LYNN — The KIPP football team didn’t let the terrible weather at Manning Field bother them one bit Friday evening, as the Panthers rolled to a 39-7 victory over Essex Tech on Senior Night.
“We definitely made our share of mistakes out there with the wet ball, but we made a decision to ground and pound for the whole night and that’s what worked for us,” said KIPP coach Jim Rabbitt. “Our guys have always had the mantra of being the tougher team and the more determined team, and they really lived up to that (Friday).”
Prior to the game, the Panthers honored their group of 15 seniors — Daniel Oluwasuyi, Alex Ogando, Dave Filias, Taj King, Roberto Sterling, Matt Collins, Melvin Ayala, Joseph Tolentino, Kenneth Beato, Mike Brice, Kris Merino, Jose Castillo, Sam Rodriguez, Tatiana Iraheta and Bhenzel Cadet — for their contributions to the program. This will always be a special class for Rabbitt and the KIPP program, as it was the first full class of student-athletes to play football for the school after the program was founded four years ago.
“This program wouldn’t be anywhere without these guys, and that’s a fact,” said Rabbitt, who has been at the helm since the program was founded. “They fought through so much adversity, especially over those first two years when they were getting beat by 20 and 30 points every week. But they stuck with it, they didn’t quit and we had 13 guys play all four years. I’m incredibly proud of what they’ve accomplished on the field and also how they’ve grown as men and women since they’ve been here.”
Quarterback Juan Setalsingh had another solid game on both sides of the ball, rushing for 98 yards and one touchdown while also throwing one touchdown and taking an interception back for yet another touchdown. Oluwasuyi rushed for 67 yards and one touchdown, while Filias rushed for 73 yards and one touchdown. Brice added a touchdown run as well.
It was a great start for the Panthers, who took the opening kickoff and went 70 yards in five plays for a score. The play of the drive came from Oluwasuyi, who bounced off a tackle at the line of scrimmage and dashed 58 yards for a score to make it 6-0 Panthers.
The score remained there until early in the second quarter, when KIPP capped off a drive with a one-yard touchdown from Brice on a “Refrigerator Perry” dive play from the one-yard line. After a two-point conversion from from Setalsingh, the Panthers led 14-0.
KIPP went on to force a turnover on downs on the ensuing possession for Essex Tech, then got the ball back and scored again. This time the score came through the air, as Setalsingh found King for a one-yard score after Filias set the Panthers up with a 32-yard run.
But Essex Tech answered right back, scoring on a 59-yard connection from Devin Lebron to Jayce Dooley on the first play of the ensuing drive to make it 21-7.
The positive momentum continued right into the third quarter for KIPP. After forcing an Essex Tech three-and-out on the opening drive of the second half, KIPP got the ball back and only needed one play to find the end zone. This time, Setalsingh kept a zone read play to himself and burst up the middle for a 70-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 27-7. On the ensuing possession for Essex Tech, Setalsingh showed off his wheels again when he picked off a pass from Lebron and took it 80 yards the other way for a pick-six to make it 33-7.
The Panthers rounded out the scoring for the game when Filias broke through the line for a 21-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
KIPP (4-2) closes out its season Friday afternoon (1:30) against Shawsheen Tech.
“It’s a game that we’re treating as our Super Bowl, and that’s how we’re approaching it,” said Rabbitt. “Shawsheen is an excellent program, coach Al Costabile is one of the best coaches around and we know it’s going to be a real challenge for us. It’s a game we’d love to win, and we’re going to hit the film hard this week and try to send this team off with one final big win.”