Montes directs Kennedy football to win over

GRANADA HILLS — It was only two weeks ago when Kennedy quarterback Diego Montes had the best game of his career.

Those record-setting numbers were quickly surpassed Friday night against San Fernando.

The junior quarterback rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, finishing with 179 passing yards and five total touchdowns to lead Kennedy to a 62-20 win over Valley Mission League opponent San Fernando.

“It’s a rivalry game, I played horribly against them last year so coming into this game I wanted to prove I can play against them,” said ‘Montes, who had a career-best 91-yard touchdown run. “When you surround me with guys like Amare (Rhodes) and my offensive line, anything can happen. I’m proud of them tonight and that’s one step closer to league.”

“He’s fast, he’s really so fast. And not only is he fast, he’s got great vision and obviously the ability to throw the ball down the field makes him a true dual-threat quarterback,” Kennedy head coach Troy Cassidy said about Montes. “He’s fun to watch and I’m just glad he’s on our team.”

Montes set the scene early, running for 20 yards on the first offensive play of the game.

He manufactured a steady drive that culminated in a 4-yard touchdown run by Martin Trujillo, the first of seven total rushing touchdowns for the Golden Cougars.

Running back Josue Sandoval complemented his quarterback on the ground, consistently pounding San Fernando’s defense with his strength and reluctance to go down on the first tackle.

The junior ran for 134 yards and a touchdown, 128 of which came in the first half.

“Josue, you cannot take that dude down with one hit, he’s amazing,” Montes said. “Martin is a truck. He has that mentality that he can go after anyone and we can run with anyone.

Rhodes led Kennedy in receiving, catching seven passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.

Rhodes was tackled at the 1-yard line on two separate occasions and also had a kickoff return for a touchdown called back on a penalty.

The coaching staff dialed up a play at the goal line for Rhodes to make sure he got into the end zone, which he did on a 1-yard handoff in the third quarter.

“Those callbacks don’t really affect me. My last name has a great stamp in this league,” Rhodes said. “This offense is elite, we work very very hard. Our QB is a junior but he has the skills of no other. Just knowing to throw that ball up and I’m going to go get it.”

The Kennedy defense didn’t allow San Fernando to score in the second half, sacking quarterback Aaron Celis several times.

James Montes and Ryan Yribe were able to get to Celis and stop any momentum the Tigers were trying to build.

Damien Hernandez also had two interceptions for Kennedy.

“We regrouped at halftime and we talked about it being a 0-0 game and we got to come out and play a better half on that side of ball,” Cassidy said. “They were able to step up in that second half, just get after the quarterback. I know we had a handful of sacks in that second half and that just fueled the next play.”

Isaiah Castro led the offense for San Fernando, finishing with six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a kickoff for a score.

Kennedy heads into its bye week and will face Canoga Park on Oct. 11.

San Fernando will host Van Nuys at home next Friday.