Kennedy and Shafter are an even 5-5 against one another since September of 2015, but not for long. The Thunderbirds will be playing at home against the Generals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Kennedy is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Wasco just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They and the Tigers were almost perfectly matched up, but they suffered a 55-54 defeat.
Jace Demacabalin
| 10/10/25 vs Wasco | 6 |
| 10/03/25 @ Delano | 2 |
| 09/19/25 vs Independence | 3 |
| 09/12/25 @ Pioneer Valley | 2 |
| 09/04/25 vs Highland | 3 |
| + 2 more games |
Kennedy might have lost, but man, Jace Demacabalin was a machine: he rushed for 367 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 14.1 yards per carry. Thanks to that big game, Demacabalin is now up to 17 rushing touchdowns on the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jamison Membreve, who rushed for 78 yards and one TD on only seven carries.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Shafter). They really took it to Delano for the full four quarters, racking up a 59-7 victory. The win continues a trend for the Generals in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won four in a row.
Shafter's win came from a few key players Kennedy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Mariyon Sloan, who rushed for 139 yards and three scores on only seven carries, and also picked up 45 receiving yards and one touchdown. His longest rush was for an impressive 51 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Ezekiel Osborne was another key player, throwing for 218 yards and four TDs while completing 78.9% of his passes.
Kennedy's loss dropped their record down to 5-2. As for Shafter, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Kennedy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 324.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Shafter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 197.3 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Kennedy came up short against Shafter in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, falling 34-28. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Sloan, who rushed for 252 yards and five scores while picking up 12.0 yards per carry. Now that the Thunderbirds know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
