LYNN — It’s safe to say that the KIPP Academy football team’s moving in the right direction.
The Panthers finished at 4-7 last season but what the record doesn’t indicate is that KIPP, in its second year as a varsity program, fell just one win short of qualifying for the Division 8 North state tournament.
“We lost by six points to Minuteman in the last game of the regular season,” coach Jim Rabbitt said. “Then lost two of the next three games by six points. Very easily, we could’ve been 7-4. Ending with Tech, we were up at half. The year before we trailed Tech by 40 at half. In almost every loss we were in the game until the very end.”
With that said, KIPP’s main goal for the 2019 season is clear. The Panthers feel they have what it takes to play in the postseason.
“The kids have seen the preseason rankings,” Rabbitt said. “They feel we’re starting to get a little respect now. Now we have to live up to the hype. We tell them it’s one play, one day at a time. But our goal is to make the tournament.
“We’re done with our growing pains. We’re not a new program anymore. We have guys in the program that have been here three years. We only have two seniors so I’m excited to see where this group goes the next two years.”
KIPP returns a junior-heavy group this season. The Panthers’ captains are juniors Mike Brice (lineman), Dave Filias (lineman/linebacker), Daniel Oluwasuyi (running back/linebacker) and Taj White-King (receiver/safety).
“They lead by example,” Rabbitt said. “Mike’s the more vocal leader. Daniel and Taj lead by example on the field. The kids really respect Dave. He was our team MVP last year. Taj was an Item All-Star. Mike’s a two-time CAC all-star. They respect all the captains. They know the adversity we’ve been through our first two years to get to where we are now- a truly competitive group.”
Junior lineman Jose Castillo also returns to the mix.
“He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” Rabbitt said. “He’s a bulldog. He’s our energy guy, for sure. He has really improved over the offseason. Although he isn’t a captain, he’s a leader on our team.”
Under center, Pierro Canales returns for his sophomore season.
“He’s a special athlete. He can run, he wants the ball all the time. He’s really getting into pass reads now. He’s becoming a true dual-threat at quarterback.
“We return a good amount of players on both sides of the ball. We’re very junior heavy. A lot of those guys have been with us since the beginning. We’re a little more experienced than we’ve been in years past because of the continuity. We’re building our football IQ and that’ll help us play faster.”
KIPP started its season with a 25-0 loss to Manchester-Essex last Thursday. The Panthers aim for win No. 1 next Friday at Chelsea (7).
Schedule:
9/5 – vs. Manchester-Essex (L 25-0)
9/20 – at Chelsea (7)
9/26 – at Nashoba Valley (7)
10/4 – at Minuteman (7)
10/10 – vs. Mystic Valley (7)
10/18 – at Keefe Tech (7)
10/25 – at Essex Tech (7)
11/27 – at Tech (5)
