Cedar Rapids Kennedy drives way to season-opening football victory over Iowa City West

CEDAR RAPIDS — It was a coming-of-age moment.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy clung to a small lead with almost a quarter remaining against an explosive offense that proved it could score in a few seconds.

The Class 4A eighth-ranked Cougars responded, producing a long, clock-melting scoring drive that helped secure a 28-19 season-opening victory over Iowa City West on Thursday night at Kingston Stadium.

“The kids grew up in the fourth quarter,” Kennedy Coach Brian White said. “They felt the pressure. What a great experience for our young kids to be in a tight ball game and have to march down the field to seal the win.”

Kennedy (1-0) owned a 21-19 lead with 11:53 left in the fourth. The Cougars managed a 72-yard, 13-play drive that burned 5:39 off the clock for a two-score lead with a little more than six minutes left. Trevor Scott scored on a 3-yard run to cap the series.

“That was huge,” Scott said. “That was the biggest drive of the game, by far. We shaved off clock in the fourth quarter. We played Kennedy football. Run it right up the middle and beat them off the line. That’s what we did and it paid off in the end.”

Kennedy held West to a three-and-out on the ensuing series and then ran out the remaining 5:07 with sophomore quarterback Vicenzo Gianforte kneeling for the final play deep in Trojans territory.

“They wanted the win,” White said. “They got it.”

The Cougars amassed just 59 rushing yards at halftime, leading 14-13. They established the line of scrimmage, rushing for 123 yards after the break including Gianforte’s crucial 3-yard QB sneak on fourth-and-1 on the final possession. Kennedy finished with 182 yards on the ground with Scott attributing for 135 on 31 carries.

“We challenged them a little bit,” White said about the halftime message. “Go out and win the game. Be physical. We pride ourselves on running the ball. You can tell, we weren’t running it very well, but we kept running the ball. I don’t know if it wore on them at the end but I felt like the O-Line came together.”

Kennedy seemed to have an answer for all three touchdown passes from sophomore Jack Wallace to wideout Christian Janis. After falling behind 6-0, Donovan Slick-Driscoll gave the Cougars their first lead, returning the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a TD with 1:12 to go in the first.

Kennedy trailed again in the second when Gianforte hit Cyrus Courtney in the back right corner of the end zone for a 19-yard score and 14-13 lead with 7:19 left before half.

Gianforte showed his poise for the first points in the third. On third-and-7 from West’s 41, he fielded a bad snap, fended off a sack, rolled to his right and hit a wide open Grant Mather, who did the rest. He turned and bolted along the far sideline, getting a big downfield block and extending across the goal line.

Gianforte finished with 110 passing yards, completing 7 of 11 attempts, and two TDs in his first varsity start.

“He’s so mature beyond his age,” White said. “That comes from the coaching he gets at home from his dad, who is a coach, and taking coaching from us.”

Wallace and Janis wreaked havoc on Kennedy’s secondary. They teamed for scoring strikes of 86, 54 and 24 yards. Wallace passed for 236 yards. Janis had 168 yards on six catches.

“We got pressure on Wallace all night long,” White said. “The kid can sit in there. I was impressed with him. He is a tough kid. We knocked him around a little bit and he always got right back up.

“They’re going to win a lot of ball games and I hope they do with the way the 5A system works. I have more respect for Iowa City West than anybody else we play on our schedule. We play each other in the summer so we know each other well. We knew it was going to be a tough game. It certainly was.”