The wind and the rain came in droves, but it did not stop defending champion Keough, as it outlasted Dillon, 7-0, in a defensive slugfest Sunday afternoon.
The Kangaroos (1-0) scored on their first possession with a touchdown run by sophomore running back Conor Kinasz. Kinasz had 65 rushing yards on the day.
“We have a lot of good receivers and running backs,” Keough junior captain Mitchell Patin said. “It was rainy and windy today, so we did minimal throwing. Also, our running game was working really well.”
The Keough defense was stingy, not allowing a single score and making two stops on fourth down that put the ball back in the hands of the Kangaroos offense. Sophomore defensive tackle Mark Shealy led the Keough defense with four sacks.
“I think Keough is starting to be known for [its] defense,” Patin said. “We kind of have a unique set and a lot of powerful linebackers that can play coverage and also go down and make a tackle on a run.”
For Dillon, it was a rough day on offense. The Big Red had to resort to their third-string quarterback, while junior captain Colin Cunningham and freshman backup Dylan Volanth sat out due to injuries.
Cunningham said he was proud of the defensive effort the team showed and said Dillon will focus on trying to get its offense up-to-par in future games.
“Our defense was really, really good,” Cunningham said. “[It] only gave them one touchdown. We need to get our offense down.”
Keough’s next game will be against O’Neill, while Dillon will take on Stanford. Both games will be Sunday at Riehle Fields.
