Kennedy hopes to rekindle fire of glory days

John F. Kennedy Campus had just moments earlier put the finishing touches on its most dominant performance of the season when head coach Augie Tieri gathered his team in the south end zone at Coach Horowitz Field for a post-game talk.

It was there that Tieri brought in Stephfon Green, a former running back who starred for the Knights in the early 2000s before a stellar collegiate career at Penn State. Green spoke to the team for about 10 minutes and the message he delivered to the 40-plus Knights kneeling in the end zone was this – it was time to bring back the days when Kennedy was one of the most feared football programs in the Public School Athletic League (PSAL).

Friday night the Knights looked every bit the part of those former Kennedy teams as it piled up a season-high 40 points as it rolled to a 40-6 victory over Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Knights’ Homecoming Night. 

That performance, coupled with Green’s postgame speech, made it seem like the good old days at Kennedy once again.

“He was talking about the old Kennedy mystique and how we need to restore that and get that back,” Tieri said. “He talked about his playing days and what things were like back then and how we need to bring that back.”

Playing the part of Green’s old role of stud running back was junior Mario Agyen, No. 1 in your Kennedy program and also tops in piling up yards Friday night vs. the Cougars. From the moment the Knights stormed onto the field prior to the game with senior Chizurum “Chiz” Umunakwe leading the way while carrying the American flag, you got the feeling that Kennedy was in for a memorable night. The enthusiasm was infectious and the energy provided by the large Homecoming crowd was palpable and when Kennedy got on the board in just their second possession of the game, after a two-yard touchdown run by Agyen for an early 8-0 lead, you got the sense it was just the beginning for the Knights.

Padding the lead

Kennedy added to its lead on its next possession when senior quarterback P.J. Franklyn scored on a three-yard touchdown run before adding the two-point conversion for a 16-0 Knights’ lead with 7:58 left to play in the second quarter. But the Knights were not done doing damage in the first half. After Kennedy recovered an FDR fumble at the Cougars’ 41 yard line on their next offensive play, Aygen struck again, this time scoring on a six-yard run with 7:19 to play for a 24-0 lead while sucking any remaining drama out of the contest.

Aygen finished the first half with 109 rushing yards and two scores and 133 rushing yards total for the game. It was his third straight game topping 100 rushing yards and it was a performance that drew praise from Tieri after the game.

“I’ll tell you about Mario, he started the season off slow and there were some people questioning where he was at,” Tieri said. “We kind of expected more from him in the beginning of the season but the last three games he has really turned it on. He had 170 yards and change against Port Richmond [two weeks ago] and then 117 yards [last week] against Erasmus Hall who everyone says has the best defense in the PSAL. He’s proven that it doesn’t matter who the opponent is. He’s going to come out and he’s going to produce. I’m really happy with him and his work ethic is unprecedented. He works extremely hard and is very passionate.”

The rout continued in the second half when Kennedy upped its lead to 32-0 after Umunakwe scampered 11 yards for a touchdown with 3:03 left in the third quarter to cap a 10-play, 90-yard drive for the Knights. It wasn’t until there were under 10 minutes remaining in the game that FDR finally got on the board when Peter Ndachi scored on a one-yard run. But it was far too little and way too late for the Cougars who promptly gave up another Kennedy touchdown, this one on a one-yard run by Camari Glasgow with just over 7:00 to play for the game’s final points.

Bounce back win

It was a terrific bounce back win for a Kennedy team that had given up 40 points the previous week in a loss to Erasmus.

“I’m definitely happy with the performance but there are things I feel like if we don’t button up we don’t win these games,” Tieri said. “Down the stretch we’re not going to get away with some of the things we got away with in this game like the turnovers. Turnovers can’t happen.”

Afterwards the talk was of Aygen’s exploits and those of his blocking buddies up front.

“The offense was clicking for the most part,” Franklyn said. “And Mario was terrific. The last three games he’s become the player he was last year, how he’s running the ball. In the beginning of the season he started slow and now he’s picking it up and bringing it back to where he needs to be.”

Aygen deflected much of the credit for his big night to his offensive line which he credited with blowing open large holes in the running lanes against FDR (0-6).

“I’m just having fun and playing ball,” Aygen said of his recent resurgence. “But I just want to thank my ‘O’ line. They pretty much did all the work up front, opening up those holes for me.”

The victory squares the Knights record at 3-3 on the season and with three games remaining Kennedy has officially entered the crunch time portion of its schedule. There are home games the next two Friday nights against Campus Magnet and New Dorp, respectively, before the regular season finale at rival Clinton. Games, Tieri said, fall in the must-win category.

“Our goal is to have a home playoff game. Our goal is to win out the remainder of the season,” Tieri said. “Anything less than that would be disappointing. I felt in my heart going into the season that we were at least a 6-3 team and that’s what we’re looking at moving forward. I feel [Campus Magnet Friday night] is a winnable game but they always come to play us tough. They beat us the last two times we’ve faced them so we’re going to watch film of them and prepare because I feel every game from here on is a must win.”

 Three games remaining, three games to set themselves up for a playoff spot, maybe even a home playoff game. Three games to bolster the resume and, perhaps, bring back some of the old Kennedy aura and mystique.

“I take that personally. I wasn’t here during those [dominant Kennedy] years but I can understand where [Green] is coming from,” Umunakwe said. “When you hear him talk about Kennedy and being five-time city champions, that that’s a team you don’t want to play, you take it to heart. I’ve seen the pictures of those teams and how big and strong and fast they were. I take that to heart because I know other teams were really afraid to play them and now when other teams see us on their schedule they don’t respect us. So we have to earn that back. They’re not going to give that to us, we have to earn that back and that’s what we’re prepared to do.”

That road continues Friday night at 7 p.m. vs. Campus Magnet.

“This win is a great momentum builder for us,” Umunakwe said. “When we win these next three games that’s just going to boost our confidence even more and show the PSAL and the Bronx that Kennedy is back. We’re trying to put Kennedy on the map again.”