By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

In the long run, the Kennett High School varsity football team’s 2025 season will be remembered by the emergence of its underclassmen playmakers, each of whom contributed to the Blue Demons’ 9-3 overall record under Head Coach Lance Frazier. 

In the short run, however, those memories of promise will be tarnished by the 42-7 loss it absorbed in their Division 1 District 5A quarterfinal loss to West Chester Rustin on Nov. 7, and specifically how Golden Knight running back Will Garner tortured them for four touchdowns and over 270 yards in rushing.

For Rustin – now 10-2 overall and still alive in the race for the PIAA District 5A championship – their offensive assault began on their first possession, which burned more than eight minutes of the first quarter and finished on a 28-yard touchdown run by Garner with 2:41 remaining. Carrying a 7-0 lead early into the second quarter, Rustin touched the scoreboard again when with just 14 seconds gone, Garner ran through the Blue Demons’ defense untouched for an 80-yard touchdown run that gave the Golden Knights a 14-0 lead.

After a 32-yard lick-off return by Gaven Ritch game Kennett position near midfield, it seemed almost certain that they would counter their opponents’ lead. Passes from quarterback Garrett McCracken to Matthew Reidenberg, Hunter Taylor and Joalex Carabajal moved the chains forward, but on a fourth-and-two from their 16-yard line, the drive ended when McCracken was sacked by Kalief Cunningham at the 27-yard line.

Answering back, Rustin quarterback Max Bane engineered a 73-yard touchdown drive that finished with a 43-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Matthias that gave the Golden Knights a commanding 21-0 lead with 1:21 left in the first half.

On the ensuing kick-off, the ball deflected off of a Kennett special teams player and was recovered by Rustin’s Nate Lewis at Kennett’s 32-yard line. On the first snap, Garner scampered for this third touchdown – a 32-yard run with 1:11 left in the first half that sent the Golden Knights to the locker room with a 28-0 halftime lead.

Early in the third quarter, Kennett managed to score its only touchdown on a 61-yard drive that concluded on a four-yard pass from McCracken to Carabajal with 7:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Rustin tacked on two more touchdowns in the game, the first coming on the first snap of the fourth quarter when Garner rushed for his fourth touchdown on a 31-yard run, and a three-yard run by Colin Baldesari with 5:29 remaining in the game.

With the victory, Rustin will now face Chester in the district 5A semi-finals on Nov. 14.

Despite the loss that ended their season, Kennett has much to look forward to next fall, as 45 players on this season’s roster are expected to return for the 2026 season, led by defensive anchors Andrew Sharpeta, Will Caputo and Andrew Clancy, as well as offensive playmakers McCracken, Ritch, Carabajal, Reidenberg, and receivers Taylor and Croix Kise. 

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