Bears Drown Gators at Home

The John F. Kennedy Bears traveled 65 miles down to the southern tier to face off against the Allegany-Limestone Gators in a non-league Class C matchup Friday night. The Bears snapped their two-game losing skid with a powerful 30-7 win over the Gators. James Bailey was the Bears key offensive player throwing for two touchdowns, one of which came on a 62-yard connection to Dalton Fischer in the second quarter, which was the Bears final score. Bailey unofficially finished the game throwing for 185 yards, going 11-for-25, and owning a 96.3 quarterback rating.

“It felt a lot better than usual,” Bailey said about his performance. “We’ve been clicking more and it made me feel more complete with my team, instead of separate and everything being on one person. Now it’s on everyone and we all click together and we all won as a team.”

Bailey also found Jordan Snyder on a 5-yard touchdown pass in the 1st quarter. Snyder was Bailey’s favorite receiver on the night as he targeted the 6-foot-2 senior 13 times, in which he caught six passes for 52 yards. Jeff Rashko (12 rushing attempts and 74 yards) and Donta Daniels (five rushes for 25 yards) also scored touchdowns on the ground for JFK.

“We took a tough loss last week (vs. Wilson). We were all hurting on it, I think we came out saying we needed to win to right the ship,” JFK head coach Jeff Sabatino said following the win. “It’s non-league, but to travel down here to the south and a wins a win and the boys played hard tonight, I’m proud of them.”

Allegany-Limestone couldn’t muster much offense early in the game, as JFK forced fumbles on the first two possessions the Gators had. In the second half, Allegany-Limestone was able to score a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Logan Ganoung. Ganoung, unofficially, had 16 carries for 77 yards for the Gators, along with the only score of the game.

“The first half they just came out and put it to us. It wasn’t anything specific, they did what we say in films,” Gators head coach Paul Furlong said. “We didn’t block very well and then it seemed like every series we had one goofy play. One time we ran speed option right and my quarterback goes left. Next series, we get a first down and fumble a snap.”

JFK (4-2) will look to defeat their crosstown rival, Cleveland Hill, next week to force a three-way playoff with the two teams and Wilson. The four wins on the season so far ties the same win total the Bears have had in their previous two seasons. Bailey is looking forward to top that in the upcoming rivalry game next Saturday, his first such rivalry game on Varsity.

“I’m excited,” Bailey happily stated. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure on us and I’m going to have to show who I really am.”

Allegany-Limestone (1-5) will travel to Mayville next Friday night to play Chautauqua Lake in a critical Class C South matchup. The winner of the game next week will clinch a birth in the Class C playoff bracket. If Allegany-Limestone makes the playoffs, there is a slight chance that these two teams can meet again in the playoffs two weeks from now. “For us, it’s simple as this, we need to win next week. If we win next week we’re in,” Coach Furlong said. “I hope it [gives them a chip on their shoulder]. I still believe we are a pretty good football team. We have to put this behind us and really go hard after Chautauqua Lake next week.”