Jones, defense shine in a rain delayed first win
By Emily Adelman, Correspondent, The Times
Kennett quarterback Jordan Jones (9) gets times to pass behind Victor Yorimcus (72) and Austin Gray (73). The Blue Demons notched first victory of the season, Thursday night, battering Twin Valley, 40-6.
KENNETT SQUARE — For the water-logged, faithful Kennett football fans, the thirty-minute rain delay prior to the Blue Demons and Twin Valley Raiders Thursday night contest, paled against the two-week delay the fans experienced awaiting Kennett’s first win of the season.
Kennett has been off to a slow start this season, dropping games to both Avon Grove and West Chester East that seemed like good opportunities for early wins before the season.
But whatever plagued them in those first two contests turned out to be nothing a little more practice couldn’t fix, however, as Kennett (1-2), behind the stellar play of Senior quarterback Jordan Jones and a much-improved defense, pounded Twin Valley (0-3) to put their first check in the win column.
“We needed to clean up mistakes,” Kennett head Coach Scott Green said afterward, “and like I said last week, more experience leads to more of a feel for the game.”
Kennett’s Liam Clarke gets a helping hand from a teammate on a play near the goalline, Thursday night.
The Kennett defense was impressive, led by junior Thomas Wessels and senior Kyle Werner, each racking up a pair of sacks. Just as impressive was the Blue Demon offense which overcame some critical miscommunication issues apparent in their prior losses. Jones led the way with 138 yards in the air, including one for a touchdown coupled with a pair of rushing touchdowns. On the receiving end, Senior Brett Rose accounted for 47 reception yards, including a touchdown.
“The boys and I worked so hard this past week, and I knew we needed to come out and win.” Jones stated after the game.
The Blue Demon’s scoring, which started early with Jones’ 30-yard pass to Brett Rose for a first-quarter touchdown, didn’t seem to slow down. Twin Valley’s only score would result from a Jones fumble on the Kennett 18 yard-line late in the first-quarter. Raiders’ quarterback Mike Lill quickly rushed the rest of the 18 to get the touchdown. After a blocked point after attempt, Kennett would retain the lead that it needed to win the game.
Kennett would go on to score 33 unanswered points to seal their first victory. Senior captain Liam Clarke matched Jones’ touchdown rushes with a pair of his own. The Blue Demon defense chipped in with 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions.
Although it might be easy to discount a win over the Raiders, a team that has been outscored 96-9 in its first two games of the season, such a decisive win, at minimum has to boost confidence. Still, though as Green acknowledges, his team still has work to do and areas that need improvement if wins are to come against the better teams in the Ches-Mont American Division.
