By KEVIN JAKAHI ADVERTISING By KEVIN JAKAHI Hawaii Tribune-Herald Kamehameha defensive end Jashen Mathieu doesn’t look like a sackmaster. He’s 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds. That’s the typical frame of a slotback or corner. But looks are deceiving when
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Kamehameha defensive end Jashen Mathieu doesn’t look like a sackmaster. He’s 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds. That’s the typical frame of a slotback or corner.
But looks are deceiving when you watch the Warrior senior on film or from the bleachers on a football field.
Mathieu absolutely brings it. He goes full blast on every play. Obviously, he plays much bigger than his size, a reason for his 22 sacks on the season.
“He’s got a nonstop motor. He keeps moving, and he’s very fast and strong,” Kamehameha coach Dan Lyons said. “He understands what our defense wants to do and plays every play as hard as he can. He doesn’t take any plays off.”
Someone forgot to tell Mathieu that undersized rush ends aren’t supposed to dominate the line of scrimmage, especially against bigger blockers.
But there he was, applying his trade skill: bull-rushing and making Waiakea offensive linemen uncomfortable in Kamehameha’s 47-0 victory in a BIIF game last Saturday.
So how does Mathieu compile his sacks?
“It’s mainly hard work, and my coaches’ blitz calls free me up,” he said. “My D-line helps out all the time, and I also go against our O-line in practice. I think they’re the best O-line in the league.”
Thaze Gomes, a junior, is the other end. Kekoa Viernes and Grayson Cosier, a pair of seniors, are the tackles.
Mathieu picked up two sacks but missed two more when quarterback Kai’olana Kon raced to the perimeter. Mathieu couldn’t get into position to attack Kon’s outside shoulder, which would have forced the QB back into traffic.
But that’s a small potatoes technicality. Lions don’t brush their teeth before dinner. And that’s how Mathieu treats someone with the ball like he’s starving.
He was a big-time presence against Waiakea and not just with his QB pressure. His pursuit skills travel all over the field.
After he missed his second sack in the third quarter, Mathieu didn’t stop moving and tackled Kon five yards down the field.
In the second quarter with Waiakea punting, there was a bad snap, and Mathieu blasted through the O-line and landed on the ball.
That set up sophomore Kilohana Haasenritter’s 14-yard touchdown run. The multi-threat offensive weapon comes from an athletic family.
His dad Charlie Haasenritter and uncle Matt Haasenritter played baseball at UH-Hilo, and his mom Kahea Silva played volleyball there. His aunty Haunani Haasenritter played softball at UH-Hilo, and his uncle Mana Silva played in the NFL as a safety.
Haasenritter also scored on a 69-yard pass from Kaimialoha Like. Still, Haasenritter had to share the spotlight with Mathieu.
As Lyons noted, Mathieu never takes a play off, even when the game is no longer in doubt.
Mathieu worked hard on his ball-stripping technique and had a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.
He had a full day, but after the game he turned into a fisherman, wondering about the two that got away.
“I don’t think about that when I’m on the field,” he said. “But after the game, I’ll think about the ones that I missed.”
Production jump
Last season, Mathieu wasn’t a full-time starter. He saw spot duty, including time at linebacker.
Besides hard work, one thing that sharpened him was a silver medal at the BIIF wrestling championships at 170 pounds in February.
“Wrestling helped my hand technique,” said Mathieu, who put a few football profiles online and wants to study fire science in college.
Against Waiakea, he did a good job disengaging a blocker’s hands on pass rushes and shedding blocks on run plays.
Mathieu has recorded his 22 sacks against Kauai, Maui, and Waiakea in the preseason and against Keaau, Kealakehe, Hawaii Prep, and Waiakea in BIIF games.
Kapaa is the Division II team to beat on the Garden Isle and the three-time KIF champion. Baldwin has been the Valley Isle’s HHSAA Division I qualifier 10 of the last 11 years, but the Sabers beat Baldwin 32-21 last weekend for just their fourth victory against the Bears in 34 meetings
The BIIF teams Kamehameha has beaten are residing in the land below .500. But it should be noted that no one gives away sacks for free.
And that’s where things get interesting for Kamehameha, which last won the BIIF Division II title in 2014.
Meat grinder
The Warriors (4-0 BIIF Division II, 6-1) soon face their two toughest opponents. Hilo (3-1 BIIF Division I, 4-1) is next with Konawaena on the on-deck circle. There’s also Honokaa in the regular-season finale.
It’s helpful to have home-field advantage for the BIIF championship. If the Warriors want that, they’ll have to play strong down the stretch, starting with the Vikings on Friday at Paiea Stadium.
“We’ll have to watch film and work hard at practice,” Mathieu said. “The biggest thing for us is shutting down Kahale (Huddleston).
“For our run defense, our D-line has to hold our ground. We can’t have gaps. That’ll make it harder for our linebackers.”
The Warriors will study Konawaena’s game tape, looking for details on how the defense held Huddleston to 64 yards on 22 carries in a 24-14 win over the Vikings on Friday at Kealakekua.
“The Hilo game is a measuring stick for us,” Lyons said. “It’ll tell us where we’re at and what we need to work on.
“The schedule is perfect for us with Hilo, Konawaena, and Honokaa, and we’re not taking Honokaa lightly. It’s the meat of our schedule. We want to keep getting better and better.”
For much of the season, Mathieu has followed a similar pattern: he also keeps getting better and better.
