Kennedy Finally Gets Past Pacifica

The Kennedy and Pacifica football teams have met annually for 11 years, but until Saturday night, the Fighting Irish had never won.

Quarterback John Guthrie passed for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and Kennedy’s defense added two more in a 31-13 Garden Grove League victory at Western High.

Kennedy (3-2-1, 1-1-1) led, 10-7, at halftime after Guthrie’s 52-yard touchdown pass to Wesley Morris and a Chris Clark field goal. The Irish extended the lead to 17-7 with 3:34 left in the third quarter when Guthrie again found Morris for a 25-yard touchdown.

Pacifica (3-3, 1-2) had trouble moving the ball against the Irish defense. Kennedy intercepted three passes by quarterback Brian Wolfson, returning two for touchdowns. Eric Stear returned the first 17 yards to make it 24-7, while Clark had to work his way through a number of Pacifica players to go 85 yards and close the scoring for the Irish.

“Defense was definitely the key for us tonight,” Kennedy Coach Mitch Olson said. “It’s the biggest win I’ve been involved with here. To defeat a Bill Craven-coached team says something.”

Pacifica’s Jeff DePippo made it 31-13 with 1:07 left on a two-yard touchdown run.