Kennedy powers past Langley-Bath-Clearwater in Aiken County middle school football championship

Nov. 6—KENNEDY 46, LBC 0

AIKEN — The shouts coming from the Kennedy sideline Wednesday night were those of coaches wanting more out of their players.

"That's too much!" "Too many yards!"

Any fan at South Aiken who could only listen to the Aiken County middle school championship game might deduce that Kennedy's defense was having a hard time slowing down Langley-Bath-Clearwater.

As it turns out, that's just the standard Kennedy has set for itself while allowing only six points all season — and those six weren't scored Wednesday. The Eagles wrapped up an 8-0 run with their sixth consecutive shutout and a 46-0 win in the title game under first-year head coach Tim Roberts.

Kennedy, which outscored its opponents 233-6 this season, outgained LBC (6-2) 363-99 and turned in big play after big play on offense while the defense only allowed the Lions to average just over three yards per play.

Shakeem Price stood out as the most lethal of Kennedy's home-run threats, needing only six carries to rack up 161 yards and two touchdowns. He got the Eagles on the board with a 23-yard touchdown run with 2:24 left in the first quarter for an 8-0 lead, then all but put the game away with a 54-yard scoring burst on the first play of the third quarter to make it 32-0.

Kaden Jordan rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown while also spearheading the defensive attack, getting home on blitz after blitz. Alijah Vincent took a pop pass from AJ Hamilton 20 yards for a score early in the second quarter for a 16-0 lead. Amari Washington, who earlier in the game recovered a fumbled lateral deep in LBC territory, took his only carry of the game 30 yards for a score for a 38-0 lead, and a hobbled Hamilton capped the scoring with a 29-yard keeper with 5:43 remaining.

Meanwhile, the defense was keeping the LBC offense from building any kind of momentum. Tanner Tinsley led the way with 45 yards on 10 carries after taking over at quarterback for Xavien Cooks, who was held to 22 yards on 13 carries.

The loss was a tough way to finish the season for LBC, which lost 45-0 to Kennedy in the season opener, but that still couldn't dampen the fact that fourth-year head coach Bryan Hadden's Lions were back in the county championship game for the first time in 17 years. They won their division with an overtime win over rival Leavelle McCampbell, then gutted out a rainy 6-0 win over Silver Bluff in the semifinals. With 18 seventh-graders slated to return next year it may not be nearly that long before LBC is playing for another title.

The shutout was a fitting way for Kennedy to end the season. The Eagles allowed their only points of the year in game two, a 30-6 win over Silver Bluff, then didn't allow another score the rest of the way. Their toughest test came in the semifinals against Highland Springs, a 6-0 win in the slop to earn a shot at the championship.

That turned out to be business as usual for the Eagles, who were to everyone else what their defensive coaches were shouting Wednesday.

Too many yards. Just too much.

LBC 0 0 0 0 — 0

KMS 8 16 14 8 — 46

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

KMS — Shakeem Price 23 run (Kaden Jordan run) 2:24

Second Quarter

KMS — AJ Hamilton 20 pass to Alijah Vincent (Hamilton pass to James Hankinson) 6:53

KMS — Jordan 3 run (Tylan Perrin run) 2:02

Third Quarter

KMS — Price 54 run (Hamilton run) 7:33

KMS — Amari Washington 30 run (kick missed) 3:18

KMS — Hamilton 29 run (Somaj Clemmons run) 5:43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

LBC — Tanner Tinsley 10-45, Xavien Cooks 13-22, Kevin Payne 2-6, Angel Bautista, 2-5, Damari Dent 1-3, Jervontae Jones 1-2. Totals 27-83.

KMS — Shakeem Price 6-161-2, Kaden Jordan 7-70-1, Amari Washington 1-30-1, AJ Hamilton 5-24-1, Alijah Vincent 1-15, Somaj Clemmons 2-4. Totals 22-304-5.

Passing

LBC — Xavien Cooks 2-4-16-0-0, Kevin Payne 0-1.

KMS — AJ Hamilton 4-5-59-1-0.

Receiving

LBC — Jovany Saenz De la Cruz 1-12, Kevin Payne 1-4. Totals 2-16.

KMS — Alijah Vincent 2-34-1, James Hankinson 2-25. Totals 4-59-1.