By Richard L. Gaw

Staff Writer

For a stretch of seasons in the not-so-distant past, parking for Kennett High School home football games seemed in great supply, but as the Blue Demons and the visiting St. Mark's Spartans stretched and limbered on the Kennett Stadium turf last Friday night, the streets and parking lots around the school were jammed to beyond a reasonable capacity.

The increased attendance could easily be chalked up to the fact that it was Senior Night for both the players and the school's band, but even more prominent a reason was that Head Coach Lance Frazier's team had an 8-1 record heading into the Oct. 25 non-league game, and that while the team has been led by its playmakers, the success of this year's team has largely been due to the commitment of its unsung warriors in the trenches – its offensive and defensive lines.

After the traffic jams subsided and play began, the overflow home crowd witnessed what has become the new normal for the program – a 31-0 thrashing of St. Mark's, behind the running of Garrett Cox and big plays by wide receiver Kalen Frazier and quarterback Sam Forte.

It was another huge night for Cox, who entered the game with 1,270 rushing yards on the season, which he soon eclipsed on his way to becoming the single-season and career leader in rushing yards in school's history, and scoring two touchdowns, as well.

The Blue Demons jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a 30-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Barber with 6:52 left in the first quarter. After a St. Mark's fumble on its next possession was recovered by Kennett's Andre Hertz at the 32-yard line, Cox broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run up the sideline with 3:23 left to give the Blue Demons a 10-0 lead.

After inheriting the ball on its 33-yard line after a Kennett punt, a pass attempt by Spartan quarterback Christian Colmery was picked off by Frazier with 1:38 left in the first half that gave the Blue Demons the ball at Kennett's 29-yard line. Forte passes to Richie Hughson and Frazier moved the ball to the 41-yard line, which was followed by a 50-yard strike from Forte to Frazier that moved the chains to the St. Mark's 21-yard line.

With 37 seconds left in the first half, Forte connected again with Frazier, this time for a 31-yard touchdown pass that gave Kennett a 16-0 halftime lead.

After a scoreless third quarter, Kennett recovered a St. Mark's fumble deep in Spartan territory early in the fourth quarter that led to Cox's second TD of the game – a two-yard carry with 9:23 left in the quarter that extended Kennett's lead to 23-0.

Kennett wrapped up its scoring on a fumble recovery and touchdown run by Vincent Cresci with 9:08 left in the game.

Having wrapped the 2019 regular season with a 9-1 record, Kennett heads into the firs round of the District 1 Class 5A playoffs as the number two seed, and will host the 3-6 Chichester Eagles (Boothwyn) at Kennett Stadium on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].