VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : Kennedy Air Game Stands Tall, 42-13 : City: Golden Cougars pass on the run, Zaragosa throws for 315 yards and four touchdowns to beat Poly.

A short quarterback throwing short passes to short receivers sure can result in a long drive.

Kennedy High put together a marathon for its first score of the season, accumulating 113 yards on an 88-yard first-quarter march to overcome 25 yards in penalties.

Ruben Zaragosa, a 5-foot-10 senior, passed eight yards to 5-10 Paul Holifield for the touchdown, giving the Cougars a lead they never surrendered in a 42-13 victory over host Poly on Friday night.

Zaragosa completed six of eight passes during the 13-play drive that took only 4:12 off the clock.

He continued to zip passes over the middle and into the flat as Kennedy built a 28-0 third-quarter lead.

James Norris, a 5-6 junior receiver, caught a 34-yard scoring pass in the third quarter for a 21-0 lead and returned a punt 40 yards to set up Zaragosa’s two-yard plunge for Kennedy’s fourth touchdown with 1:44 left in the quarter.

“I thought we sputtered a lot in the first half,” Coach Bob Francola of Kennedy said. “We were like a typical run-and-shoot team that gained a lot of yards but couldn’t score.”

The problem didn’t last long.

Zaragosa appeared more confident and comfortable as the game wore on, completing 21 of 30 passes for 315 yards and four touchdowns.

Norris had eight catches for 86 yards, Holifield had three for 69 and 5-8 Sanders Trent caught eight for 88 yards.

Poly hurt itself with penalties throughout the first half and finally got going in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 19-yard halfback pass from David Valencia to Alex Green.

Following a Kennedy turnover, the Parrots scored again to cut the deficit to 28-13, but the Golden Cougars answered with a long scoring drive capped by a six-yard pass from Zaragosa to Norris.

Zaragosa finished his night by hitting a sliding Holifield in the end zone for a 22-yard score with 2:34 to play.

Valencia, a hard-running senior, accounted for 215 of Poly’s 233 yards, rushing for 144 yards in 30 carries, catching four passes for 52 yards and completing the one pass.

He had runs of 50 and 24 yards nullified by penalties in the first half.

Kennedy was helped by a punishing defense that forced four fumbles.

Strong safety Clifford Mack, a college prospect who is a cousin of running back Omari Mack of Granada Hills, had an interception in the third quarter.

“I thought our offensive line, especially Robert Avina, did a good job of protecting Ruben,” Francola said.

“I’m getting more and more comfortable with this offense. We are committed to it.”