Kennedy Fumbles Away Game

Savanna recovered three fumbles in the final four minutes of its game against Kennedy to preserve a 24-20 victory in the nonleague season-opener for both teams Saturday night at Glover Stadium.

The Rebels, who rallied from a 20-9 halftime deficit with two third-quarter touchdowns, were in danger of losing their lead three times in the final 12 minutes. Brian Tedeschi sacked Kennedy quarterback Gabriel Roman for a 13-yard loss on fourth and five at the Savanna 26.

The next time the Irish had the ball Jeff Klingelsmith recovered a fumble for Savanna with 3 minutes 59 seconds left to play. Jason Perez recovered a Jack Tucker fumble after a 33-yard pass reception on the Savanna 17. Kennedy had one more opportunity to take the lead, but a bad snap and a fumble recovery by Tedeschi ended the threat.

Savanna took a 3-0 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Luis Sanchez, capping a 17-play drive. Kennedy struck quickly on a 49-yard touchdown run by Mike deLeon for a 7-3 first-quarter lead.

Kennedy increased its lead to 14-3, when Roman hit Tucker with a 21-yard touchdown pass.

The Rebels scored with 3:30 left in the first half when Camron King capped an 84-yard drive with a nine-yard run. The two-point conversion run was stopped on Cliff Okada’s tackle of Leon Kellum.

Tucker scored his second touchdown of the game on a 31-yard pass from Roman to give the Irish a 20-9 halftime advantage.

Kennedy cut the lead to three, scoring on the opening drive of the second half. Jason Brown ran in from the 20 and Kellum ran in the conversion with 9:50 left in the third quarter.

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League By League in Week 1

Savanna’s 24-20 victory over Kennedy gave the Orange League a 3-2-1 record in the first week of nonleague play, third best among the county’s 10 large-school leagues in the prep football season’s first week.

The Sunset League posted a 6-0 mark, sparked by Edison’s 28-21 victory over Paramount, ranked No. 6 in Division II, and Esperanza’s 7-6 victory over Servite.

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League W L T Sunset 6 0 0 South Coast 4 1 1 Orange 3 2 1 Sea View 3 2 1 Empire 3 3 0 Freeway 3 3 0 Pacific Coast 3 3 0 Garden Grove 2 3 2 Golden West 2 4 0 Century 1 4 1

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Record of county schools against out-of-county schools: 5-0-1