Mustangs Face Kailua In High Spirits
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usKalaheo coach Chris Mellor knows he won’t have to dig deep into his motivational tool box this week as the Mustangs prepare for their first meeting with cross-town rival Kailua since 2002. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday at Kailua.
“The energy in those (neighborhood rivalry) games is always good,” said Mellor. “We hope the entire community will come out.
We’re looking forward to it, and we wish them (Kailua) luck. Coach Rosolowich is a good man with strong values. They’re a good football team, and I can see what he’s done there. He’s going to see huge benefits.”
Mellor only hopes he can delay Kailua’s inevitable uprising this week as his own team hopes to win a game that would be a huge boost to his own program. Over the weekend, the Mustangs entered their game with OIA Red East co-leader Farrington at 0-3, but “spirits are still high.”
During workouts leading up to the Farrington game, the team was trying to eliminate the self-inflicted wounds that had spelled doom in their 37-36 loss to Moanalua Sept. 16. They never trailed in that game until Moanalua converted a late two-point conversion.
“The bottom line is that we’ve had 75 yards in personal-foul penalties in the last two games, and those aren’t even ‘game-time’ penalties,“he said.“We need to concentrate on being a mature football team. We’re getting it together, but we’re a young team in the mind.We gave Moanalua 45 yards in one drive (on personal fouls). That was a pivotal point in the game. If we make mistakes, we have to be able to shake it off and get right back into the game.
“We talk about it (costly penalties) all of the time,“he added,“but unless they experience it in a game, they don’t know how detrimental they can be.It’s something you have to stop the minute they enter the ninth grade, and I’ve only been on the island for a little over a year. In the big picture, maybe it’s a good learning situation.”
Penalties aside, the Mustangs under junior quarterback Cody von Appen have continued to be productive on offense by executing the split-back, veer option offense Mellor brought from De La Salle High School in Concord,Calif.This week, as they prepare to play Kailua and its versatile quarterback Zach Akamine, the outcome could hinge largely on how well Kalaheo defends the Surfrider offense.
“If we play our game, we’ll be OK. I want them (Kailua) to have to earn every yard they get. Offensively, we’re still scoring touchdowns every game. Defensively, we need to tackle better. We’re not as aggressive as we could be; we’re not tackling well enough.”
Kailua took a 1-2 record into their game with Castle last weekend. The Surfriders beat McKinley, while their losses have come to Farrington (35-0) and defending state champion Kahuku (28-16) in their regular-season opener.
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