Kennedy is preparing to start quickly this football season.
The Paterson school has fielded a program since 1900 and, according to all previous schedules searched, has never played a game in the month of August.
That will change in the 2024 season opener when coach Ron Jackson’s team hosts Stevenson of Bronx, N.Y.
“I don’t like to start Week 1 when everyone else starts Week 0,” Jackson said. “Because then, they’ve got an extra game on you, and the game speed – going from a game scrimmage to a regular-season game is a whole lot different. And then, you’ve got a team coming in Week 2 at full throttle, and you’re still ironing out the wrinkles.”
Last season may have been the harshest illustrator of that point. The Knights opened on Sept. 1 against Orange, which had begun its season six days earlier.
They were outscored in their first three games, 112-0. Finally, in Game 4, they snapped a 25-game losing streak with a victory over Snyder of Jersey City.
“We’re looking at trying to start this season on a positive note,” Jackson said.
The tradition
Times have been tough recently at Kennedy with just three wins in four post-pandemic seasons. In the eight years prior to COVID, the team averaged five victories per year.
There is an extra incentive to score the first W of 2024, as it would be the 72nd of Jackson’s 21-year tenure. The 1988 Kennedy grad is currently tied with his varsity coach, Frank Bonadies (71-66-4), for the most in program history.
Coaching records from prior to 1918 are spotty, but the program earned just 46 wins in its first 19 campaigns. Of the 15 coaches the school has employed since then, Bonadies is the only one to guide the Knights to a sectional championship (1987).
Bob Gut brought the Knights to the North 1, Group 4 final in 1974, and Jackson is the only other to coach any playoff games (three appearances).
MORE: Inside look at HS football teams in Bergen and Passaic counties
The challenge
Getting an early start may also help Kennedy address another issue that has prevaled in recent years. Jackson has noticed a tendency of students signing up for the team right at the start of the season, after preseason training has concluded.
“Now that they see the game in Week 0, that should get them out here early,” he said. “And sometimes, when I speak to other coaches, they share the same sentiments [about] kids being on vacation and things like that.
“With the league pushing the season earlier and earlier and earlier, it kind of affects the way we operate, and the way the kids operate.”
The players who went through the summer regiment gained valuable experience in 7-on-7s, as well as preseason practices.
“We grinded during the summer,” Jackson said. “I’ve just got to get all of the kids on the field.”
Expectations
The Knights brought three seniors to Super Football Conference Media Day earlier this month: Alvaro Uribe (OL/DL), Yah’zier Lennon (LB/DE) and Jayden Jones (QB/S). Lennon was an All-Passaic County second-teamer last season, and Jones developed as a two-way player later in the fall.
“He started [at quarterback] the last game against Eastside, but he was more of a full-time safety,” Jackson said. “He gives us the ability to get first downs and extend drives… truthfully, he’s gotten a whole lot better because he’s taken all the reps.”
Only five players graduated, and although the junior class is somewhat thin, there is plenty of senior leadership and a strong sophomore class. The expectation is to push beyond two wins and make the winless seasons of 2021 and 2022 a distant memory.
“I know we’re more athletic than those teams were,” Jackson said. “The previous couple of years, we didn’t have the talent at quarterback. And now, we have kids with some breakaway speed. … I think we’re going to surprise a couple of teams.”
Schedule
Aug. 30: vs. Stevenson (N.Y.), 6 p.m. at Bauerle Field
Sept. 7: vs. Hackensack, 1 p.m. at Hinchliffe Stadium
Sept. 14: at Keyport, noon
Sept. 20: vs. Wayne Hills, 6 p.m. at Hinchliffe Stadium
Sept. 28: vs. Dwight Morrow, 3 p.m. at Hinchliffe Stadium
Oct. 3: vs. Barringer, 6 p.m. at Hinchliffe Stadium
Oct. 11: at Bloomfield, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 18: vs. Passaic, 6 p.m. at Hinchliffe Stadium
Oct. 26: at Hudson Catholic, 7 p.m. at Caven Point
Nov. 28: at Eastside, 11 a.m.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Kennedy football pushing the pace in more ways than one | State of the Program
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