Kennedy and Savanna’s reality check

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So I wanted to go to Glover Stadium and check out Kennedy and Savanna. I didn’t, but I wanted to. When you hit two games in one night, it helps if they’re in the same neighborhood, and I prioritized the first half of the Beckman game. Definitely, not in the same neighborhood.

But the main thing is Kennedy and Savanna. Both coming off impressive wins. Savanna beat Costa Mesa, 62-7 a week earlier, and I kinda wondered, ‘How good are they?’ I mean, 62 points is a lot of points to put up on anybody. That’s an ‘Are they running it up?’ kind of score.

I also knew Kennedy wasn’t Costa Mesa and could give the Rebels a real reality check. Kennedy won, 35-12. The outcome didn’t surprise me, nor did the score. But what did surprise me was this: It could have been much worse because three of Kennedy’s first four possessions ended in turnovers.

‘They had some very good athletes but we thought we were a little tougher up front,’ said Mitch Olson, Kennedy’s coach who is in his 21st season. ‘We just wore them down. I think we improved a lot from Week 1 in terms of what we had to do.’

I’ve always liked Kennedy, a scrappy neighborhood public school. Zack Emde, the Kennedy QB, has been spot-on thus far: 15 of 22 for 307 yards, five touchdown passes and one interception. Having walloped Northwood, 29-0, and Savanna, I’m not sure how good Kennedy really is, but it plays Vista Murrieta next week. That’s a big game because it’s probably the best nonleague opponent either team plays this season.

Kennedy is the reigning Southern Division champion, and Vista Murrieta -- currently No. 22 in The Times top 25 -- was last year’s second-seeded team in the Inland Division (although it lost to eventual champion Norco in the second round).

As OC-Inland Empire matchups go, I’m glad to see these teams playing each other.

- Martin Henderson