20 Sep Kennedy High Eagles Soar to First Football Win of Season

The Kennedy High Eagles beat Ygnacio Valley High 28-16 on Sept. 13 in Richmond — their first win and first home game in over 300 days.

Story and photos by Joe Porrello

In Kennedy High’s opening home game of the season, the Eagles varsity football team defended their turf in Richmond on Sept. 13 by besting Ygnacio Valley High 28-16.

It had been over 300 days since Kennedy High last played a home game — or won a game — when they beat Richmond High in late October of 2023.

The Wolves came into the game fresh off of breaking a much longer losing streak.

Winless for five years and shut out 73-0 to start their season, Ygnacio Valley High held the state record for consecutive defeats at 35 before taking down Redwood Christian by one possession last week.

 

The Eagles didn’t waste any time, maximizing their initial possession into eight points with a successful two-point conversion after crossing the goal line. Highlighting the drive was an acrobatic 25-yard catch made over the back of a defender by Kennedy High freshman wide receiver Treyshawn Ellis, who also caught the game’s first touchdown pass.

 

“He started fast for us,” said Eagles head coach Greg Marshall. “He’s a big play guy and he’s going to have to carry a lot of the weight as a freshman on varsity.”

In total, Ellis hauled in four passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Giving their opponent minimal time to celebrate was another underclassman, as Ygnacio Valley High freshman Emmanuel Grajeda took the ensuing kickoff about 70 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. A successful Wolves two-point conversion tied the game at eight apiece.

 

From that point on, the Eagles tightened up and held Ygnacio Valley scoreless until their second-to-last offensive drive late in the final quarter.

Ending the first frame following a punt, an Eagles player tackled his own teammate away from the play to avoid him confronting an opponent and being penalized.

The second quarter was a turning point, as Kennedy scored twice on offense and banked two turnovers on defense to take a 12-point lead.

 

In their opening possession of the half, penalties resulted in Kennedy needing 22 yards to convert a third down. Eagles captain and senior quarterback Jayson Scarborough ran for about 25 yards to keep the drive alive.

Both teams were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the third frame when a scuffle between them broke out on the field. Although punches were thrown, neither team had players ejected.

 

With the Wolves past midfield looking to cut their deficit to one possession, Kennedy intercepted their second pass of the game courtesy of sophomore defender Ethan Mombreno and turned the pick into more points. Mombreno, one of 11 underclassmen on the Eagles, then caught a touchdown pass to help grow his team’s lead to 20 with one quarter left to play.

“This team is very young, so just seeing those kids fight for four quarters tonight was amazing,” said Marshall.

The Wolves have a comparably youthful team, with the bulk of the players sophomores.

Ygnacio Valley completed another touchdown pass and two point conversion midway through the final quarter to make the score 28-16, at which it would remain.

Putting an exclamation mark on the game was Eagles captain and senior lineman Noah Faataui, who caused a fumble and recovered the ball after tackling the opposing quarterback, and set up his team to run out the clock on offense. Faataui finished with three tackles and two sacks to go along with his forced turnover.

 

Marshall said his senior captains made the difference and that similar performances out of the group will be necessary to overcome their 0-2 start and have a successful season.

“We’re used to winning,” he said. “We know the standards and expectations, so I think they took it personally this week.”

Scarborough completed seven of 11 pass attempts for 103 yards, with four of his completions caught for touchdowns.

Ranndey Urbina played what seemed like every snap of the game, tallying 191 yards on 22 rushes, two catches for 14 yards and a touchdown, and two tackles — one of which a sack.

 

Pointing to the offensive line for opening up the run game, Marshall also attributed the win to his team’s defense turning the page on their first two games. Kennedy High gave up over 40 points in both of their previous contests and lost by over 30 points.

“I credit our linebackers coach Charles Wright and our defensive coordinator Donald Reed for really getting those guys to buy in and focus this week,” said Marshall.

The Eagles offense stepped up as well, doubling their 14-point output in their opening pair of matchups.

“They started the last two games scoring out of the gate and then faltering; we weren’t in the best shape,” said Marshall. “We knew coming in we had a good enough team to win; we just had to finish.”

The Eagles have now won back-to-back meetings with Ygnacio Valley High after beating them 48-26 in Richmond last season, their only other matchup of the last decade.

 

Both teams now sit at 1-2 overall, each losing their pair of road games thus far, while Kennedy High has been cumulatively outscored by about double and the Wolves outscored by nearly triple.

With overall winning records the last two seasons, Marshall says his team has work to do if they want to make it three.

“Seeing the boys happy makes me happy, but we still have a lot of things to clean up,” he said.

First up on the Eagles slate is winless Mission High (0-1) on Friday, followed by undefeated Oakland High (3-0) Sept. 27.

Ygnacio Valley will continue to oppose West Contra Costa County teams for their next couple of battles, facing undefeated Pinole Valley High (2-0) on Friday, and winless Richmond High (0-2) on Sept. 27.