James now proving his worth
To find Kenny James’ hometown, you have to squint hard at a California road map, run your finger halfway down the long, perpendicular state, go east off Interstate 5 and drive until there’s a break in the fields.
Or you simply ask Dave Henderson where Dos Palos is.
Before the Washington Huskies plucked their sophomore running back out of this modest agricultural berg of 5,000 people, the Seattle Mariners unearthed a centerfielder there, two athletes well acquainted with each other, two guys from different generations but connected by a longer running version of Friday Night Lights.
“I’ve known him forever,” Henderson, 46, said of the UW’s emerging 20-year-old standout. “I know his mom. We went to school together. Our families are intertwined. I lived at their house, and they lived at my house.”
James, one of the few bright spots in a Huskies season gone seriously awry, has given hints of what he was all about back home by rolling up 133 yards rushing and a touchdown against UCLA last month and topping it with 189 yards and a pair of scores against San Jose State last weekend.
He is widely considered the greatest player to step out of the Dos Palos High School football program, which is as deeply ingrained in the Central California landscape as the endless rows of strawberries, grapes, lettuce and cotton. The blue and gold Broncos have won seven small-school state championships since 1946, and the past 18 consecutive North Sequoia League titles.
James set all sorts of Dos Palos football records, starting with career totals of 6,197 yards rushing and 118 touchdowns. As a senior, he ran for 200 yards or more in nine of his 13 games, twice topping 300. As a junior, he twice turned in games of six TDs or more, and came up with a 344-yard rushing effort.
“He was extremely durable and didn’t miss a game,” pointed out Mike Sparks, Dos Palos football coach.
James was part of a 13-0 state title team as a sophomore in 1999, and Dos Palos went 37-2 during his three varsity seasons. He has followed in the talented and shifty footsteps of other Broncos running backs, a list that includes Rodney Davis, Marque Davis and one Dave Henderson.
“Kenny’s a little faster than me and a better running back, but I hit harder,” the retired major-leaguer said. “Me and Ronnie Lott were compared back then. We were the same year.”
Kenny James and his family members regularly used to travel the 120 miles to Oakland and watch Henderson play for the A’s.
“I heard he was a real good back,” the UW player said. “Mostly I heard of him for his baseball talents.”
Like Henderson, James also was a baseball player, also a centerfielder, until he gave up the sport upon entering high school.
He might not have listened to Henderson on matters concerning baseball, but he readily accepted the Bellevue resident’s counsel when it came to football scholarships. Supplied with Northwest knowledge from his friend, James ended up choosing the Huskies over Fresno State and LSU.
Of course, the former outfielder turned loquacious Mariners broadcaster no doubt did most of the talking when they discussed college options. James is notoriously closed-mouthed. He’s a man of lots of yards and few words, at least to outsiders. He is more serious than standoffish.
Said Henderson, “I think he’s just a bit shy and overwhelmed by the aspect of being the big man on campus type of thing.”