Dorsey Buries Memories, Kennedy

With the memories of first-round losses in the City Section playoffs the last two years still lingering, the Dorsey High football team made sure there wouldn’t be a three-peat.

After letting Kennedy stay close in the first half, the Dons dominated the final two quarters to win, 39-6, in a City Championship first-round game Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Nevin McGee ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns for Dorsey (8-2-1), and Tashari Williams added two rushing touchdowns as the Dons piled up 275 yards on the ground.

Dorsey led, 12-6, at halftime, but scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter.

The Dons took the second-half kickoff and drove 72 yards on seven plays, capped by McGee’s three-yard run up the middle that gave Dorsey an 18-6 lead.

Kennedy (7-4) went three plays and out, and after a 17-yard punt gave Dorsey the ball at the Cougars’ 42, the Dons scored in four plays.

McGee again ran three yards for the touchdown, and quarterback Lonnie Honeycutt ran for the two-point conversion to give Dorsey a 26-6 lead.

“We emphasized that we had to come out strong in order to use this game as a springboard,” Dorsey Coach Paul Knox said. “We had to go in and establish the line of scrimmage, and we did that.”

Kennedy, seeded No. 14, had 129 yards in the first half to Dorsey’s 87.

But during the first 11:25 of the second half, the Cougars had only three yards, while Dorsey gained 197.

Kennedy was held to 22 yards in the final two quarters.

“At halftime, I had a smile on my face,” Kennedy coach Bob Francola said. “I thought we had a chance.

“But their defense put a lot of pressure on us in the second half.”

Kennedy quarterback Ruben Zaragoza completed 10 of 25 passes for 81 yards, and ran for the Cougars’ touchdown.

Running back Jason Jones had 46 yards on 21 carries.

Dorsey took a 12-0 lead on a three-yard touchdown run by Williams and an 18-yard run by Major Cobb.

Kennedy, with the help of a fake punt, put together a 67-yard drive capped by Zaragoza’s one-yard sneak to make the score 12-6 late in the second quarter.

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In the Spotlight

RUSHING

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Player, Team No. Yds. TD Corey Neal, Sylmar 32 198 2 DeAngelo Nedd, El Camino Real 16 160 1 Omari Mack, Granada Hills 12 133 1 Devontra Hargrove, El Camino Real 14 125 1 Major Caldwell, San Fernando 28 123 1

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PASSING

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Player, Team Att. Comp. Yds TD Jason Winn, Granada Hills 20 12 278 6 Brandon Hance, Taft 22 15 140 2 Matt Cassel, Chatsworth 14 6 81 0 Ruben Zaragoza, Kennedy 25 10 81 0 George Wrighster, Sylmar 1 1 59 1

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RECEIVING

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Player, Team No. Yds. TD Lawrence Wallace, Taft 9 77 1 K.C. Bounds, Taft 5 57 1 Peter Gunny, Granada Hills 4 111 3 Reggie Lee, Chatsworth 4 28 1 Josh Brandon, Granada Hills 2 80 1

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