5 takeaways from Kennedy Catholic’s statement win over Kentwood
For anyone still wondering if Kennedy Catholic High School can make a serious run at a Class 4A state title, your questions were answered Saturday night.
The second-ranked Lancers, playing the same Kentwood team that upended them as time expired a season ago, piled up 629 yards of offense, scored a season-high 10 touchdowns and didn’t allow much in return in a 69-36 rout of the Conquerors at Highline Memorial Stadium.
Kennedy (8-0) wrapped up the 4A NPSL Mountain title with the win — Kentwood (6-2) is the division runner-up — and will play for the league’s top seed next week.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A SEASON MAKES
In last year’s 4A NPSL Mountain race, Kennedy allowed 171 points to its five opponents. Three of the five division games were shootouts, and Kennedy lost two of them.
One of those losses was in the final seconds against Enumclaw. The other was in the final seconds against Kentwood, when the Conquerors nailed a short field goal as time expired to seal a 38-36 win.
Kennedy responded to those frustrating losses by revamping its defense this offseason. Though the Conquerors managed 36 points in this game — the most Kennedy has allowed this season — the Lancers gave up an average of 13 points per game to five division opponents, which is a drastic improvement from the 34.2 per game they allowed last year.
Last season, Kentwood gashed the Lancers for 293 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, led by running back Gabe Johnson. Jalin Church threw for 232 yards and three more scores, and Arizona commit Alphonse Oywak had 181 yards and two of those touchdowns on five catches.
Here’s what happened this time around: Johnson was limited to 45 yards on 18 carries and held out of the end zone, while starting quarterback Jackson Proctor led the Conquerors with 60 yards and two scores on seven carries. Church took snaps at quarterback in the second half, finishing with a team-high 100 yards and a touchdown on 5-of-10 passing. Proctor was 4-of-9 for 62 yards and a score. Oywak was mostly quiet, hauling in three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.
The Lancers allowed 525 total yards to the Conquerors last season. Saturday, they allowed 292 — and a good chunk came on a 67-yard touchdown connection between Church and Jaelin Green midway through the third quarter, when Kentwood was trailing by four possessions.
“It just says we’re ready for any opportunity that’s in front of us, and when we’ve got an opportunity in front of us, we’re going to seize it,” said Kennedy defensive end Sav’ell Smalls, a UW commit. “We’re going to get back to the film on Monday and get ready for another game next week.”
‘SLINGING SAMMY’ MAKES MORE HISTORY
Kennedy quarterback Sam Huard, a UW commit, joined elite company in the second quarter. After a pair of penalties backed the Lancers up to midfield, Huard connected with Cal commit Justin Baker for a perfectly executed 50-yard touchdown.
With that throw, Huard, still only a junior, became the seventh quarterback in state history to reach 10,000 passing yards in his career.
“My next goal is 20,000,” Huard said. “So let’s go get there.”
Shadle Park’s Brett Rypien (13,044 yards from 2011-14) still holds the all-time record. Skyline’s Max Browne, DeSales’ Brian Lindgren, Prosser’s Kellen Moore, Eastside Catholic’s Harley Kirsch and DeSales’ T.J. Conley also eclipsed 10,000 yards in their careers.
Huard is currently sixth on the all-time list with 10,194 career passing yards. He also passed Conley (10,147) during the game, and is less than 700 yards behind Kirsch.
Huard also climbed in two more categories with his performance against Kentwood, completing 18-of-29 passes for 403 yards and season-high seven touchdowns to two interceptions.
His 657 career completions currently rank eighth in history, just behind Heritage’s Garrett Grayson and Lake Stevens’ Jacob Eason, who each had 660. His 115 passing touchdowns rank 10th. He passed Heaps (114) against the Conquerors, and is just behind Kirsch (116).
Huard’s uncle, former UW quarterback Brock Huard, gave his nephew a nod on Twitter during Saturday’s performance, writing he was proud of the work “Slinging Sammy” has put into his craft.
“I like that nickname,” Sam Huard said, smiling.
CAL HAS A LOT TO LOOK FORWARD TO WITH BAKER
Baker’s 50-yard, history-making touchdown catch was one of five — yes, five — scoring connections with Huard.
The running-back-turned-wide-receiver committed to Cal in August, and can offer plenty of versatility to a Pac-12 program in the coming years. He certainly does it all for the Lancers.
Against Kentwood, Baker had a career night, hauling in the five touchdown catches of 20, 16, 45, 50 and 18 yards. He twice plowed through defenders on his way to the end zone, and on his third touchdown catch, dragged a defender with him for the final 10 yards to score.
Baker also scored on a 15-yard rushing touchdown. He finished with seven catches for a game-high 166 yards, and racked up 197 all-purpose yards.
“He had a special night,” Huard said. “That was fun to watch. He’s so electric and dynamic. Just get him the ball and he can do some crazy things.”
BIG PASSES ARE STILL KENNEDY’S CALLING CARD, BUT DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE RUN
Yes, the most exciting play of Kennedy’s win was the 96-yard touchdown connection between Huard and Jabez Tinae in the second quarter. Yes, three of the seven touchdowns Huard tossed against Kentwood were for 40-plus yards. Yes, the big pass plays will continue to be what the Lancers are known for as long as Huard is slinging the football.
But, Kennedy has also developed a consistent rushing attack, and working that in with the Air Raid will be key as the Lancers move into the playoffs and face more experienced defenses.
The Lancers were balanced against Kentwood, running 58 offensive plays equally split between the run and the pass, and gashed the Conquerors for 226 yards on the ground.
Leland Ward led the way with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, and Zaire Lozolo added another 66 yards on 13 carries.
KENNEDY’S WIN SHOULD SAY PLENTY TO THE STATE
A program that consistently relied on its talented offense to win shootouts last season is now a program that looks sturdy in all three phases.
Kennedy certainly appears poised to compete with other expected 4A title contenders like Lake Stevens, Camas, Graham-Kapowsin and others, and this redemption win over a playoff-caliber Kentwood team shows that.
“It meant so much,” Baker said of the win. “The intensity — everything was different. Everyone wanted this bad. We didn’t need any motivational speeches. We didn’t need coach to get on us. Everyone was locked in. Everyone was ready.”
A win like this solidified how well Kennedy has performed this season, Baker said.
“I think mostly it just proves to us what we already knew,” he said. “We came out here and we were really confident. We knew what we could do. We knew our plan, coach gave us a great plan. All we had to do was execute.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 11:47 PM.
