Juanita High football, at least for the next several weeks, doesn’t begin and end with Salvon Ahmed.
The All-American running back, who sat out of the Rebels’ 28-14 nonconference loss to Garfield on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Seattle, is expected to miss several weeks — possibly returning for week five, the start of KingCo play.
Ahmed fractured a bone in his hand during the season opener, and attended Saturday’s game in dress pants, a Washington Nationals ballcap and a bright red cast on his left hand.
It’s a reality Juanita hasn’t needed to face since Ahmed was an eighth-grade star: where will the offense come from when Ahmed isn’t on the field?
“It’s a blessing in disguise because I feel like other guys have to be able to step up,” said coach Lele Te’o. “We can’t always count on [number] two to be our savior. As a coaching staff, we understand that Salvon isn’t the be-all-end-all, and we need guys to step up.”
A direct stand-in is junior Andrez Trahan, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back who started against Garfield. Trahan doesn’t have the breakaway speed, nor the change-in-direction ability of Ahmed, but the junior is broader and effective between the tackles.
“I’ve always been prepared to take that role,” said Trahan. “Playing behind Salvon, you always learn something, and all I’ve done is learn something from him. That’s why I do good.”
Juanita also saw the return of senior quarterback Dexter Mell after missing a game due to academic ineligibility. Early on, Mell struggled to complete passes, missing his first four attempts and completing just two of eight attempts in the first half for 47 yards.
UPDATE: Mell injured near the end of Garfield game, will miss the rest of the season. JD Worcester to start in his place.
Garfield threw out an athletic defensive secondary and big bodies on the defensive line, and the Rebels leaned heavily on the running game for the first two quarters. One of Mell’s two completions in the first half was a 45-yard touchdown reception for tight end Dean Sise, but the inconsistencies outweighed the successes.
Mell finished 14-of-27 for 170 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
“A lot of that has to do with getting back and getting timing right,” Te’o said. “Garfield did some things that challenged us, and made it hard for [Mell] and made the receivers’ job hard. He did the best he could, and we’ll take that for what it is and get better.”
Te’o said the offensive line is “starting to gel,” and gave Mell more time to throw the ball than was given stand-in JD Worcester in week one, but the mistakes early in the game cost Juanita.
Juanita was flagged on the opening kickoff, and on two of the first three plays. The Rebels were less than stellar on third down, converting three-of-eight attempts in the first half.
“I feel like we had a lot of flags, but at the end of the day, we weren’t playing our football,” said senior receiver Sam Rice. “We made a lot of mistakes on our side of the field. On offense we weren’t making the right reads and missing blocks. I think it was just all on us. I think we’re a better team than what we played as.”
Te’o credited Garfield’s physical, fast approach on both sides of the ball, but didn’t let the Rebels off the hook.
“We knew that coming in, and we can’t beat ourselves before we play a good team,” he said. “It was hard to get out from underneath that avalanche, but it’s a learning experience from us.”
The Rebels will take the experience and hope to apply it against Bishop Blanchet, a team which has lost a step from last season’s Class 3A state semifinal team. The Braves beat Juanita 73-28 in the quarterfinals last year before losing to Bellevue in the semifinals.
Juanita and Bishop Blanchet are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16 at Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle.
