The Kennedale Wildcat?s Goal: Return to the Scene of the Crime?By Lew Patton, 247Sports
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The Kennedale Wildcats blew away District 6-4A D1 in 2017. They marched all the way for their first ever appearance in a state championship game. They played an inspired and talented Carthage team and lost 49-21. {{more: continue …}}Kennedale must have felt robbed of the glorious feeling of a state championship, and their goal in 2018 is to get back to Jerry World and take their rightful place on the throne of champions.
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That game had to leave a very bitter taste in the mouths of Coach Richard Barrett as well as the rest of the team and fans of Kennedale. Bear in mind the Wildcats ran through their district by defeating their competition by an average of 54 points! They certainly looked prime for a run to state.
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The 2017 version of the Wildcats had junior, D.J. Kirven who had back-to-back 2,000 yards that year. Can 2018 be a ?normal? year for Kirven? Expect Kirven to have another absolutely knockout season. In 2017 he had 42 touchdowns to go along with the 2,000+ yards. Add in QB Evan Jowers, (1,869 total yards and 20 TD?s) and WR Jaden Smith, (6?4?, 180, 4.6), 475 yards receiving and 6 TD?s, and you get the idea of why the Wing T at Kennedale is so potent and such a challenge to defend against. The biggest challenge for Coach Barrett is replacing the offensive line that graduation took from the team. The offense is potent, and the defense is just as potent with LB Jalen Myers, (5?9? 170, 4.5), who led the team last year with 92 tackles and 8 sacks.?
The Wildcats can?t wait until this Friday to get back on the field to try and make this season the first in Kennedale High School history to win a state championship, and to get that bitter taste out of their mouths. It?s been a long offseason. There has been plenty of time to think. Now it?s time for revenge.
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Dave Campbell?s Texas Football 2018 has projected the Wildcats to take District 6-4A DI again, but Fort Worth Dunbar may be the dark horse no one is talking about. Dunbar has a good QB coming back in Leonte Cooper, (6.0, 200, 4.7), he?s big and fast, and when this battle of Wildcats meet it should determine the district champion. The bottom line is look for Kennedale to be in the headlines a lot this year. In the back of every Wildcat’s mind is the commitment to win state, and pay homage to last years team as well as this year’s team. Kennedale is loaded with talent and the seniors on this year’s team feel as though they have an obligation to themselves to finish the job started last year. Kennedale truly is a great football team, a great town, with some great fans. The mission of this year’s team is to go back to Jerry World and get what the Wildcats feel is theirs; a championship trophy that was stolen from them last year.
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