Kennedy beats Chavez 21-3 to win first SSL title in school history
DELANO— There have been plenty of ups and downs for the Kennedy football program since its first varsity game in 2009.
There was a 30-game losing streak, followed a few seasons later by three Central Section championships in five years. But through it all, one thing had eluded the Thunderbirds — a league title.
On Friday night, Kennedy finally checked off that box with a 21-3 victory over cross-town rival Chavez in a winner-take-all contest for the South Sequoia League crown.
“We’ve been chasing it for years,” said fifth-year Kennedy coach Mario Millan of the SSL title. “We’ve been close. We knew that because of the defense that we brought to the table this year that we’d have a better opportunity to chase it down. As long as we get a couple points on the board, that’s all we need for our defense. So I’m happy for our community, I’m happy for our program to finally get that monkey off our back.”
It’s been a difficult past few weeks for both schools.
Each had games canceled due to fears about escalating violence in the area following a shooting just north of Delano that killed two and injured two others.
It was the first high school football game in Delano since, and also doubled as Kennedy’s Homecoming night. The original Homecoming was postponed when RFK’s home game against McFarland was canceled.
“That was what it was, but I wanted this to be a memory for our kids,” Millan said. “They lost that memory that night, so I wanted them to have an even better memory tonight. So what happened before is going to pass and their not even going to worry about that anymore.”
A packed house of supporters saw a hard-fought defensive battle from the opening whistle.
Chavez (6-3, 4-1) opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal by Jacob Loya on the Titans’ opening possession. The play was set up by a 41-yard run by Israel Gonzalez on the first play from scrimmage. Unfortunately, Chavez managed just five more first downs the remainder of the game, with Gonzalez accounting for four of them. He finished with 75 yards on 22 carries.
Kennedy (7-2, 5-0) took advantage of good field position all night, and made the most of five long pass plays to build a comfortable lead in the third quarter.
Thunderbirds quarterback Julian Orozco was just 8 of 24 passing, but finished with 239 yards and two long touchdowns.
Already leading 7-3 at halftime, Orozco connected with Hugo Loera on a 42yard scoring play on RFK’s opening drive of the second half. Loera, who finished with four catches for 90 yards, took a short pass, broke a tackle and sprinted into the end zone just 1:29 into the third quarter.
After the Thunderbirds forced a Chavez punt, Orozco threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Gamiez Helm to make it 21-3 with 8:04 left in the third quarter. Helm had three catches for 114 yards.
“There was some breakdowns tonight defensively, and then offensively we just couldn’t get going,” said Chavez coach Jesse Ortega, whose team was playing for the first time in three weeks following a cancellation and bye week. “I honestly believe
that we’re better than what we showed tonight, but hey, you’re playing a rival game, on the road, the environment is a big factor. So congratulations to RFK for what they did. They outright took it and there’s nothing we can do about it except regroup and get ready for next week.”
That was more than enough of a cushion for a Kennedy defense that limited the Titans to 141 yards from scrimmage and just
six first downs. In SSL play, the Thunderbirds combined to outscore their five opponents 112-29.
“Our guys pride themselves on playing defense,” Millan said. “We platoon, so they only play defense, so they’re excited to be out there and they do a great job of preparing all week long. They know that when they get out there it’s their opportunity to shine.”
Millan was also happy that his team is part of what
he sees as an upswing in talent in the area.
“I’ve been here for a long time, and I know a lot of guys that coach, and Delano has never really been taken seriously when it comes to football,” Millan said. “So this kind of shows as all three programs have really started to develop and really get strong, so to be able to do this tonight, in Delano, in front of a great crowd really shows that football is really strong in this town.”