Keola Asuega

Barry Faulkner

Keola Asuega has never had a problem finding the path to the end

zone. Since he first strapped on a helmet at age 7, he said his

ability to slice through the flow of oncoming tacklers, lope into

open spaces and across the goal line, has come easily, even

mystically, from a source he has never questioned.

He calls it instinct

Off the football field, however, navigating this naturally has

proved more problematic. And while he does not divulge specifics, the

Costa Mesa High senior running back acknowledges he has run into the

fork of fate and accelerated in the wrong direction.

But those days, like a steam of frustrated tacklers he has left in

his wake during a distinguished three-year varsity career, are behind

him now, he believes. And it is football that has pulled him back

onto a path of achievement, both academic and athletic.

“Football knocked me back straight,” said the 6-foot-1, 200-pound

talent, who, with a solid B-plus grade-point average, is drawing the

kind of big-time recruiting attention Costa Mesa has seldom seen.

“I’ve been a football freak since I was 7 and I’ve always dreamed of

playing college football and getting a chance to play in the NFL. For

a while, I was going off my path and doing bad things. I was going

down a back road. But I had some football coaches who got my

attention and guided me back to the good road. I love everything

about football, the discipline, the hitting, the coaching, the

competitiveness and how it’s so family oriented. I think it’s the

greatest thing a kid can do.”

And Asuega clearly does it well, as evidenced Friday when he

rushed for 279 yards and three touchdowns to help propel the Mustangs

to a 27-24 nonleague victory at Chaminade.

The Daily Pilot Player of the Week collected 263 yards after

halftime Friday, including a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter and

fourth-quarter scoring gallops of 71 and 56 yards.

He now has 358 rushing yards and three TDs this season and has

2,239 yards and 31 TDs in his varsity career. He is the fifth Mesa

player to surpass the 2,000-yard plateau and is 621 yards shy of

moving past Charles Chatman into the No. 2 spot on the Mustangs’

career rushing list. Binh Tran owns the Mustangs’ and Newport-Mesa

record with 4,333 yards.

Injuries -- strained hamstrings and foot problems taken care late

last season by orthodics -- have, perhaps, been Asuega’s most

menacing opponent.

A hamstring problem sidelined him late last season and again for

most of the practices leading up to this year’s season opener. Asuega

said both hamstrings ached after his workhorse second half against

Chaminade.

Asuega also said he jammed his left big toe against Friday, but

will be ready to go when the Mustangs face Laguna Beach tonight in

their final preleague tuneup.

“I left it all on the field (Friday),” Asuega said. “The linemen

blocked great and we won the game. It was a very good feeling.”

Asuega said instincts take over when he attempts to feel his way

through holes, but his competitive nature can complicate the process.

“I get really excited out there and sometimes I have to just tell

myself to breathe and relax,” he said.

Toward that end, Asuega said he gained inspiration from a magazine

article about Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams, given to

him by Mesa assistant coach Izzy Isbell last week, in which Williams

talks about relaxing enough when carrying the ball to let instinct

take over.

“I’ve never been a big Ricky Williams fan, but I felt like he was

speaking to me in the article,” Asuega said. “In the second half

Friday, I decided to relax and just run. Whenever I go out for an

offensive series now, I tell myself to just run. I think I’m going to

read that article as a reminder before every game.”

Though Perkins has rarely seen Asuega get a chance to run at 100%,

he believes the affable senior, who has become a team leader, is

capable of repeating his performance against Chaminade.

“He missed some practices and that affected his timing in our

first game,” Perkins said. “But he found another gear the other

night. His long touchdown runs were impressive, but he had one run in

our first TD drive of the third quarter, where he was stopped up at

the line and ended up breaking about eight tackles and getting about

12 yards. He’s powerful enough to make that kind of run and he can

also make a move and run away from defenders.”