It wasn’t that long ago that I covered the KIPP Academy football team’s inaugural season.
I remember the growing pains that came about as KIPP learned its way through varsity football.
At times, watching the Panthers from the Manning Field press box wasn’t easy. Penalties were committed, kickoffs weren’t recovered, and opposing ball carriers hurdled over defenders. The first-year Panthers looked like a first-year team.
Last season, year No. 2, was a huge step in the right direction. The Panthers cleaned up their mistakes and started to compete with teams who coasted past them in year No. 1. In the end, they fell one win shy of qualifying for the Division 8 North state tournament. But the general feeling was that something good was happening there. It was only the beginning.
Year No. 3 has proven to be the charm. Before the season started, coach Jim Rabbitt was adamant his Panthers were set on playing postseason football. Rabbitt stuck to his word, his players bought into the goal and now KIPP is two wins away from bringing home its first state championship.
Last Friday, the Panthers, the lone Lynn team remaining in the MIAA state playoffs, won their program’s first Division 8 North sectional championship with a 49-13 win over Keefe Tech.
And make no mistake about it — KIPP’s success isn’t an accident.
The Panthers are a well-rounded machine that has what it takes to compete. It starts with Rabbitt, who pushes his players, gets the most out of them, and places them in positions to make plays. Rabbitt understood that his Panthers weren’t going to catapult into postseason football overnight. But coaching a young program to a sectional title in just three years is no easy task. Rabbitt deserves a lot of credit for that.
KIPP’s defense has been lights out through the past seven weeks. After a 43-14 loss at Nashoba Valley, the Panthers have allowed 37 points in seven games. That includes shutout wins over Mystic Valley (38-0) and Essex Tech (27-0), and a 19-2 win over Roxbury Charter in the sectional semifinal two weeks ago.
Lineman Mike Brice gets the ball rolling by winning the battle in the trenches. The linebackers and defensive backs pick things up from there.
Offensively, the Panthers have improved each week. Quarterback Piero Canales came into the season with the ability to run the ball. In becoming a true dual-threat, Canales has sharpened his passing abilities.
When Canales hands the ball off, it’s Daniel Oluwasuyi and Dave Filias who get the bulk of the carries. Oluwasuyi and Filias are hard-nosed runners who can shed tacklers before breaking through for big gains. When Canales throws the ball, he looks to 2018 Item All-Star Taj King, Roberto Sterling, Alex Ogando and Joseph Tolentino, to name a few. The offensive line has yet to surrender a sack in three postseason tilts.
What impresses me the most about KIPP is that the Panthers have only two seniors on the roster. Junior captains Oluwasuyi, King, Filias, Brice and Castillo all return next season. Canales, a sophomore, has two more years to lead the offense. Juan Setalsingh is among the team leaders in interceptions as a freshman. So the Panthers are here to stay.
KIPP’s seniors, running back/linebacker Jonathan Caraballo and lineman Keymi Suarez, haven’t seen a ton of playing time. That hasn’t stopped them from providing leadership in other ways. Rabbitt has spoken highly of his two seniors for supporting the team on and off the field.
The Panthers will likely face their toughest opponent of the season Saturday morning (11), when they match up against Division 8 South champion West Bridgewater (10-0) in the state semifinal at Woburn High. Win or lose, Lynn has a lot to be proud of in what KIPP has accomplished this season. And the Panthers should be proud of themselves too.
