Entering the second week of Valley Mission League play with identical 3-2 records, the anticipation was present for Friday night’s showdown between the San Fernando Tigers and the Kennedy Cougars. With both teams starting their league matchups with shutout home wins, the Tigers were looking for redemption on the road after losing a close 17-14 contest to the Cougars on their home field last season. This year’s outing proved to be much less competitive with Kennedy showing balanced effort on all sides of the ball. Junior quarterback Diego Montes scored three rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns along with the Cougars defense forcing three turnovers in addition to six sacks in the 62-20 victory. 

The Tigers defense faced a tough challenge in facing the dual-threat quarterback in Montes, who came into Friday ranked 3rd in total yards and 5th in passing yards in the CIF L.A. City Section. With his Cougars teammates alongside him, he led a balanced opening drive which resulted in a direct snap rushing touchdown from senior back Martin Trujillo to go ahead 7-0. Instead of kicking the ball back to San Fernando , Kennedy coach Troy Cassidy caught the Tigers by surprise with an onside kick which was successfully recovered by the Cougars. 

With the Kennedy crowd already in excitement, Montes proceeded to toss a 36-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Francisco Cena to take a 13-0 lead after the missed extra point. When the Tigers finally obtained possession of the football, they were able to move the ball into goal line territory. Unfortunately for San Fernando, the Tigers fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line on 4th & Goal. 

The subsequent Cougars drive went into the second quarter, where Montes showed off his speed in the ground game in an explosive 91-yard touchdown run to take a commanding 20-0 lead. The dual threat nature of Montes is a very valued asset on this year’s Cougars team. “As a play caller, it makes life easier when you have a quarterback that can do both.”, claimed Cassidy after the game. 

Down 20-0 with 11:47 left in the second quarter, the Tigers needed a spark which they received in the form of a kickoff return touchdown from senior Isaiah Castro to cut the deficit to 20-6. Unrattled by the opposing score, Montes broke off a 50-yard run on the next offensive drive to put Kennedy at the Tigers 30-yard line. Junior running back Josue Sandoval grinded out the yards in the ground game for the remainder of the drive, concluding with him powering it in for a 13-yard touchdown run to take a 26-6 lead. 

With their backs against the wall, San Fernando senior quarterback and team captain Aaron Celis used his legs on a drive where he sprinted into the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown run to make it a two-score game at 26-12. The Tigers defense earned a stop by turning the Cougars over on downs in Kennedy territory. As the pendulum shifted towards San Fernando, Castro made an acrobatic one-handed catch on a pass from Celis to cut the lead to 26-20 after a successful two-point conversion. 

As the San Fernando crowd remained in a frenzy, the Cougars regrouped by returning to the Sandoval and the ground game. Montes once again showed off his legs with a 31-yard touchdown run for his second rushing score of the night. Leading 34-20 after the successful two point conversion, the Cougars were still hungry for more against their arch rivals. 

Kennedy began to suffocate the Tigers offense on their last drive of the half.  A sack by sophomore defensive end Carlos Perez led to Celis throwing an interception to junior safety Damien Hernandez. With 36.0 seconds left in the half, Monte threw a 50-yard sideline bomb to explosive standout receiver Amare Rhodes, which was taken all the way to the 1-yard line. Montes snuck it in for his third rushing touchdown of the game to give the Cougars a resounding 41-20 lead at half. 

Kennedy continued their physical defense into the second half, sacking Celis five times in the third quarter. Junior defensive end James Montes had all three of his sacks in the third quarter, while senior defensive end Ryan Yribe contributed two of his own. Midway through the third quarter, Rhodes made a 28-yard grab where he was once again stopped at the 1-yard line. He was rewarded with a rushing touchdown on a reverse handoff to extend the Kennedy lead to 48-20. 

The Cougars took their lead into the fourth quarter, where Rhodes earned his first receiving touchdown of the game on a 29-yard throw from Montes to go ahead 55-20. Hernandez picked off his second pass of the night to add an exclamation point to the victory. Kennedy closed the outing with a 38-yard touchdown run from Trijillo for his second score of the game in the 62-20 rout. 

Kennedy will look to remain unbeaten in the Valley Mission League next week when they travel to Canoga Park to face the winless Hunters. San Fernando will look to bounce back next Friday on their home field where they will take on league-rival Van Nuys.