PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Church Comes Through for Kennedy

Vince Church rushed for 255 yards in 25 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead Kennedy High School to a 26-14 victory over Cypress Friday at Western High School in the season opener for both teams.

Church, a senior, scored on runs of 30 and 29 yards only 30 seconds apart in the third quarter to give Kennedy a 26-7 lead. His 30-yard run capped a four-play, 56-yard drive with 6:57 left in the quarter. Kennedy recoved the ensuing kickoff at the Cypress 29 and Church scored on the first play.

Church opened the scoring with a 79-yard run in the first quarter. In the second quarter, he took a screen pass from quarterback Ros Rosales and raced 32 yards for a score. Mike Eriach’s second-extra point kick gave Kennedy a 14-0 lead.

Church, who also played defensive back, intercepted a Cypress pass at the Kennedy 10-yard line in the third quarter.

Cypress quarterback Gabe Garica also had a good night, completing 16 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. One score came when Garcia flipped the ball to Sundance Smith, who went 69 yards in the second quarter to cut Kennedy’s lead to 14-7.

Garcia’s second scoring pass came in the fourth quarter, a nine-yarder to Yousef Semaan with 8:37 remaining. Semaan caught six passes for 122 yards.

Kennedy gained 318 yards on the ground, including 197 in the second half when the Fighting Irish attempted only one pass, which was intercepted.