John F. Kennedy Eagles Take Down Fairport Harding Skippers 37-9

Photo by Andrew Ryan

It’s playoff time! It’s Division VII action as the #16 seed Fairport Harding Skippers took on the #1 seed John F. Kennedy Eagles. It was cold, but dry at the stadium in Liberty, OH. ‘In The Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins was blaring. It was quite a mood there.

It didn’t take long for the Eagles to assert themselves. On the second play of the game, quarterback Caleb Hadley threw a wide receiver screen to Aidan Rossi, and he did the rest. 53 yards later JFK got on the board and lead 7-0, 24 seconds into the game.

Kennedy forced a quick Fairport Harding 3 and out. On the ensuing possession the Skipper defense showed little resistance. Kennedy marched down the field, as the drive was capped off by a 28-yard touchdown run by Eagle running back Antonio Smith. We are not yet 4 minutes into this game and JFK has a 14-0 lead.

Another 3 and out for the Skippers and another short drive by JFK. Eagles quarterback Caleb Hadley walked in from 3 yards out and I’m sensing a theme that this game is, and will get, more out of hand. 22-0 Kennedy with 4:55 left in the 1st quarter. The Eagles going for 2 in this situation isn’t piling on. They’re trying to get to a 30-point lead to enforce the running clock.

With just over a minute left in the 1st quarter on a 2nd and 30, JFK quarterback Caleb Hadley found Braylin Dyson wide open on a busted coverage by Fairport Harding. It’s 30-0 JFK and we have the aforementioned running clock.

Fairport Harding put together a decent drive at the end of the 2nd quarter but was halted by a JFK interception. Kennedy would give the ball right back to the Skippers on the following play giving Fairport Harding excellent field position at the Eagle 16. The Skippers were able to capitalize and got on the board with a 31-yard field goal. End of the 1st half: JFK-30 Fairport Harding-3.

Kennedy began the second half with an onside kick, and it was successful. They want that running clock back. Two plays later, JFK running back Antonio Smith went 75 yards untouched for the Eagle touchdown. Kennedy succeeds in getting the clock to run and lead 37-3. That’s how the 3rd quarter would end.

Fairport Harding would put a touchdown on the board with under 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter to make it 37-9, but this game has long since been decided.

Fairport Harding looked overmatched and uninterested this evening. Everything JFK did was met with little resistance. Kennedy played half this game with back-ups on the offensive side of the ball. This game, if we can call it that, did little for either team. The Eagles were never tested, and the Skippers were beaten before they got on the bus this afternoon. Kennedy will now face the winner of Springfield Local and Matthews.