From entering St. Vincent De Paul High School as a 14 year old freshman, junior multi-sport athlete Kai Hall has come a long way and is looking towards the future.
As a freshman, Hall was mainly focused on playing football, playing running back and providing depth at linebacker. It is safe to say that Hall fit in nicely in his first year in this Mustang team, as he quickly earned the starting running back job, and did not take it for granted.
“I’m just happy to be a big part of the team,” Hall said. “I feel that I’m just like any other player on the field.
In his first high school game, Hall burst out onto the scene carrying the ball 14 times for 169 yards and three touchdowns. For the rest of the regular season, he didn’t slow down, finishing the season with an NCS freshman record 1,773 yards, on 9.7 yards-per-carry, and 19 touchdowns.
This shocked many people as they were astonished by this freshman’s numbers. His performance led the Mustangs to a 9-2 record, one of the best in the school history at the time and led them to the North Coast Section Division 7 Playoffs.
In the first round, they fell to the St. Helena Saints in a 44-22. However, Hall put together a nice game with 131 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. Even after this loss, hopes were high for this team as Hall still had three years with the program left.
Even more importantly, he left a bigger impact on the other members of the team on and off the field, leaving many high opinions throughout the program.
“Kai is an amazing person, very special on and off the field. Great personality with natural leadership ability,” St. Vincent de Paul Head Football Coach Trent Herzog said. “It’s been a coaches dream to be able to coach Kai for four years, and he will leave SV as the all-time leading rusher and has a shot at being the leading rusher in Redwood Empire history.”
He also gained close relationships with many of the players, leaving massive impacts on them as well.
“Kai is a unique player, he brings a lot of versatility into our offense,” junior teammate Nathan Rooks stated. “Wherever he goes I know he is going to go far in whatever he does, not just on the football field but in life.”
Hall ended the season with a bang by winning the NCS Freshman of the Year being one of the only athletes in school history to have done so.
“It’s hard to top that, but it makes me want to work harder,” Hall said. “I want to get better and take care of injuries so I can help my team get to a state title.”
Unfortunately, COVID-19 prolonged the 2020 offseason and it postponed Hall's sophomore season to March 2021. The Mustangs opened the season with a big win in Ukiah on the road. This victory was one of the biggest in school history and Hall led the team with 193 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns.
As the shortened five game season continued, he did not disappoint, ending the season with 536 yards and eight touchdowns.
Immediately following the shortened COVID-19 Pandemic season, Hall set his eyes on the basketball court playing for legendary head coach Tom Bonfigli.
In his freshman year Hall participated on the Junior Varsity team, and in his sophomore year he was given the starting point guard role on the Varsity team.
He began forming good relationships throughout the members basketball team and had a successful season which ended in a 45-42 upset victory at Rancho Cotate. Throughout the pandemic shortened 13-game season, he gained a good reputation throughout the new coaching staff as well.
After a successful summer for the Hall and the Mustangs both on the football field and the basketball court, the football Mustangs were ready for battle in their season opener against St. Bernard’s. They captured the victory 21-20 in a neutral site game played at Petaluma High School. Hall had 72 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown.
Hall carried on for another great season, leading the Mustangs to an 11-2 record, a North Coast Section Division 7 championship and an appearance in a CIF NorCal Regional Bowl game.
Hall rushed for 1,474 yards and a career-high 20 touchdowns this past fall. However, his workload in many of the games were cut short because of a torn labrum, which he had to play through the entirety of the season.
“Pushing through my torn labrum with a few subluxations (dislocations) a game wasn’t an easy thing, often getting 15+ plus carries and playing through pain was something I’ll never forget,” Hall said. “I believe this shows what I’m about as a football player. I had a dream to make a state run with my team and that’s what we did.”
These injuries, however, didn’t seem to dampen the opinions of many others. Hall capped off the 2022 season with being the NBL-Redwood Offensive Player of the Year, and the rushing leader in the league as well.
Along with these awards, Hall has also been rated with three stars for college recruiting and will be looking for a college career following his senior season in the fall.
Following the football season Kai was skeptical about participating in basketball again due to a pending shoulder surgery. However, after speaking with Bonfigli before the Mustangs began league play, he decided to go out for basketball and gave the them a very nice boost.
With the help of Hall, the Mustangs put together a solid season going 15-11 and going to the second round of the North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs for the first time in 11 years. They defeated Technology 49-42 in the first round but fell to the then-No. 1 Division 5 team in California, Cloverdale 57-47.
It is evident that over Hall’s career, the accolades and records will be remembered for a long time and the impact that St. Vincent de Paul has left on him has been profound.
“Playing for SV has been a great experience, I’m proud to be a part of,” Hall said. “All the sports I have played made me a better person. It always comes with hard work and it is humbling. Go Mustangs”
