Prep football: St. Vincent freshman Kai Hall powering Mustangs' rushing attack

A green-and-blue graph on a national high school sports database compares athletes’ statistics to the national average, an illustration of how an individual player’s performance stacks up against his or her contemporaries.

St. Vincent de Paul running back Kai Hall’s green bars dwarf the blue U.S. average in every statistical category.

And he’s only a freshman.

“He’s pretty special. He’s the real deal,” Mustangs coach Trent Herzog said.

Herzog should know. In addition to being a longtime varsity coach in Petaluma, Herzog is a Western Region scout for National Preps, a football scouting service for colleges across the country.

Hall and Herzog are both quick to point out that at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, Hall has a stellar offensive line creating holes for him.

Still, the Mustangs owe serious credit to the speedy underclassman for their 4-1 record this season. In their only loss, 27-0 to Willits on Sept. 7, the Wolverines were able to stifle the Mustangs, allowing Hall just 21 yards and the team 179 yards total offense.

As Hall goes, so goes the Mustangs, apparently.

In the colored stats graph on MaxPreps, Hall ranks 57th in the nation in total yards (881, compared to No. 1 at 1,356) and per-game average, 176 to the leading rusher’s 271.

Among freshmen, Hall ranks second in total yards. The leader has tallied 38 more yards than Hall. He is the No. 4 freshman in yards per game.

Of all varsity football players in California, Hall is 11th in total yards and 35th in per-game average.

Willits coach Brandon Norbury said his team didn’t really solve Hall, despite the fact that his Wolverines held him to fewer than two dozen yards.

Hall “is a great back,” Norbury said. “He has all the skills that you want in a back, especially for only being a freshman. Regarding shutting him down, they have a phenomenal team. They had a bad day; we had a good day.”

Herzog said Hall could be right up there with such gifted local running backs as Joe Trombetta and John Porchivina, whom he coached at Casa Grande.

Hall already runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, with a lot of growing to do.

“As a freshman, Kai is as talented as any kid I’ve ever coached,” Herzog said. “He’s incredibly strong for his age, has great balance, great vision.”

Just four years ago, Hall was a preteen content with picking berries on the sideline of his first youth football team instead of thrusting himself into the violent scrum at the line of scrimmage, said his mother, Natalie Rogers.

But now Hall, who only turned 14 a few months ago, chooses to run toward a wall of young men sometimes four years older, some pushing 300 pounds - and intent on clobbering him.

“I’ve always been more fond of offense,” he said. “From watching the NFL, it’s something I’ve wanted to do. But I always run behind a great offensive line. They make it easier for me, so I’m not fending for myself.

“With them, I feel like I could run through anything. Like when you first learn how to ride a bike and your dad is holding you and holding you and finally lets you go and you’re off to the races.”

Hall was certainly off to the races on Sept. 14, when the Mustangs defeated San Rafael, ?33-20, and he ran for a season-high 296 yards on 31 carries and three touchdowns.

Last week, St. Vincent downed Burton, 55-0, and Hall scored four TDs en route to 198 yards on the ground.

Hall doesn’t do it all by himself, of course.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Porteous completed all nine passing attempts for 230 yards and two touchdowns, the most passing yards by a St. Vincent quarterback in three years.

The Mustangs had a season-best 516 yards on 37 offensive plays and led 49-0 at halftime. Defensively, they denied Burton even a single first down in 10 possessions.

“Our offensive line is amazing,” Herzog said. “I’ve been coaching for 23 years and this is one of the top offensive lines I’ve been a part of.”

In fact, both sides of the line are strong, he said, since most St. Vincent players do double duty.

Lineman Gio Antonini (6-3, 250) was the area’s only All-State player last year. Morgan Morarity (5-10, 260), Garrett Caramucci (5-9, 230), freshman Cameron Vaughn (6-3, 230) - filling in for Tommy Izard (6-1, 275) who is injured - and Giovanni Vaca (6-3, 235) fill out the sturdy line.

Herzog has worked to rebuild a program that some saw as stagnant. When he took over last year, the roster had dwindled to 18 players. Enrollment in the ?private Petaluma Catholic school was dropping as well.

A new administration and new coaches have helped revitalize both the school and athletics, Herzog said.

So far, the young talent is succeeding. Herzog starts 10 underclassmen, seven sophomores and three freshmen.

If Hall has learned how to be a good teammate from upperclassmen, he’s also teaching other younger players.

“Kai is extremely hard working, very humble,” Herzog said. “When he ran for 296 yards, the next week he brought 50 cheeseburgers in, fed the whole team. That’s not something a freshman just comes up with.”

The independent league Mustangs travel to Healdsburg this week to face the North Bay League-Redwood Division Greyhounds, who are rebuilding their football program after an aborted 2018 season.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.