10 eye-catchers from John F. Kennedy vs. John Ehret

James Evans

Jerit Roser October 7, 2024 @ 10:43 PM

Points were few and far between Thursday evening compared to the rain and penalty flags dampening the Pan American Stadium field.   But John F. Kennedy combined its first defensive shutout of the season with one explosive strike to overcome John Ehret, 7-0, on a night packed with adversity in the absence of coach Lynarise Elpheage, who assistants and players said was called away last-minute because of an emergency.   Here's a look at notes on 10 of the eye-catchers on the field.     [player_tooltip player_id='914099' first='Amyne' last='Darensbourg'] — 6-1, 170 QB/ATH — John F. Kennedy (2025)   and [player_tooltip player_id='914129' first='James' last='Evans'] — 5-9, 140 WR — John F. Kennedy (2025)   The lone end-zone trip not negated by penalty came between two of the Cougars' senior leaders, as Darensbourg delivered a quick strike in stride and Evans raced his way past past defenders and up the sideline for the third-quarter score. Both defenses were stingy, but Darensbourg extended plays when possible and got the ball out to his weapons — none more consistently than Evans with his ability to create separation at every level.   [player_tooltip player_id='902053' first='Kingston' last='Jones'] — 6-0, 175 WR — John F. Kennedy (2025)   The other half of the Cougars' speedy, ranked receiver duo showed flashes of his explosiveness with the ball in his hands in a variety of ways on both offense and special teams. Penalties negated multiple of his biggest gains, but the Louisiana Tech commit — with Georgia Tech extending a recent offer to monitor — displayed his speed and feel for shifting gears to help create angles past defenders.   Omarion Brown — 5-7, 180 RB — John F. Kennedy (2025)   and Kenneth Chelsea III — 5-8, 160 RB — John F. Kennedy (2026)   The Cougars received some balance from a pair of short, stout running backs who stood out with impressive strength and balance through contact as they danced through attempted arm tackles on multiple occasions, regained their momentum and worked up field for additional yardage.   [player_tooltip player_id='1601972' first='Dominick' last='Ruth'] — 5-10, 225 DL — John F. Kennedy (2026)   and [player_tooltip player_id='934585' first='Grayson' last='Powell'] — 6-1, 215 DL — John F. Kennedy (2027)   John F. Kennedy's lights-out defensive performance started with its disruptive play up front with Ruth and Powell in particular seeming to live in the Ehret backfield for sacks and tackles for loss to set the tone early and help close it out late.   [player_tooltip player_id='1612678' first='Raheem' last='Bennett'] — 6-1, 205 DL — John Ehret (2027)   and O'Bricc Julian — DL/LB — John Ehret (2026)   The Patriots' defensive ends helped spearhead the team's own strong defensive performance as they flew off the line, around the box, created enough pressure to keep Darensbourg on the move and seemed to have their names consistently called on tackles all over the field.   [player_tooltip player_id='1618851' first='Darrell' last='Taylor'] — WR — John Ehret (2028)   John Ehret wasn't able to sustain much consistency on offense as a result of the Cougars' defensive effort and some of its own miscues, but when the Patriots were able to connect through the air, a promising freshman receiver seemed to be a go-to target, including working well on the sideline and through contact.

Points were few and far between Thursday evening compared to the rain and penalty flags dampening the Pan American Stadium field.