By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

As the history of Kennett High School football continues to be written, four names will forever be etched in the chapter dedicated to its 2025 season: Caleb Myers, Hayden Schumacher, Matthew Reidenberg and Croix Kise. 

In all of the offensive firepower that enabled the Blue Demons to overcome a 13-0 deficit and rack up 17 consecutive points in a 17-13 comeback victory over visiting Oxford on Oct. 24 at Kennett Stadium, it was these four defenders – in consecutive order – that stopped a Hornet scoring threat in the second quarter with crucial tackles that prevented Oxford from potentially jumping out to an insurmountable 20-0 lead. Their shutdowns, combined with the effectiveness of quarterback Garrett McCracken and a solid second-half defense, gave Kennett a victory that pushed their overall record to 8-2 and paved the way for the Blue Demons to host a first-round PIAA playoff game on Oct. 31.

Coming off a 14-10 loss at the hands of Avon Grove the Friday before, Head Coach Lance Frazier’s club looked to rebound against a Hornet team that matched them with an identical 7-2 overall record heading into the last regular season game of the year. With the District playoff structure and the Ches-Mont American conference title at stake, the Hornets jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when Kole Patterson returned the opening kick-off for a 49-yard run that gave them great field position at Kennett’s 41-yard line. Seven plays later – after Patterson’s carry moved the ball to the 14-yard line, quarterback Noland Neskie’s screen pass to Aiden Rochester with 7:45 left in the first quarter jumped the Hornets out to an early 7-0 lead.

While Oxford could not capitalize on a fumble by McCracken near midfield with 7:30 left in the quarter, a second McCracken fumble was recovered by Liam Bell in the end zone with 3:58 remaining in the first quarter pushed the Hornets’ lead to 13-0.

With Oxford gaining possession near midfield at the start of the second quarter and one touchdown away from breaking the game open, a carry by Jake Patterson moved the ball to the 30-yard line, a Joel McClain run took the ball to the 15-yard line and a pitch to McClain gave the Hornets the ball on the four-yard line. However, three rushing attempts by McClain were shut down by Myers, Schumacher and Reidenberg, and with 6:35 left in the first half, Kise stopped Neskie from scoring on the four-yard line to end the Oxford threat.

The defensive hold “encapsulated all of the lessons I have been trying to teach this team,” Frazier said. “Our defense has been solid all year. We had a tough loss against Avon Grove last week, so they were challenged this week to become statistically the best defense we’ve had. You can’t measure the effort, but you can always draw from it.”

Kennett finally got on the board with 57 seconds left in the first half on a 96-yard touchdown drive that ended with a three-yard QB keeper by McCracken that whittled Oxford’s lead to 13-7 at halftime.

With 6:05 remaining in the third quarter, Oxford’s fake punt attempt resulted in a pass that was intercepted by Hunter Taylor on the 20-yard line that later set up a 28-yard McCracken pass to Taylor that moved the ball to near midfield and eventually, a 28-yard field goal by Shay Barker with 1:09 left in the quarter that brought the Blue Demons to within three points, 13-10.

On the ensuing kick-off, Patterson took the ball from the 15-yard line to Kennett’s 16-yard line, setting up a surefire Oxford score, but a pass attempt by Neskie was picked off by Taylor with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.

With 10:21 remaining in the game, Kennett completed its comeback when McCracken hit Joalex Carabajal with an over-the-middle pass the 34-yard line that Carabajal took to the house for a 66-yard go-ahead touchdown with 10:21 left in the game.

On Oxford’s next possession, Taylor’s defense again rose to the occasion. Following Patterson’s 31-yard carry that moved the ball to Kennett’s 117=yard line, the Bue Demons’ “D” line held the rally in check, and on fourth down and five yards from the 12-yard line, Taylor stopped McClain just short of the first down.

With 1:29 left in the game, another Oxford rally fell short when Neskie’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Gavin Ritch.

In a post-game conference with his team, Frazier called his team “Warriors.”

“Avon Grove is a supremely talented football team, and much respect to them,” he said. “Our guys have gone through a maturation process all year. I know when people hear that, they say, ‘Well, you have a pretty good record,’ but it’s been about learning how to win, learning how to be successful and learning how to clean up mistakes.

“We had two starters out this week, so other guys had to step up, and they did so in multiple ways. We had a sophomore, Caleb Myers, playing linebacker for the first time and he really stepped up.  That was just one example of the work that other guys did to do their part.”

While Oxford’s loss prevented the Hornets from capturing the Ches-Mont American Division title, they finished the regular season with a 7-3 overall record and 2-2 in division play and will again travel to Kennett Stadium on Oct. 31 for a rematch against the Blue Demons in the first round of the District 1 playoffs, beginning at 7 p.m.

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