By James Day
The Kennedy High football team’s defense continues to keep the Trojans among the elite football teams in Class 2A division.
Kennedy improved to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Tri-River Conference on Oct. 8 via a 14-6 win against Regis.
The Trojans, who have allowed just 48 points, are tied with Central Linn atop the Tri-River, which boasts three of the top four teams in the state in the latest OSAA rankings: Kennedy is No. 1, Central Linn is second and Regis is fourth. Kennedy visits Central Linn on Friday, Oct. 16 with statewide bragging rights on the line.
“They take a lot of pride in what they do,” second-year Kennedy Coach Joe Panuke said after the emotional Regis win, which included stopping four drives deep in Kennedy territory with interceptions.
Angel Mendez intercepted passes at the 10 and in the end zone and Owen Seiler and Bishop Mitchell stopped drives with picks at the one as the Trojans faced a continual assault from Regis’ complicated offense.
“We practiced it and prepped for that,” Panuke said of the series of fakes and options and misdirection the Rams deploy. “You have to look at your keys, trust your coaches and trust your reads.”
For senior fullback-linebacker Jacob Lopez, who made a series of thunderous hits, it was a little more basic than that.
“Our defensive line played their butts off,” Lopez said. “We battled and my buddy Angel made some great plays for us.”
Mitchell and Lopez keyed the offense as well. The speedy 5-9, 170-pound Mitchell rushed for 117 yards on 15 carries, including 44- and 31-yard touchdown runs. The 5-11, 210-pound Lopez, meanwhile, banged away for 93 yards on 12 carries.
Silverton’s football team, meanwhile, fell a game behind the leaders in the Mid-Willamette Conference with losses against Corvallis and South Albany. The Foxes, who have been battling major injury issues, are 2-2 in league play, looking up at Lebanon, Crescent Valley and South Albany at 3-1. It’s been a wild season in the MWC, with Silverton scoring impressive wins against both Lebanon and Crescent Valley.
“We were a little short-handed, that’s not an excuse at all, but we had a lot of rookies out there,” Foxes Coach John Mannion said after the Oct. 8 South Albany game.. “It kind of showed in the first half. The dam broke, and when it broke, it broke.
“I thought they showed some good resilience, and they played well in the second half. No one hung their head, and we know we have a lot of season ahead of us. We’re second place in the league right now. That was a disheartening loss, yes, but this thing is far from over. I think it’s going to be a real opportunity for these guys to show their character, and I think they will. I think they’re a good group of guys who’s pretty banged up right now, but we’ll be back.”
Soccer: The Silverton girls squad is out to a 2-0 start in MWC play via a 5-0 win vs. Lebanon and a 3-0 victory against Woodburn. The Foxes are 6-1-2 overall, ranked No. 11 in Class 5A and have outscored opponents 34-8. Silverton lost the league title by one point to Corvallis a year ago and seems headed toward another showdown with the Spartans. The two sides close out the league season with a contest Oct. 27 in Corvallis.
Silverton’s boys soccer squad, meanwhile, lost 2-1 to Lebanon and 3-0 to Woodburn and is 2-4-3 overall under third-year Coach Kyle Calder.
“I think we have a great opportunity in front of us to be competitive in this, historically, strong league,” Calder said.
“Our preseason has prepared us for what lies ahead; now it is just about going out and playing our brand of soccer. We have showed glimpses of our potential, and I think if we can play to that potential consistently, we will be a strong contender for a playoff spot this year.”
Leading the way for the Foxes are its back line of defenders Aiden Bahr, Kirk Martinson and Chase Ellis and goalkeeper Ethan Risby. In addition, freshman Isaac Doyle has given the team a spark with his play in midfield.
Volleyball: Kennedy and Silverton both are in second place in their respective leagues. The Trojans are 6-2 in the Tri-River, trailing only 9-0 St. Paul. The Trojans are ranked No. 4 by the OSAA, with St. Paul at No. 2. Kennedy is 15-4 overall and had a nine-match win streak broken by St. Paul on Oct. 7. The Foxes are 7-3 in the Mid-Willamette, trailing only 10-0 Lebanon, which is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A. Silverton is rated eighth.
Cross country: Silverton and Kennedy both participated in the Oct. 9 Sandelie-West Nine Golf Course XC Classic in West Linn as they continue preparations for district and state competition.
The Foxes finished 17th in the boys race, led by freshman Haile Stutzman, who took 69th in 16:29.1. Adrian Parra was 44th in 16:08.2 for Kennedy, which was 35th as a team. Maddie Fuhrman finished eighth in 18:05.2 to lead Silverton to 22nd in the girls team race. Kennedy was 29th, led by Kaylin Cantu’s 40th-place finish in 19:21.5.
Silverton participates in the Mid-Willamette Conference district meet Oct. 21 at the Crystal Lake Sports Park. Kennedy runs in the District 2 meet Oct. 22 at Bush’s Pasture Park in Salem. The state meet for all classes is Oct. 31 at Lane Community College in Eugene.
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