Appen, son Cody led the Mustangs to a 15-0-3 mark in their 7-on-7 passing leagues this summer.
“He needs to be put on the radar,” Mellor had said of von Appen at the culmination of Kalaheo’s spring practice in June. “He could go to De La Salle right now and start there. He’s the complete package - he can run and pass. You can tell he’s the son of a coach, and he’s a 4.0 student as well.”
Athleticism will hardly be limited to behind center with the return of running back Koa Siliga, who will also play linebacker.
Coming out of spring ball, Mellor had called Siliga “the best athlete on the team and one of the best athletes in the state - if not the best.”
The Mustangs’ talent pool also includes running back/defensive back Chris Cavaco, tight end/line-backer Ka’o Malama-Custer, wide-out/defensive back Donavan Correa, running back/linebacker Derek Poole, and two-way linemen Dillan Hanawahine and Riley Atanoa.
Mellor also welcomed the addition of tight end Drew Scobie, a transfer from Washington High School in San Francisco who packs 220 pounds into a 6-foot-4-inch frame.
As in past years, depth is Kalaheo’s key question to answer with a roster that numbers only 34. Mellor is hoping the Mustangs’ diligent work in the weight room will provide the counter-balance. At a time when a lot of Hawaii teams were playing out the 2005 post-season, Kalaheo’s returnees were already busy in the weight room last November.
“We’re low on numbers, but we’re strong and fast,” Mellor said. “We have to be fast, and we have to be fast over and over. Passing league isn’t necessarily indicative of your passing game, but it is indicative of your speed, and we’re as fast as anyone we’ll play.”
Kalaheo, which competed in Division II each of the past three seasons, moves up to Division I this fall. They open the regular-season at Castle Aug. 25 and play Kahuku the following week. Last weekend, the Mustangs were to travel to the Big Island to scrimmage Kealakehe.
“The kids and coaches are like kids in a candy store right now,” Mellor said.“We can’t wait for the next day. We’re trying to establish a mind-set here of not waiting to see what happens, but one of going in the direction you have to go to be successful.”
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