There was no stopping 205-pound senior running back Jace Demakabalin and the Robert Kennedy High School Wing T offense from Delano, a 30-minute drive from Bakersfield. Even City Section Open Division champion Carson couldn't figure out how to stop the run after running up the middle in a 35-33 loss Saturday night in the CIF 3-A regional championship game in Carson.
“Their offensive line was physical,” Carson coach William Lowe said. “It was a game in the gym.”
People in Southern California probably don't know Demakabalin, who is half Filipino and half Samoan. He doesn't get tired. He became Kern County's all-time leading rusher with over 7,000 rushing yards, rushing for 223 yards on 38 carries and scoring three touchdowns.
Delano Kennedy's Jace Demakabalin rushed for 223 yards against Carson.
(Craig Weston)
“What makes the T wing difficult to defend is that teams are basically concentrating their defense against a spread offense,” Demakabalin said. “With the Wing T, you run right at them. You hit the rocks. You get the yards you need.”
Kennedy (12-3) was the Central Section Division III champion and will face Oakland McClymonds next weekend in Orange County for the state title.
Carson's offense stalled after a 27-point first quarter, not scoring a point until 3:14 left when Chris Fields III scored on a 4-yard run to bring the Colts (10-4) to within a tying two-point conversion. But the run failed and Kennedy ran out of time.
Fields threw for three touchdowns and passed for two touchdowns, but Kennedy's ability to take advantage of big chunks of time, as well as put pressure on Fields, left Carson frustrated throughout the second half. When Jamison Membrev ran for a 35-yard touchdown with 9:25 left, Kennedy's lead grew to eight points.
Quarterback Chris Fields III of Carson threw for two touchdowns and ran for three touchdowns in the loss to Delano Kennedy.
(Craig Weston)
Demakabalin rushed for 2,284 yards and 29 touchdowns. He is well known in Delano. The only question is when he and his teammates will hold a parade to celebrate their achievement.
Six touchdowns were scored in the first quarter and Carson led 27-14. Fields had two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns. But Kennedy's wing T began to eat up the clock in the second quarter after a simple pass up the middle to Demakabalin, who scored on two short touchdowns to take a 28-27 halftime lead. Carson ran just four plays in the second quarter before getting the ball back with 1:05 left. Demakabalin rushed for 126 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns in the first half. The Thunderbirds attempted just one pass the entire game.
Both teams lost on the kickoff, with Membrewe Kennedy scoring on the 80-yard kickoff return. In the first half, Fields completed eight of nine passes for 149 yards. He finished 14-of-26 passing for 202 yards. Kennedy limited his options by running the clock one run after another.
The game couldn't have started worse for Carson. The Colts did a good job catching the kick. Then on Kennedy's first offensive play, Demakabalin ran 39 yards for a touchdown.
It was a season that saw the Colts return to the top of the City Section, finishing 12th in the championship behind Fields, a junior and arguably City's best player of the year. He will be someone to build around next season.
It was a tough night for the city section teams. South Gate lost to Bishop 47-28 in Division 5-A and Santee lost to South El Monte 56-7 in Division 7-A.
