Kennedy Football Looking for a Comeback Season Under Youth Movement

The Kennedy Football team will head into their 2011 season with a young roster after finishing last season at 2-6 in Conference II, a campaign that also included a pair of two-point losses.

The Cougars will be looking to get back to the post season for the first time since 2009, where they lost in the first round to Wantagh after a 4-4 regular season record. 

“This is a group that is very coachable and will go as hard as they can go. I think we have a pretty good receiving core and a couple guys that look good at quarterback,” said second-year head coach Nick Martone. “We lost a lot of talent from last year and it is a difficult transition, but we have a bunch of guys that are going to get a bunch of good opportunities this year.” 

Senior running back and linebacker Matt Delbianco will lead the Bellmore Kennedy offense. Leading the way on the offensive line will be seniors Jeff Scialo and Dylan Hernandez.

“We have been working hard out here. We have enough talent here to fill those spots from last year. We just need to finish up at the end of those close games and get some wins,” Delbianco said.

Senior wide receiver and linebacker Matt Ganigan along with senior running back and linebacker Steve Weitzmann should play incremental roles to the teams success this season. 

“Everyone has been giving everything they’ve got. We are a lot more together on this team than last year and are more enthusiastic,” Scialo said. “Right now, we are focusing in on Mepham to start and we will take it from there.”

Looking to replace last years’ All-County starting quarterback, Joey Karo, will be in the hands of either junior Chris Racalbuto or junior Nick Digangi. Both players, despite where they play, will be key factors towards ball movement and producing effective offensive schemes this season.

Kennedy will open up their regular season with a highly anticipated game against Mepham at home on Sept. 10 followed by back-to-back road games against Jericho (9/17) and Long Beach (9/23). The Cougars will also play Great Neck South (10/1), Carle Place (10/6), Westbury (10/15) and Herricks (10/21) before wrapping up their regular season at home against New Hyde Park (10/29).

“It is a young group we’ve got, but we want to get back to at least a .500 record. Right now, we definitely have a lot of thought towards our scrimmages and Mepham in Week One,” Martone added.