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Articles |
THE ONE THAT WILLIE WORE
It’s all about tradition By Richard “Malamute” Linde | Posted 2 Feburary 2002
After cannonading through the Chowchilla line, James (5-foot-10, 199 pounds) cuts to his right and races down the right sideline avoiding several tacklers. On the Chowchilla thirty, he cuts to his left and heads for the center of the field, into the midst of would-be tacklers. Avoiding them, he races to the left sideline, where he twists away from three tacklers and bolts for the end zone, garnering six points for the Broncos. That video speaks volumes about Kenny James out of Dos Palos, California. He looks like a fireplug on the loose, a small cannon running down hill--one that has the lateral moves to avoid a bell-ringing hit (see the video link at the bottom of this page). James played for the Dos Palos Broncos this past season, having had seven
five-touchdown games; he finished his career with 25 straight games, in which he
rushed for more than 100 yards. Not the fastest of the fastest (4.67 seconds in the 40), James, who is a bull to bring down, obviously has the
wherewithal to find a
way to score--and that’s what matters. For the second straight year, James has
won the Merced Sun-Stars' “Prep Football Player of the Year” honors. According to Shawn Jansen of that newspaper, during an awards ceremony for the Dos Palos High School football team, the spotlight was all ready to shine on James, but no one could find the star running back for the Broncos. "’We
were introducing the guys with a spotlight and loud music,’ (Coach Mike)
Sparks said. ‘We knew Kenny was there because we had his jersey (number 8),
but we couldn't find him. Then we saw he was still sitting down signing
autographs. Once people saw he was sitting down and signing, other people came
over. He was signing banquet programs and other stuff. It was a unique
situation.’" [Jansen]. His autograph one to cherish, James rushed for 2,900 yards and scored 49 touchdowns for the Broncos this season, and has 6,197 career rushing yards, which is a Central Section career record. In his final game against Memorial, James rushed for 212 yards on just 18 carries, and finished his career scoring 118 touchdowns over a three-year period. [Bettertown]. He has scored more touchdowns (108) than any player in California during the last two years, and is being pursued by Washington, Washington State and Fresno State. Washington is also recruiting
Lorenzo Booker from Port Heuneme, California. Recently, Booker, who played for
Ventura High School, was named “Gatorade National High School Player of the Year” and is viewed by many
recruiting services as the best high school player in the country.
Let’s
hope our coaching staff can keep that tradition alive. Inspired by the visage of another Californian wearing number eight, I've written an ode to the jersey. J The one that Willie wore Credits
James'
height, weight and 40 time were taken from Nike data appearing on dawgman.com. [Jansen].
Jansen, Shawn, “2001 All-Area: Dos Palos' Kenny James is this year's best of
the gridiron,” Merced Sun-Star, 31 December 2001 [Betterton]. Betterton, Terry, “James, Dos Palos make it five,” The Fresno Bee [Sodawg1].
Sodawg1, video link, dawgman.com http://www.dpol.k12.ca.us/dphs/sports/football/2001/Video/Football_chow_L.MPG |
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Willie Hurst, photo courtesy of dawgman.com
Washington’s
running back Willie Hurst (left, photo courtesy of dawgman.com) will be lost to graduation next season, and
like Napoleon Kaufman (1991-'94), he wore number eight on his jersey. Will Kenny
James, who also wore number eight for the Broncos, wear that number as a Dawg? Or will it be Lorenzo Booker, the other
California phenom the Huskies are seeking? Seemingly, that jersey, the one that
Willie wore, is reserved for only the best at Washington--for the ones who
follow the California trail to Seattle.