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Shane Kady flies after quarterbacks. He also flies under the radar.
The Mililani defensive end has been making big plays for three seasons now and his high school career is winding down. The fourth-ranked Trojans (8-4) are underdogs heading into the Open Division semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships on Saturday night against Saint Louis (10-0).
Kady, a senior, explains that it will take just about a perfect game to beat the top-ranked Crusaders, who have won 36 games in a row and are at No. 4 in the MaxPreps national rankings.
“This could possibly be my last high school game,” Kady said during some downtime at a recent practice. “Everyone knows the situation. We want to play our best game. If we do that, that’s all that matters.”
Kady’s football life will continue next fall at Oregon State, where the 6-foot-3 (with cleats) 210-pounder is expected to be a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker.
“It (the Beavers’ need) fit my skill set more than any other school,” he said.
Kady has eight other offers, including Arizona and BYU, but the mention of his name doesn’t necessarily put fear into opposing quarterbacks. That’s because he is efficient at what he does: Get in the passer’s face. Take him down, if can. Be cognizant of and strong against the run, especially keeping contain on the outside.
Or as Kady tells it, “We express it here at Mililani as doing your job.”
Heard doubters his whole life
While cruising under that “superstar” bar, Kady has heard the naysayers for a long time.
“My whole life, I’ve been skinnier than everyone,” he said. “And people have always doubted me, saying I should quit or change positions. It has motivated me, being undersized. Even when I was balling, people would doubt me. I would say, ‘I’m doing it, but you still doubt me.’ I’m really driven to prove the doubters wrong.”
When Kady began to get noticed by colleges, it was in an unconventional way.
“He’s not a guy that goes to a lot of camps,” Trojans coach Rod York said. “His exposure came when schools came in the spring and came down to see us on the field.”
York added that he sent six clips of Kady rushing the passer at a Mililani-hosted lineman clinic to many college coaches and also put them on the internet. And that’s when Kady’s prospects of playing Division I college ball ballooned.
“He’s a team leader, just a solid go-getter with a motor that never stops,” York said. “He’s very much like Kaimana Padello (former undersized — 6 feet, 225 — Mililani speed rusher now starring at the University of Hawaii), with his explosiveness and character off the field. He’s been a dependable guy for us and we’re definitely going to miss him when he’s done. He will do big things up at Oregon State.”
Kady has learned a lot through the years from the Padellos — Kaimana; brother KK, who also plays at UH; and father Kimo.
“The main thing they taught me that has stuck is your get-off and your explosiveness,” Kady said. “If you have a really good get-off, your success as a pass rusher will be in your favor.”
Injury prevented four-year career
Kady nearly was a four-year varsity performer. As a freshman playing for the JV team, he was brought up to the varsity at the end of the season, but did not get in games due to a fracture in his back.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but I had been playing through it,” he said. “They took X-rays and it was a small hairline fracture. I didn’t want to make it worse.”
Kady has been a starter since his sophomore season, and it’s not hard for him to pick out his most memorable moment.
“Sophomore year, we were playing Kapolei and we were down by three points or a touchdown and on the last play of the first half, the quarterback tried throwing the ball, but it slipped out of his hands,” he said. “I caught it in the end zone for a 0-yard interception-return touchdown. It gave us momentum and we came back and won the game. There is a YouTube video of it. There were a lot of memorable plays, but that one takes the cake.”
Kady easily ran down the starters on this year’s Mililani defense, which is perhaps the best unit the school has ever had.
“In front with me are Sonny Semeatu and Manu Penitani, with Micah Kim, Bam Amina, Wynden Hoohuli, Kamalu DeBlake and Muelu Iosefa in the five-linebacker look, and Fatu Iosefa, Asher Pilanca, Vaisen Viloria and Kiai Ramos as the four DBs,” he said. “I thought it was going to be a rebuilding year for our defense, but we’re really strong and have really been performing. I’m just amazed at how well we’ve been connecting. No individuals. Everybody works hard and does their jobs.”
SHANE KADY
>> Sport: Football
>> School: Mililani
>> Grade: Senior
>> Height: 6 feet 3 (with cleats)
>> Weight: 210 pounds
>> Position: Defensive end
>> College commitment: Oregon State
>> First football team: Kihei Dolphins (Pop Warner) at age 5
>> Projected college major: Kinesiology
>> Career goal 1: NFL
>> Career goal 2: Football coach/recruiter
>> Career goal 3: Athletic trainer
>> Favoite sports team: New York Giants
>> Favorite athletes: Lawrence Taylor, Von Miller, Khalil Mack, Nick Bosa
>> Favorite TV show: “Naruto”
>> Favorite books: The “Percy Jackson” and “Harry Potter” series
>> Favorite movies: The “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” series
>> Other activity: Seniors in Action, a Mililani group of senior students who go to the town’s middle and elementary school students to give advice on life
>> Family: Father Kevin, mother Christine, sister Kiana
>> Ethnicity: Half Chinese (mom is full Chinese and from Hong Kong), Hungarian, Russian, many others
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