Kennedy hoping to surpass 2016 run
The 2016 season of “We all we got, we all we need,” wasn’t an inspirational building block, Kennedy-Richmond head coach George Jackson Jr. said.
Sure, the Eagles went 10-2, their first winning season in 28 years. Yes, they won their first playoff game in the same stretch and tied for the most wins in the 49-year history of the school.
But it was how it abruptly ended — a rainy, tear-drenched 16-8 North Coast Section Division 4 quarterfinal home loss to Piedmont — that the Eagles can’t get out of their souls.
“Hey, we had fun and enjoyed most of that season, but we were so far from satisfied how it all ended,” Jackson said. “We don’t want to end in a flood of tears . ... Honestly, we don’t even bring up last season.”
It’s full flight ahead for the Eagles. Behind a strong line of seniors led by quarterback Micah Barnes, they’re 3-0 while outscoring opponents 119-12.
Barnes, a 6-foot, 180-pounder, has thrown for 547 yards, with 11 touchdowns and one interception. He also has rushed for 134 yards and four scores.
“He’s the man,” Jackson said of Barnes. “He wants to be perfect. He strives to be the best, to be great. He’s one heck of an athlete.”
Larry Washington Jr. (42 carries, 387 yards, 1 TD; six catches, 272 yards, 5 TDs) and Darion Ellison (21-147-2) are beneficiaries from the team’s strength: the offensive front.
Four seniors lead the front push: Manny Aguero (5-10, 220), Nabil Ghalib (6-3, 285), Ronnie Foote (6-1, 280) and Jesus Pintor (5-10, 230).
Defensive ends Demetrists Primes and Eugene Gaines each have five sacks, and linebacker Christian Qualls, the leading tackler from 2016, ignites an aggressive defense.
“We only have three kids start both ways, so we try to keep them fresh,” Jackson said.
The Eagles will need to be fresh Friday, when they travel to Bay Valley Athletic League member Deer Valley-Antioch. The Wolverines (1-2) lost two games by a total of eight points before defeating Castlemont-Oakland 52-0 on Friday.
It’s a major step up in competition for Kennedy, which has less than 40 percent of Deer Valley’s enrollment: 1,047 to 2,721.
For the first time in recent memory, Kennedy moved into The Chronicle’s Top 25 Metro rankings.
“Every game is a big challenge for us,” Jackson said. “We don’t overlook anyone. We don’t get caught up in game film because we know they aren’t playing against us.” League standards: Capped by Pittsburg’s 35-28 win at No. 4 Serra on Saturday, the BVAL won all six of its nonleague games last week. Liberty-Brentwood also scored an impressive intersectional win, defeating Wood-Vacaville 34-23. The league is a combined 13-4.
Other strong league records include the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division (12-5) and PAL Lake (12-4).
Surprisingly, there is just one undefeated West Catholic Athletic League team. More surprisingly, it is Sacred Heart Cathedral (3-0). The rest of the league is a combined 11-10, but it also schedules very tough. Marin Catholic glee: It started with a 35-21 win at St. Ignatius, where Oregon State-bound quarterback Spencer Petras (21-for-32, 371 yards, two TDs) and receiver Peter Brown (10 catches, 231 yards, two TDs) set school-yardage marks.
The weekend got better for Marin Catholic coach Mazi Moayed, whose prized pupil, Jared Goff, got his first win as an NFL starter, throwing for 306 yards and a touchdown in the Los Angeles Rams’ 46-9 home win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Goff is a 2013 Marin Catholic graduate and 2012 Metro Player of the Year.
“We’re all so happy for him,” Moayed said.. “There were times last season the way the experts talked, it was if Jared didn’t even know how to throw the ball. Then you watch (Sunday) and see the new system, the new coach, the new receivers and it was like watching the old Jared again.”
As far as his current imposing tandem of Petras and Brown, Moayed said: “Those guys work hard at getting in sync and when they’re on, they’re hard to stop.”
So are three other major college recruits for the Wildcats: senior middle linebacker Mack Roesner, junior running back Cole Truex and sophomore lineman Jamar Sekona.