Kennedy Feeling Rundown

Kennedy High’s passing game has been delightful to implement, execute and observe.

Yet the system built on finesse was no match for Crenshaw’s old-fashioned power football in a City Championship quarterfinal.

The Cougars, seeded No. 2, rushed for 330 yards and sacked Ruben Zaragoza of Kennedy eight times en route to a 42-21 victory Wednesday night at Fremont High.

In the center of the maelstrom at fullback and inside linebacker was Lee Webb, a 6-foot, 237-pound Crenshaw senior who dominated the game.

He rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns. When Kennedy tightened its defense to stop him, it opened the outside for tailback Terrence Whitehead, who had 129 yards and three touchdowns.

On defense, Webb was the centerpiece of Crenshaw’s ferocious blitzing, sacking Zaragoza four times.

“We worked on our pass rush all week,” Webb said. “They hadn’t faced anybody like our team. We were strong and we prevailed.”

Crenshaw (9-2), which won its eighth in a row, appeared on its way to a rout after scoring with 25 seconds left in the first half and marching 67 yards on the first possession of the third quarter to make the score 28-7.

But Kennedy (8-4) scored twice on clutch fourth-down plays to pull to within 28-21.

Zaragoza connected with Sanders Trent from 11 yards with 3:12 left in the third quarter after a penalty and a sack moved the Golden Cougars back from the one.

Kennedy faced fourth and 13 from the Crenshaw 32 on its next possession and Coach Bob Francola called for a punt.

He reconsidered, however, and after a timeout, Zaragoza lofted a pass in the end zone over two defenders and into the hands of diving James Norris on the last play of the quarter.

Trailing by only a touchdown, Kennedy came to life on defense, forcing a third and 10 play from the Crenshaw 44. The Golden Cougars blitzed Devin Hollins, who dumped off a screen pass to Justin Smith that resulted in 29 yards.

Five plays later, Whitehead scored from two yards and Crenshaw regained control.

“We let them out of the can on that screen,” Francola said. “It was a good call and it was the most important play of the game.”

Despite the heavy rush, Zaragoza completed 20 of 36 passes for 218 yards. Norris had 10 receptions for 100 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

Zaragoza finished the season with school-record totals of 3,246 yards passing and 37 touchdown passes.

“That was the best pass rush we’ve seen all year,” Zaragoza said. “They brought everybody, all seven people.

“In the fourth quarter, they played with a bunch of emotion.”

Norris had 80 catches and 24 touchdowns this season. Trent, hampered by torn knee cartilage, had three catches to give him 79.

Kennedy, which shared the Valley Mission League title, will be strong next season provided a replacement is found for Zaragoza.

Norris returns, as does the entire offensive line. Robert Avina, the best defensive player, will be back.

The Golden Cougars have the entire off-season to dwell on missed opportunities. Three times Kennedy came up empty inside the Crenshaw 20.

“We made mistakes, but we went down fighting,” Zaragoza said.