HS FOOTBALL
Kennedy 38
Lehman 26
Khalil Salkey was like many of his Kennedy teammates at the beginning of this season. The senior hadn’t gotten much playing time a year ago and didn’t really know how to play the game.
“This season has been so much different,” Salkey said. “I feel like I’m learning something every game, every practice. That’s what coach does for us.”
That’s Kennedy head coach Jerry Horowitz, who came back to the school this year after leaving for two seasons and gives much of the credit to his staff, especially Tyrone Murray. His return meant a likely return to prominence for the program, but no one expected it to happen as quickly as it has. The Knights showed yesterday that they were back for good with a 38-26 win over Lehman.
“I didn’t know how this year was going to go,” said Horowitz, whose team improved to 5-1, as Lehman fell to 3-3. “But we’ve just made the kids work harder than they ever have and now they believe they can do anything.”
Although that appears to be true, Horowitz himself didn’t know he was about to watch a season like the one he is now. Prior to their first game, Horowitz looked at his young squad and the Knights intimidating schedule and conceded it would be nearly impossible for them to get to .500, much less make the playoffs – which he said would take a “miracle.”
But with winnable games coming up against Clinton and Columbus, Kennedy is poised not just to make the postseason, but also make a run at a title.
“We knew we were good all along,” said Salkey, who sealed yesterday’s victory with a 29-yard touchdown run and then followed up that with an interception. He remembers vividly the disappointment of his sophomore season, when Kennedy went 0-9. “Now we’re having a lot of fun and we know Coach is going to make us as good as we can. And this was the best game we’ve had.”
The adjustments Horowitz and his staff made at halftime helped Kennedy overcome a 20-8 deficit. Senior Dakotya Wingard did much of the work.
“He gets on me all the time, but he doesn’t yell,” said Wingard, who had a pair of long runs that set up scores. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever had.”
That thought is echoed throughout the team, including fullback Brandon Gonzalez, who had a one-yard score. The 5-7 Gonzalez was moved from guard to fullback during the offseason.
“I always wanted to play fullback,” Gonzalez said. “People thought we weren’t going to be good, but we knew what we could do.”