Kennedy blows past Northwood

ANAHEIM Kennedy picked up right where it left off last season, rolling past Northwood, 29-0, in a nonleague game Friday night at Western.

The defending Southern Conference Division champions scored on their first two possessions and were never threatened after that.

“You never know what to expect in game one, but we looked pretty good tonight,” Kennedy coach Mitch Olson said. “Rick (Northwood coach Curtis) does a great job so when you win a game like this it makes you feel pretty confident.”

But Olson said the Fighting Irish aren’t thinking too far ahead.

“We’ve got goals along the way and one of them was to come out and hit and play well and we did that tonight,” he said. “There is a long ways to go.”

Kennedy was led by senior Corey Smith, who scored three touchdowns, hauled in five catches for 148 yards and rushed for 68 yards on 13 carries.

Quarterback Zack Emde was also solid, completing 8 of 10 passes for 180 yards.

Kennedy set the tone early when Steven Salazar intercepted a pass on Northwood’s opening drive, giving the Fighting Irish possession at the Northwood 34 yard-line.

Three plays later, Smith scored from 2 yards out.

“If that wouldn’t happen, you never know,” said Olson.

It was the beginning of a long night for Northwood, which was 2-8 last season.

“We didn’t play very well,” Curtis said. “They executed real well and we didn’t.”

A.J. Gubernick led Northwood, completing 9 of 17 passes for 91 yards.