RIALTO — The Carter High football team trails host Colton by seven points in the first half of an important Skyline League game. Star Carter running back Jordan McKinney takes the handoff and bursts through a hole on the right side. McKinney explodes past the Colton safety and runs 66 yards for a touchdown. He chest-bumps receiver Ethan Skinner and then skips off the field. Senior running back Jordan McKinney has helped the Carter football program reach the CIF Southern Section finals for the first time. The Lions host Palmdale in the Division 12 championship game Friday, Nov. 29, 2004. (Photo by John Murphy, Correspondent) McKinney has been a revelation in the postseason for Carter (9-3), which plays visiting Palmdale (8-5) in the CIF Southern Section Division 12 title game on Friday at 7 p.m. McKinney has rushed for 723 yards and 12 touchdowns in three playoff games and has 1,453 yards from scrimmage and 24 total touchdowns for the season. McKinney also has 43 tackles and three interceptions on defense. “He’s had a breakout season,” Carter coach Felipe Salas said after a recent win against Canyon Springs. “He’s a track star for a reason.” No slouch off the field, McKinney has a 4.0 grade point average and is a Starbucks barista. But it hasn’t been all 70-yard touchdown runs and cheering crowds for McKinney during his high school career. He overcame a serious knee injury suffered early in his sophomore season, but not without the encouragement of his grandfather, Kenneth Goins, and others. It happened during a non-league junior varsity game against Los Osos. “I had scored three touchdowns that game, but near the end of the game on a kickoff my leg snapped,” McKinney said. “I tore my (anterior cruciate ligament).” McKinney missed the rest of the season, and then faced months of rehabilitation and uncertainty. “I was afraid I’d tear the ACL again, but eventually I got over the fear,” McKinney said. “I just had to push through.” Recalled Goins, who was a teammate of NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott at Eisenhower High in the 1970s: “Sophomore year Jordan ruptured his ACL, and he said, ‘I’m done. I want to quit.’ But I said, ‘Hang in there. Just get through this and you’ll be even better when you come back.’” It took time. Fearful he would hurt the knee again, McKinney chose to play receiver and defense as a junior. He did OK, catching four touchdown passes. But now as a senior – despite eight games with six carries or fewer – McKinney has morphed into a monster. He was at his best last week in a 70-48 semifinal victory against Wilson of Hacienda Heights, rushing for 283 yards and six touchdowns. Carter senior running back Jordan McKinney chats with assistant coach Axxel Rivas during a recent practice. McKinney has helped the Lions reach the CIF Southern Section Division 12 championship game. (Photo by John Murphy, Correspondent) Sprinter’s speed helps. The 5-foot-9 back went to the section track meet in two events last season. “In my head, I know I’m going to score,” McKinney said. “They hit me, but I’m usually able to slide off. And when I see green grass in front of me, I’m gone.” McKinney lives in Fontana with his grandparents Kenneth and Robin. But the brood formerly lived in Rialto where McKinney played youth football. When the trio moved to Fontana three years ago, McKinney stayed at Carter to play with the kids he knew. “I like the people I meet and that I’ve played with since youth ball,” McKinney said. “They’ve become my family and the people I mostly hang out with.” Related Articles High School Sports | Inland teams, athletes look to shine in Fresno at CIF State Cross Country Championships High School Sports | IE Varsity’s CIF Southern Section football championship previews, Nov. 29-30 High School Sports | Inland boys basketball teams to watch during the 2024-25 season High School Sports | Roosevelt boys basketball team has heads into the 2024-25 season with high expectations High School Sports | Inland girls athlete of the week: Sierra Maxwell, Heritage Three days before Thanksgiving, Carter practices. There are dark clouds overhead, but no rain. Rapper Kendrick Lamar pours from the sound system. The section title game – the first in Carter history – is near. “We play Palmdale,” McKinney says. “It will be a challenge. We’re tired and beat up, but we want that ring. I think we’ll want it more than them.”