Granada Hills – Anticipating imminent playoff games, John F. Kennedy’s varsity football team
will be squaring off against Birmingham on Friday the 14th. In light of the game approaching,
members of the football team reflected on what helped them to achieve the 9-1 record that put
them on this pathway, including sweeping all their league games.
Diego Montes, #8, Quarterback:
Q: When you think back on your time here as the quarterback of this team, from when
you were figuring things out on JV your freshman year to now surpassing the 100
touchdown mark as a senior on varsity, how would you reflect on your progress? More
importantly, what aspects of your game did you focus on to improve over each year you
have been here?
A: I’m really proud of the journey. I was resilient and never gave up despite being a backup on
JV, undersized, and lacking confidence. Each year I was able to build on my weight, dual threat
ability, arm strength, and mental ability.
Q: You’ve obviously had an impressive senior year, though going into this season you
lost your top two receiving options as both Giovanni Nelson and Amari Rhodes
graduated. Another thing to note is that Nelson was your favorite guy to pass to since
you were starting off things here on the JV team. Who did you forge a chemistry with in
their absence?
A: I forged a bond with all of my receivers. I threw outside of school with Miguel de la Torre, Jay
Saucillo, Jayden Carter, and Steven Gatica. They’re all likeable guys so I was able to hang out
with them outside of school, Francisco Ceja especially.
Q: It’s not a football season without adversity; you’ve had the running back room shaken
up as the clear cut starter Josue Sandoval was dealing with ankle injuries up until the
middle of the season, your ascending receiving option in Josh Gonzalez went down with
an ACL tear in a scrimmage, and Jay Saucillo, a promising key player transferring in from
Birmingham, broke his collar bone after the first game of the season. How have you
managed these adversities with your teammates and coaches, and how do you think this
team has maintained a consistent level of dominance throughout the season with all
these problems?
A: We have that next man up mentality. Everyone here knows how competitive we are so if you
want something, you have to go and get it. Everyone here is as hungry as it gets; no time to feel
sorry for yourself
Q: You’ve been on big stages before. Your freshman year you played part in the Kennedy
win in the D2 Championship, and now you’re making your first start in the Open Division
against an opponent that has been pretty dominant over these past few years. Is there
anything different about this matchup compared to previous games whether it’s your
thought process or practice routine, or is this just another week and another game for you?
A: This weighs more on me knowing it could potentially be my last game. I took the last two
weeks really seriously on and off the field. Knowing that this could be the end of my eight year
football career, I’m going to play with a certain fire nobody has seen yet
Q: To wrap things up here on a fun topic, throughout the season, or throughout your
tenure here, what would you say is your favorite play or moment on the football team?
A: Wow. Favorite play I’d say would be my long touchdown run vs Granada. That game I was on
a different energy level and that run shut down their momentum. Favorite game would be the
Panorama championship game from my freshman year or the Granada game from this past year
Josue Sandoval, #26, Running Back:
Q: You’ve constantly had setbacks throughout the four years you’ve been on this football
team. You’ve dealt with concussions, knee sprains, ankle sprains, and even achilles
tendonitis. You’ve had to miss considerable amounts of time every season. How are you
able to constantly bounce back and reclaim your starting spot?
A: Well y’know, it’s all mentality. I didn’t come into this sport thinking I wasn’t gonna get hurt; I
knew I was gonna get hurt, but at the end of the day, I love this sport with all my heart even
though I’ve probably accumulated up to two seasons of not even playing because that’s how
many games I’ve missed due to my injuries. That doesn’t really matter to me; what matters to
me is that I come back better than ever and am able to constantly produce for my team. As to
the starting spot, I’d like to think of myself having more heart than most, and I use that to reclaim
any spot that I’ve lost.
Q: As the main running back of this team, you don’t have much room for any
weaknesses. Though, I must ask, what do you feel are your strongest qualities and traits
that take this offense to the next level?
A: I’d say my strongest qualities are my consistency in the playbook and remembering all the
plays, as well as having a good chemistry with my quarterback. He knows when he’s able to
hand me the ball and whenever he needs to pull it. He trusts me, and I know I trust him.
Physically speaking, I think my strongest trait is being pretty strong for someone my size. Being
5’6 has its downfalls, but I don’t let that get in my head, and I don’t worry about anything else
other than running the rock hard.
Q: Not all running backs have the same style; if you were to think of any running back in
history, who would you say you model your game after?
A: That’s a tough question, to be honest I’d like to say that I’m a mix between a Christian McCaffrey and a Marshawn Lynch, but you know I’m a lot slower than them. I model my game
after these two guys, and I think it’s gone a long way.
Jayvon Carter, #12, Safety, Wide Receiver:
Q: Your freshman year, you were at Chavez. You were part of a Chavez win over Kennedy
on one of the first games of the year on the JV team. Now that you’re here I must ask:
What encouraged you to transfer here your sophomore year?
A: Lowkey, I just felt like it. You know I felt that it was the move. These guys had just won a
championship, and I felt like I could complement their squad if I transferred here. I came here to
win, and now I’m helping this team reach that goal.
Q: Looking through your highlights, two traits stand out and that is your speed, and
physicality. So I must ask, how do you use those traits to limit opposing offenses and
what will you and the defense need to do in order to limit opposing offenses in the
playoffs?
A: We just have to lock in. I feel that my skillset has a good amount of range on the field, and
me and the rest of the defense have to swarm around the ball and take favorable risks. We also
got to tune out any tiredness we have or any pain we’re feeling, because that’ll only get in the
way of playing good defense.
Q: Knowing that you’re going into the Open Division after spending your years at Chavez
and Kennedy, you have to acknowledge that this is a pretty big stage. What’s the feeling
heading into the upcoming week?
A: Importance. This is the most competitive spot we can be in, and we got a lot of guys that won’t be back next year that would like to end things off with a playoff win.
James Montes, #55, Defensive Tackle, Defensive End, Offensive Guard:
Q: You’ve been a part of this football program all four years that you have been here. You
were a captain on a JV team that consisted of a majority of sophomores and juniors.
What went into you being a leader of this program from so early on, and how will your
leadership experience serve this football team well in the playoffs?
A: Well, I think my leadership came from the part of my past experience playing football. I’ve
been playing football since I was in second grade, so you know I’ve been able to build
connections with teammates from early on, and since then I’ve known how to build connections
with teammates. You know I love to win and I have a winning mentality, so whenever someone’s
messing up, I like to check them, and I like to check myself if I’m messing up. So all in all I think
those qualities and experiences are what has gone into me being a leader from the beginning,
and I think my skills will help rally this team in the playoffs.
Q: You have 10 sacks and 40 tackles on the season, that stat alone is insane for a
defensive linemen. How will your skillset disrupt these upcoming playoff teams and how
does your presence open up opportunities for the other people looking to make plays on
this recently destructive defense?
A: First and foremost with all these stats, I’d like to thank my dad for giving me connections and
helping me get better throughout all my four years, whether it was in the season or the
offseason. Playoff wise I’d like to think it’s a for sure thing that my skillset would cause opposing
teams to scheme against me, and I’ve even had a couple coaches themselves say that they’ve
had to scheme against me. I think for that, in the aspect that these teams have to worry so
much about me, that it’d allow the other players playing alongside me to make their plays, to
make themselves stand out on that field and to make themselves look good. So I’m just proud
that I’m able to be there and do my thing while also making my other teammates look good as
well.
Q: You were part of a championship team your freshman year as a JV callup to varsity
when the Cougars beat the Panorama Pythons to win the Division 2 Championship. Now
you’re a senior trying to do it again on the Open Division level with jv callups coming
along as well. Is there any advice or words of inspiration that you would give those
callups?
A: For the callups, stand up and work as hard as I’ve done. I would go against the best guy
possible to prove myself to the coaches that I can play when I was a freshman on varsity, and
now I’m a senior, and all these freshmen and underclassmen gotta work to stand out more.
They gotta do the same as me and go against the best guy they can and listen to all the
coaches and what they gotta say along with learning everything in the playbook. Learn
everything in the playbook on all sides no matter where you’re positioned at. That’s just it, have
some faith in yourself, and when time comes along, you’ll be the best of the best. You gotta
have patience.
Jay Saucillo, #1, Wide Receiver, Outside Linebacker:
Q: You’re a newer addition to this team, from your freshman season going into your
junior season you were at Birmingham and from there you transferred to play your senior
season here at Kennedy. It’s worth noting that in your first game here you had three
touchdowns and 112 yards in a thriller vs. Eagle Rock that ended in a 59-56 Kennedy win.
What happened over this one summer that made things click so well?
A: I think just getting used to my team and my coaches has helped me get things done here.
They’ve really helped me along the way, and we put a whole lot of work into this season. Diego
and I often times, away from practice, would go out and run routes. He would throw the ball, and
we would get our timing down, and that really helped. Not only during practice but away from
practice my coaches were always there for me; they would talk to me a lot, not just as coaches
but as friends. It really boosted my confidence and self-esteem with the team. The team being
so welcoming helped a lot. Also, this past offseason, when I first got here, I took part in a 7-on-7 with Diego and the rest of the receivers on the team, and I feel that really got me to build a bond
with these guys and it got our on field chemistry in tune.
Q: Although you had an explosive start to the season, you unfortunately went down with
a fractured collar bone during the next game. Though that seems to not be a problem any
longer as you’ve recovered and returned recently on your senior night. How do you plan
on reclaiming your explosive, game changing role within this offense?
A: The explosiveness hasn’t changed, I think I’ma get back stronger. These setbacks, all they
do is motivate me to come back and finish this thing off stronger than ever. I’m trying to get it all
back so I just feel motivated, and I’m going to work harder, and I’m going to be the key for our
offense. I know what I can do, and y’all saw what I did that first game and hopefully y’all could
see that again.
Q: You’ve been playing this sport since you were a little kid. Your dad once played here
at Kennedy. On the first of November it was announced that Kennedy would be playing
your former school, Birmingham, in the first round of the Open Division playoffs So now
it all culminates here. What does this last stretch of high school football mean to you?
A: I think this last stretch of high school football means that I really can’t take things for granted.
Everything’s gonna end one day, and you just gotta figure out what you wanna do and how you
wanna end it, how you wanna be known, and I’m not gonna let us try to be known as first
round exits, that’s for sure. I’m tryna take us far to win this championship. I’ma work as hard as I
need to, to ensure that can happen for me and my team and to also get back at B-Ham.
The #7 ranked John F. Kennedy Cougars will be heading over to Lake Balboa this Friday,
November 14th, to take on the #2 ranked Birmingham Patriots at 7 pm in what’s looking to be a
rain-filled first round of the LA City Section Open Division playoff bracket. This is the first time in
program history that the Kennedy Cougars will be competing in the Open Division.
Tickets can be purchased on the following GoFan link:
https://gofan.co/event/5315769?schoolId=CA18871
Photos by: Joshua Garcia
