IRVINE – Defense reigned supreme as Kennedy defeated Northwood, 9-0, Friday night in a nonleague matchup at Irvine High.
With Kennedy (1-1) leading 2-0 at the start of the fourth quarter, wide receiver Naeem Summerville had the game’s biggest play, taking an end around for 35 yards, putting the Fighting Irish inside Timberwolves territory.
Two plays later, Armando Palacios took the handoff and ran it in from 6 yards out, scoring the game’s first touchdown and giving his team a 9-0 lead.
Summerville finished with 55 yards on four carries and added four catches for 36 yards.
Despite trailing in the fourth quarter, Northwood (0-2) still had its chances, but with 4:50 left in the game, quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s pass was intercepted when the ball tipped off the hands of Michael Bellas and into the hands of Kennedy’s Brandon Edge.
The game was dominated by the defenses as both teams made it difficult for either offense to move the ball. It was a miscue on special teams that was the story up until the Palacios touchdown.
With 6:09 left in the first half, the Fighting Irish forced the Timberwolves to punt, getting lucky when the snap went wide and out of the reach of punter Winston Li.
The senior was unable to recover the ball and went out of the end zone, giving Kennedy a 2-0 lead.
Kennedy’s defense limited Northwood to 61 total yards in the first half, 146 for the game.
The Timberwolves were good themselves, keeping constant pressure on Fighting Irish quarterback Jordan Jackson, sacking him four times, two by senior Garrett O’Connor and also forced four fumbles, recovering two of them.
Jackson was 11 of 22 for 158 yards and one interception. Derrick Deese was his favorite target, totaling 74 yards on three catches.
Northwood quarterback Trevor Lawrence was the focal point of his team’s offense, completing 18 of 39 for 149 yards, while throwing one interception.
