Chevan Cordeiro, horror-flick fan, embraces a challenge.
“’The Conjuring II,’ ‘The Purge, Election (Year).’ I like the thrill,” he said. “Getting chickenskin.”
Fear turns into flight for the speedy football player, but the skill he possesses while on the run brought a second consecutive state football title to Saint Louis. The question marks about a first-year starting quarterback turned into triumphant exclamation points. Saint Louis’ astounding 31-28 win over Kahuku in the Open Division state final 10 days ago capped a perfect season for a superlative senior class.
“Going to Saint Louis made me the man I am today. You have to work hard at school and football, and you’ve got to train. The whole team is good, and iron sharpens iron. Practicing with them every day got me better,” he said on Sunday night after a late-night dinner with family.
Head coach Cal Lee had a patient quarterback apprentice in Cordeiro, who learned under the wing of the nation’s best QB, Tua Tagovailoa, for two years.
“I think he feels good that he stuck it out. The things that happened are something that he’ll remember and cherish the rest of his life,” Lee said.
Kahuku was good enough to win the title. So were teams like Mililani, and more. Cordeiro relishes that championship night.
“I already miss high school football,” he said. “Before the game, Marcus (Mariota) texted me, ‘Keep working and striving for the best. You’ll be amazed at how far you can go. Rooting for you, bro.’ ”
There are a bunch of texts that he won’t be deleting.
“That’s the thing about Saint Louis. We have a brotherhood. All the alumni, the quarterback alumni, texted me before the game. Joel Lane. John Hao. Timmy Chang. Tua texted me, too. ‘Good luck, bring it back. Go get it this weekend. Keep the koa trophy home where it belongs.’ ”
With a resilient defensive unit and solid kicking game, the Crusaders offense needed to collect its wits after a bumpy start. Cordeiro finished 30-for-44, 440 yards, three TDs with two picks in the comeback win. He also ran for 66 yards on 20 carries, picking up key first downs as the de facto ground attack.
“It really showed up in this last game against Kahuku,” Lee said. “Where he didn’t start off great, threw an interception, fumbled the ball, but he battled back. That’s what happens in our practices. We make it really, really hard, especially for him and our other quarterbacks for that very reason. He could’ve easily gone into the tank.”
One of Lee’s mantras to his passers is simple: “Don’t make excuses.”
“Sometimes, Coach (offensive coordinator) Ron (Lee) would say that to me during practice,” Cordeiro said. “I’d say, ‘He’s supposed to run a deeper route or more shallow,’ and he’d say, ‘Stop making excuses and just hit him.’ ”
Lee and the offensive coaches know Kahuku almost too well. Developing Cordeiro into one of the finest QBs in school history took a lot of extras.
“That is the most rewarding thing I experienced this season,” Ron Lee said. “Seeing him develop from a guy who hardly played, to finish like this, I’m really, really proud. I know there were times he would get upset because we were on his case a little bit, but the game against Kahuku, that’s the reason. They don’t understand until they get on the field, and wow, they’ve got to get the job done.”
The trust level was all in.
“We didn’t run the ball,” Ron Lee added. “That put a lot of pressure on Chev and he carried it out. I’d put him right at the top with the other guys we’ve had at quarterback.”
Mililani lost to Saint Louis in the state semifinal round.
“He’s Houdini in the pocket. Even if you catch him, he burns you on the next play,” Trojans coach Rod York said. “You don’t ever see him take a direct hit. He’s kind of like a boxer the way he angles his body at impact. His eyes are always looking downfield, and that’s the most impressive thing. He’s coached correctly. He’s definitely a Division I (college) quarterback.”
Cordeiro remains a firm commit to Hawaii, which completed a 3-9 season over the weekend.
“I just let Coach Rolo (Nick Rolovich) do his thing. I believe in him. Whatever he does, I’ll just follow and do what he tells me to do,” Cordeiro said.
Like Mariota, Cordeiro finally got to show his game as a senior. Unlike Tagovailoa and Mariota, Cordeiro’s team went undefeated from start to finish. The final numbers:
> 3,130 passing yards and 29 TDs with just eight picks
> 195 completions in 289 pass attempts, a completion rate of 67.4 percent
> Yards per attempt of 10.8, by far the highest number in state history for a starting QB
> QB Rating: 186.02, the highest in D-I since Mariota’s 189.98 in ’10.
> The offense generated 438 points in a schedule that was all-Top 10 with one exception.
> Another similarity: Mariota rushed for 455 yards and seven TDs as a senior; Cordeiro ran for 456 yards with 10 TDs.
It took sacrifice. Cordeiro was comfortable as the JV starting quarterback coming into his sophomore year.
“When I asked him, ‘Are you coming out for varsity,’ he told me he didn’t know. He knew we had a bunch of guys, but I talked to his dad, and to his credit, Chev decided to come out for the varsity. He didn’t play much, but he hung in there and waited his turn. The rest is history,” Ron Lee said. “He’s a great kid. A super, super nice kid. His conditioning, his sacrificing, the guidance he accepts from his parents, that’s the kind of kid he is.”
Adding more armor to his frame is a goal.
“I kind of want to be 185 or 190 (pounds) by fall. I want to get faster, too,” he said.
The comparisons to the growing number of standout QBs from Hawaii are inevitable. Former Mililani standout McKenzie Milton has led UCF to an unbeaten season so far.
“I think UH can do that,” Cordeiro said. “In two years.”
PROFILE
CHEVAN CORDEIRO
Saint Louis football
6 feet 1, 175 pounds
Senior
—
Q & A • FAVORITES
>> Team: Denver Broncos
“My dad likes the Broncos, so ever since I was young, I’ve been cheering for them.”
>> Do you have Broncos jerseys?
“I have a John Elway T-shirt.”
>> Food at home: Korean chicken
“My grandma (Susan Chijimatsu) makes it. Every once in a while, she’ll ask us and she makes our favorite food.”
>> Food eating out: McRib from McDonald’s
“To be honest, I just like barbecue. That with the french fries, it’s so good.”
>> Hobby outside of sports: Drawing
“I just draw whatever, like football players. I have fun drawing.”
>> What mom (Kelly) says that you can’t forget: “Why are you crying? Do you want me to give you a reason to cry?”
“She said that to me and my brother when we were little kids playing Pop Warner. We’d get hit hard and cry on the sideline and she’d come to us and tell us that.”
>> Are you bitter that she was tough on you?
“That’s why I’m who I am today.”
>> What your dad (Leon) says that you can’t forget: “If you’re not working hard when no one is watching, you’re only cheating yourself.”
>> How far will Hawaii go? We see McKenzie Milton with a great run at UCF. They’re still undefeated.
“I think UH can do that in two years.” (UCF went from 0-12 to 11-0 in two years.)
