Kennedy Catholic scores on first three possessions to put game out of reach

By T.J. Turrisi

11/11/06 November 11, 2006 12:59 am

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The final score was a mirror image, and it was also a reflection of the difference in strength between Region 1 and Region 2 Class A District 10 football, as the south’s No. 3 Kennedy Catholic Golden Eagles cruised to a 41-14 victory over the north’s No. 2 Saegertown Panthers at Bender Field in Friday’s first-round playoff.
And it didn’t take long to put things into perspective.
Kennedy quarterback Ross Gargano took the opening kickoff to the Panther 25. Golden Eagle running back Lee Plotts capped the one-play, six-second drive with a quick scamper to make it 7-0 with 11:39 remaining.
Saegertown turned the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass on 4th-and-3 at the Kennedy 40-yard line, and Gargano scored on the Eagles’ second play from scrimmage with a 60-yard run on a quarterback draw.
Saegertown failed to score on its next drive, and Kennedy’s first offensive play which did not result in a touchdown was an incomplete pass from Gargano to Lee Shimshock in the flat.
Plotts carried the ball 70 yards to the end zone on the next play, but it was called back for offensive holding.
On 3rd-and-17, Gargano called his own number for 18 yards and a first down.
The drive ended with a Plotts 2-yard run, and following a blocked kick attempt by Cody McCray, the score stood at 20-0 with 2:27 on the board.
From there, the onslaught continued, with Saegertown registering just four first downs, and the Eagles tacking on 21 more points with two scores by Plotts and one by Gargano, before the Kennedy second string took the field in the fourth quarter.
In the final stanza, David Haskins found the end zone on a 45-yard punt return at the 3:47 mark, and lineman Sean Catalano scooped up a fumble and ran it in for a 25-yard score to make it 41-14.
Saegertown head coach Ken Achenbach felt little shame in losing to a team the caliber of Kennedy.
“That’s a solid football team,” he said. “They have everything a coach could possibly want — speed, size and strength. They are where we need to be.”
The scoreboard did not show the heart with which Saegertown played, as the Panthers had their nose in the game, scrapping for everything they could get against the Kennedy steamroller.
“I don’t think our kids quit,” Achenbach said. “They played hard, and that’s all you can ask as a coach.”
The future is bright, as Achenbach will be losing just six seniors to graduation, none of whom were in the game when the Panthers put points on the board.
“The group of kids we had in there at the end (when we scored) is all coming back,” Achenbach said.
One of the game’s biggest heroes for Saegertown was McCray, who was not only responsible for the blocked punt, but also a fumble recovery and a punishing block which sprung Haskins for the special teams score.
According to Achenbach, McCray will be back next season as a senior to try to guide his team to the next level.
“Cody’s a very good athlete,” Achenbach said. “He’s capable of doing some things for us. He’s the kind of kid that we’re going to look to to lead this team next year.
“We’d like to think we’ve laid a solid foundation for next year. All the seniors showed good leadership to all our guys. Even though there weren’t many of them, we’ll miss them.”
Kennedy head coach Mike Donato knew his team was ready for the postseason, because he hadn’t had to change the line-up, especially on the line, for a few games.
“This is as healthy as we’ve been all year,” he said. “We’ve been in playoff mode for about three weeks now. We played West Middlesex and then we needed the wins over Mercer and Farrell to end the regular season.”
As far as the fast-paced start to the game: It was nothing more than Donato’s plan in action.
“We thought we could use our speed to our advantage and do some things. It worked. You always like to get a fast start in the playoffs.”
Gargano’s success with the play-action draw in the shotgun formation was in direct relation to the defense keying on the district’s top rusher in Plotts.
“They were concentrating on Lee, so we were able to be successful with Ross on the draw,” Donato said. “I don’t know if you can concentrate on both.”
Donato and his players are after back-to-back district titles, and the next stop is an, in his words, expected rematch with the West Middlesex Big Reds.
“Coach (Brian) Hoffman (West Middlesex) and I, along with Coach Picc (Paul Piccirilli, Sharpsville) — no disrespect to the teams up north — all thought we would have to play each other twice, including the postseason.”
With a 42-5 West Middlesex win over Region 2 No. 4 seed Iroquois Friday, along with a 35-14 Sharpsville victory over Region 2 No. 3 seed Cambridge Springs, it appears as if the Mercer County coaches had the right idea.

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