Kennedy Offense Balmy in Palmdale

Coach Bob Francola of Kennedy High admits there are still a few kinks to iron out in his team’s run-and-shoot offense.

But for the moment he’s not complaining.

For the second game in a row, the Cougars rolled up impressive yardage on offense in a 27-13 intersectional victory Friday night over host Palmdale.

“I’m pleased with the progress we’re making,” Francola said. “We still have some things we have to work out with our offense but we’re on the right track.”

It didn’t start out that way for the Golden Cougars (2-0).

When Palmdale (0-2) drove 60 yards in four plays on its first possession, scoring on a 48-yard run by quarterback Terry Furlow, it appeared as if Kennedy might be in for a long night.

That was before Kennedy’s offense started to click.

The Golden Cougars responded with two touchdowns early in the second quarter, scoring on a 16-yard run by Jerome Williams and a 17-yard pass from Ruben Zaragoza to James Norris, and held a 13-7 lead at the half.

With the score tied, 13-13, in the third quarter, the Golden Cougars went ahead to stay on a two-yard plunge by Zaragoza.

The senior quarterback also scored on a one-yard sneak for his team’s final touchdown.

Zaragoza, a 5-foot-10 scrambler, didn’t have quite as much success as last week, when he threw for 323 yards against Poly, but he still completed 20 of 37 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown with two passes intercepted.

Wide receivers Sanders Trent and Daron Taylor also were impressive.

Trent caught seven passes for 53 yards and Taylor had seven receptions for 85 yards.

Kennedy, which finished with 368 yards, also showed signs of developing a rushing game.

The Golden Cougars finished with 127 yards on the ground. Williams, a 5-8, 155-pound junior tailback, had 106 yards and a touchdown in 21 carries.

Kennedy gave up 103 yards in penalties.

But all in all, Francola couldn’t have been happier with his team’s performance.

“This is a big win for us,” he said. “[Palmdale] is a good football team in a good league and they are going to win a lot of games before it’s over.”

The Falcons finished with 231 yards, including 158 rushing.

Reserve quarterback Michael Johnson completed seven of 13 passes for 63 yards.