Prep Football Roundup : Kennedy Rolls Past Santiago, 34-12

Peter Montera threw two touchdowns passes and ran for one to lead Kennedy High School to a 34-12 Garden Grove League victory over Santiago Saturday at Garden Grove High School.

Kennedy (4-1-1 overall, 3-0 in league play) led, 20-6, at halftime, but Santiago (3-3, 1-2) got to within 20-12 in the third quarter. The Fighting Irish put the game out of reach with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

The victory kept Kennedy tied with Pacifica for lead in the Garden Grove League.

“This is the first time this season that we have played well for two halves instead of one,” Kennedy Coach Mitch Olson said. “We played well for one half but then just hung on to win our previous games, but in this win, our kids played very hard on every down.”

Montera, who completed 7 of 12 passes for 180 yards, gave Kennedy a 7-0 lead on the final play of the first quarter when he threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Mike Moore. The pass, which capped an 80-yard, 6-play drive, was set up by a 30-yard Montera pass to Greg Hansell two plays earlier.

On the ensuing kickoff, John Peralta weaved through Kennedy’s coverage team as he returned the ball 92 yards for a touchdown. The score remained 7-6, however, when Paul Crippen was stopped on his two-point conversion attempt after fielding a low center snap.

With three minutes left in the half, the Fighting Irish extended their lead to 14-6 when Ed Williams scored on a 3-yard run. Williams’ touchdown came four plays after Hansell returned a Santiago punt 21 yards to the Cavalier 37.

Montera, who completed 4 of 6 first-half passes for 152 yards, gave Kennedy a 20-6 lead with 44 seconds left in the half with a 72-yard scoring pass to James Chun. Kennedy’s two-point conversion bid failed, however, when holder Steve Rath’s pass off a faked kick attempt went incomplete.

Santiago cut Kennedy’s lead to 20-12 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter on Rudy Motley’s 1-yard touchdown run. Motley’s score culminated a 77-yard, 11-play drive. Alex Ripley, Dana’s brother, picked up 20 yards on t he ground and Dana Ripley completed a 19-yard pass to Motley on the drive. Dana Ripley’s two-point conversion attempt failed.

Montera gave Kennedy a 27-12 cushion with 2 minutes gone in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run, which capped a 70-yard, 11-play drive. Montera ran 3 times for 27 yards and completed 2 passes for 20 yards on the drive.

In Arrowhead League play:

Southern California Christian 39, La Verne Lutheran 0--Visiting Southern California Christian improves its record to 4-2 in the league opener for both schools.