Rose, offense shine in an exciting, offense-filled game
By Emily Adelman. Staff Writer, The Times
A near perfect night, as Kennett High School’s football team gets ready to battle Sun Valley on Homecoming night. The game was nearly as perfect as the Blue Demon offense shined, outgunning the Vanguards, 48-27.
KENNETT — Homecoming night at Kennett High School had everything; a parade, introduction of the homecoming court, and an offensively dominated football game with long runs, multiple scores, a two-point conversion, a goal line stand, a blocked kick and a big win for the home team.
The Blue Demons (2-3) defeated Sun Valley (2-3) Friday night, 48-27, in a Ches Mont American Division match up of two teams trying to recapture their 2012 form.
Brett Rose led the Blue Demons offense, with two running and one receiving touchdown, and kicking four extra points. Jordan Jones added a rushing touchdown and a key interception to seal the win late in the game. Senior safety Noah Turner, junior lineman Lee Woodall, and Junior linebacker Rudy Perez led the Demons defense, adding one interception, two sacks, and aggressive overall play.
While the pre-game pageantry was expected, what was unexpected was Kennett sophomore quarterback Nick Dunlevy’s first start and stellar performance in the first quarter of play. Dunlevy displayed strong leadership, guiding his team to two touchdowns on the first two drives of the game in place of senior quarterback Jordan Jones who entered the game in the second quarter.
“We have really started to find our way together as a team,” Kennett head Coach Scott Green said afterward, “We work together, and our experience will just keep growing.”
On their first possession, Kennett marched 60 yards down the field, culminating in a three-yard touchdown run by Liam Clarke for the first score of the game. With a missed extra point, the Demons were up 6-0 with less than five minutes gone in the first quarter. Kennett then made a defensive stop, which led to a Sun Valley punt from their own four yard line. Clarke ran back the punt for twenty five yards, setting up a short field for the Demons, and then Brett Rose rushed for a thirty yard touchdown. After the made extra point, Kennett led 13-0 halfway through the first quarter.
Sun Valley showed resilience early, with the next two scores and tying the game at 13 at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter, after Kennett junior linebacker Thomas Wessels blocked an extra point.
One bright spot for the Vanguards was wide receiver Kijana Jordan who scored three touchdowns and ended the night with 17 carries for 93 yards.
The game was not tied for long. On an option play, Brett Rose ran 49 yards for a touchdown with 10:02 left in the second quarter. On Sun Valley’s next possession, Noah Turner intercepted a pass intended for Jordan, and then Kennett quarterback Jordan Jones hit Brett Rose for a touchdown to give Kennett the lead 26-13 at halftime.
Sun Valley came out firing with their first possession of the second half, and scored their third touchdown of the night on a 35 yard run by Jordan. Kennett responded with a long drive, but had a touchdown called back on an untimely penalty, forcing the Demons to turn the ball over on downs on the Sun Valley’s one yard line. Sun Valley then went three and out.
With Kennett up 26-20 with two minutes left in the third quarter, Clarke returned a punt to the Vanguard thirty yard line. Brett Rose made a crucial third down conversion with a 12 yard run. Clarke then rushed for a 16 yard touchdown. Jordan Jones rushed for the two point conversion, and Kennett led 34-20.
The defensive series of the game came on Sun Valley’s next possession when Kennett defended the goal line from four attempts to score from within the 6 yard line, including denying the Vanguards two attempts from inside the two yard line.
After a fumble by Jones at Kennett’s own four-yard line, the Vanguards scored on a six yard run by Kijana Jordan, bringing them within 7 points, to 34-27. Strong defense, including Lee Woodall’s critical fourth quarter sack on third down and eleven, and a late interception by Jordan Jones, sealed the victory and the Demons scored 14 unanswered points to finalize the win, 48-27.
“We played really well tonight,” Jones stated after the game. “We limited our mistakes and played good as a team, both offensively and defensively.”
Brett Rose had a standout performance, with 126 yards rushing with two touchdowns, 4 receptions for 49 yards with a touchdown, and converted 4 of 6 extra points.
In the highly anticipated rivalry match up, Kennett takes on Alex Pechin and the Unionville Indians next Friday night at 7pm in Unionville.
