Kennett jumps out early, then holds on tight to edge West Chester Henderson

West Chester >> The few fans who were allowed into J. Oscar Dicks Stadium Friday night for the football opener between West Chester Henderson and Kennett were treated to two entirely different halves.

In the first half, Kennett’s opportunistic defense took advantage of some Warrior miscues and rolled to a 22-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, Henderson’s offense suddenly came alive, scoring 22 points in the final quarter and coming within one yard of potentially tying the game on the last play of regulation.

It added up to a 30-22 victory for Kennett, in front of a lively crowd which was limited in size due to COVID-19 pandemic safety protocol.

“We had great energy at the beginning,” said Kennett head coach Lance Frazier. “We looked good coming out, and were opportunistic, made some fumble recoveries, but later on, we looked sloppy, rusty, in pre-season form.

“Henderson is a scrappy team, and their quarterback [junior Eddie Smink] did a good job of putting some drives together after getting banged up early.”

Following a pre-game Senior Night ceremony for Henderson, both squads came out in the first quarter and had trouble moving the football. Following the Warriors’ first offensive possession, Kennett partially blocked a Henderson punt; and on the hosts’ second offensive possession, a Blue Demon interception and return by Luke Good gave the visitors the ball on the Henderson 29. But Kennett failed to score both times.

Late in the first quarter, on a Henderson punt attempt, a bad snap was recovered by Kennett on the Warriors’ 8 yard line. On the very next play, Good ran in for a touchdown, and a two-point conversion by Julian Sparacino gave the visitors an 8-0 lead.

A short kickoff return by Henderson, followed by a three-and-out and a punt gave Kennett the ball on the Warriors’ 32-yard line. Five plays later, junior Kalen Frazier fired a 13-yard  touchdown pass to Zach Hulme and Kennett led 14-0 with 9:02 to play before halftime. Frazier, the Blue Demons’ best receiver, is also their backup quarterback and contributed some fine runs and passes at the QB spot Friday.

Just before halftime, Kennett put together a 11-play, 72-yard touchdown drive, capped by an athletic 2-yard TD run by Frazier, who first cut to the left, then reversed his stride and plunged into the right side of the line for the score. A key performer on this drive was Sparacino, who accounted for 40 of the yards, on five plays.

“Justin really stepped up for us tonight,” said Lance Frazier. “Whether he’s running between the tackles or running outside, he never stops his feet.”

Late in the third quarter, trailing 22-0, Kennett began to put a touchdown drive together. Smink hit senior Jon Herman-Harsch with a 33-yard pass, then on third-and-24 hit junior Logan Krapf with a 29-yard completion. On third-and-18 at the Kennett 26, Smink lofted a pass toward the end zone, and Krapf reached out to make a picturesque touchdown catch. Joe Shur’s extra point made it 22-7 with 11:05 to play.

Kennett came right back on the ensuing kickoff, as Hulme made a 59-yard return to the Henderson 36. Three plays later, Sparacino broke several tackles running up the middle for a 14-yard touchdown run and the visitors led 30-7 with 9:18 left.

Henderson’s offense then began to rip off big chunks of yardage. A 20-yard pass from Smink to senior Pat Esemplare was quickly followed by a 47-yard strike to the 6-foot-5, 185-pound Krapf, putting the Warriors at the Kennett 1 yard line.

Smink snuck over for a TD, and following a three-and-out by Kennett, Henderson put together a four-play 50-yard touchdown drive, which included a 15-yard run inside by Smink, a 24-yard reception by junior Terrance Turman and a 10-yard scramble by Smink into the left corner of the end zone. With 4:10 to play, Henderson trailed 30-22.

A three-and-out by Kennett and a punt gave Henderson the ball at the Warrior 22 yard line. Smink scrambled for a couple of first downs, then hit junior Gabe Martinez for a 23-yard completion to the Kennett 37. Smink scrambled for another first down, running out of bounds to stop the clock, then hit Turman three times for short gains for a first down at the Kennett 13.

Three plays later, Smink faced fourth-and-10 at the Blue Demon 13 with 5.2 seconds left, and scrambled through a small opening up the middle. He made it all the way to the 1 yard line before being stopped there, on the final play of the game.

West Chester Henderson head coach John Lunardi said, “We made too many early mistakes in all phases of the game, and against a consistent team like Kennett, that’s too much to come back from. At halftime, I challenged the guys to come out and play [better] in the second half, and they did it.”