Eastern Tech Scores Big Win over Kenwood

had not gotten off to a stellar start in 2011.

First, the Mavericks’ season-opener against City was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene. Then, Eastern Tech .

There would be no let down for Eastern Tech on Friday when it hosted Essex rival at CCBC Essex. Junior tailback Francis Massally rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries as the Mavericks cruised to a 47-14 victory.

“Football is a game of field positions and we were fortunate to have made some key plays,” Eastern Tech coach Marc Mesaros said. “If not, the game could have gone in a completely different direction.”

Kenwood (0-3) actually led 8-7 following an 8-yard touchdown run by senior running back Travis Jenkins with 3:27 left in the first quarter.

However, Milan Barry-Pollock helped give Eastern Tech (1-1) the lead for good after he recovered a short Kenwood punt that rolled back into the end zone to give the Mavericks a 14-8 lead with 8:48 left in the first half.  

The Mavericks closed the game scoring 23 of the game’s final 29 points. Among the key contributors for Eastern Tech were senior tailback Daryn Davis  (10 carries, 40 yards, TD), Barry-Pollock (8 carries, 32 yards, two TDs) and senior tailback/safety Kenyon Crawford (three carries, 32 yards, TD, 10 tackles).

“Getting that touchdown on the bad punt was the turning point,” Barry-Pollock said.  “If we had lost a close game to Kenwood, I don’t know what that would have meant to our season.”

The loss was just the latest blemish in an already difficult season for Kenwood. Friday’s game was the first since several members of the

Kenwood coach Tony Ruocco said the final score was not indicative of how hard his team played. He added that he is confident his team can overcome the off-the-field distractions.

“Since the players involved in the incident were on the JV team, I don’t think it has impacted the varsity at all,” Ruocco said. “It’s just sad to see the poor decisions made by young kids. I just hope they can learn quickly that actions have consequences.”