Takeaways from Kennedy Catholic’s 34-17 win over Tahoma on Saturday
Just in time for league play to begin, Kennedy Catholic seems to have righted the ship.
On a near-80 degrees day for the last Saturday in September, the Lancers celebrated homecoming with 34-17, North Puget Sound League-opening victory over Tahoma at Highline Memorial Field.
“It means a lot to Kennedy,” Lancers coach Sheldon Cross said. “We’ve won every homecoming since we’ve been here, six years straight. I think Kennedy has won homecoming for 50 straight years.”
Kennedy (2-2 overall, 1-0 NPSL) responded to every challenge, retaking or extending a lead three different times on drives right after the Bears (2-2, 0-1) either tied or closed the gap. The last, on sophomore Isaac Syph’s catch and run for 45 yards pushed the Lancers three-point advantage back to 10, 27-17, with 9 minutes, 43 seconds left to play.
“It means a lot,” Cross said. “This one, we took this one personal for the alumni and for coach Merrill, who just had his funeral today here in town.”
HONORING TOM MERRILL
Tom Merrill was the second coach in Kennedy school history, and he compiled a 146-80 record over 23 seasons before his departure in 1995. Merrill passed away at the age of 86 in May of this year.
With pandemic restrictions, a memorial service waited until Saturday – on Kennedy’s homecoming weekend – to be held. The stadium observed a moment of silence in Merrill’s honor before the National Anthem.
“We wanted to win that one for him and the alumni today,” Cross said. “It means a lot to play for the alumni and this crowd. I’m proud of our program.”
DO NOT GO GENTLE
Ultimately, the outcome looked lopsided. But Tahoma stayed in this one late into the fourth quarter.
The Bears were able to hang around, in part, because of ball-control. Tahoma held the ball for 17:48 of the 24 minutes in the second half.
The Bears concluded their last long drive of the first half with Tyler Leick’s 24-yard field that narrowed the Kennedy lead to 14-10 with 2:45 remaining in the second quarter. The game went to halftime at that same score.
Tahoma had one more chance in the final 1:45 of the half, but couldn’t move the ball despite starting at the Lancers 49. The Bears did out-gain Kennedy, 187-162, in the first half, however.
“We have high expectations,” Tahoma coach Tony Davis said. “When you come up short, we have a lot of competitors in there, and it hurts.”
Kennedy got the first score of the second half – a 27-yard touchdown run from junior Xe’Ree Alexander – to extend the lead to 20-10 with 3:07 left in the third quarter. The Bears responded, going 91 yards capped by Dylan Shipley’s 15-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Garcia to get back to within three, 20-17, with still 11:13 remaining in the game.
Only after Syph’s 45-yard scoring play less than two minutes later did it become bleak.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Syph’s touchdown catch was one of several plays during which a Tahoma weakness seemed to present itself. Two Bears had Syph apparently wrapped up, but the Lancers sophomore used a spin move to get away and sprint the last 25 yards to the end zone untouched after that.
“We work so hard on trying to improve our tackling,” Davis said. “Those 10-yard gains turn into 40-yard touchdowns and it’s one of those momentum shifts. Definitely an area we have to work on this week.”
SERVING THE YOUTH
Syph caught four passes from junior Mason Hayes for 96 yards and that 45-yard touchdown pass. He added one carry on an end around for 18 yards and the Lancers first score of the game, putting Kennedy up 7-0 less than two minutes into the contest.
“It was a great game plan,” Syph said. “We went in, did our stuff. Came out with a victory.”
Meanwhile, fellow sophomore running back Zach Schell was busy racking up 92 yards and the final touchdown of the game (a 1-yard dive with 3:43 left) on 22 carries. And junior Alexander touched it nine times for 87 yards and two TDs.
“We worked on it all week,” Schell said of the running game.