Carvalho comes up big when it counts for Paloma Valley

Paloma Valley quarterback Mason Carvalho uses his speed and instincts on the football field. Photo by Kristi. Jo Aguirre

Mason Carvalho first made an impact on football coaches at Paloma Valley High School two years ago, when he refused to slow down despite taking shots from defenders much bigger than he was in practice.

"Sophomore year, I was Coach Espo's scout team running back," Carvalho said, referring to former Wildcats head coach Bert Esposito. "I was taking some beatings on the scout team and I think he noticed I had a big heart for the game."

Esposito, now the head coach at Temecula Valley, paid Carvalho the ultimate compliment earlier this season by saying that pound for pound, he is the best player he's ever coached.

Now, as a senior, Carvalho still stands just 5-foot-5 and 150 pounds. Even so, in many ways he sits very tall in the saddle. He is now the starting quarterback of a team that takes a 5-2 record into Friday night's Menifee Bowl game at crosstown rival Heritage High.

A starting receiver last year, Carvalho impressed first-year head coach Tom Tello with his speed and good decision making. Tello was so impressed, in fact, that he informed Carvalho well before the start of this season that he would start at quarterback. Carvalho has responded by rushing for 1,137 yards this season -- by far the most on the team. Defenders have fits trying to track him down and tackle him.

The success of running backs Dereus Dortch (780 yards rushing) and Jalen Rembert (465 yards) presents problems for defenders who try to focus on Carvalho. They know that any of the three could end up with the football, and the results usually are positive for the Wildcats.

"Coach Tello put a new offense in," Carvalho explained. "I’m making the reads. Dereus and Jalen are carrying the ball, too. But if I see a player bite on them, I’m pulling it in and running with it.

"Coach had me working at quarterback in the off-season. I think he chose me because of the way I can run with the ball and make key decisions, key reads. I think I showed him what I could do last year, and he trusts me."

Carvalho also has passed for 215 yards, but Paloma Valley is most dangerous when running with the ball. The Wildcats are averaging 370 yards per game on the ground. In the team's 48-21 win over Notre Dame two weeks ago, Carvalho ran for three touchdowns and the Wildcats compiled almost 400 yards rushing. The week before in a 48-21 win over Esposito's Temecula Valley team, he rushed for 228 yards and three TDs.

The team's breakout game came the week before, however, in the Wildcats' home opener after starting the season 1-2 on the road. In a 47-32 win over JW North, Carvalho ran for 262 yards and three scores.

"The first game (a 48-7 loss to Cajon) was kind of a bad game, but I expected us to get better week by week and I think that’s what we’ve done," Carvalho said. "After our week 3 loss ... the week after I think is when we completely turned it around and got the proper mindset. It was also our first home game, so that was definitely an energy boost."

Carvalho also runs track, with personal bests of 11.1 in the 100 meters and 52.0 in the 400. He hopes to use that speed again Friday night against the Patriots, who also are 5-2 overall.

"Last year definitely left a bitter taste in our mouth," Carvalho said of the Wildcats' 41-38 loss to Heritage, a team they have never beaten. "Everybody’s going to get hyped over it, but mostly it’s the first game of league and we’ve been preparing for that all year. It’s finally here. We’re pretty excited for it."

While the big boys battle in the middle of the field, Mason Carvalho takes off downfield. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre