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KIPP holds off Whittier

Saturday, April, 10 By Jeff Hamrick

HAVERHILL – Early in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, Whittier was deadlocked with the defending Division 8 North Sectional champs.

The visiting Panthers, however, proved to be the better closer.

KIPP Academy, a 2019 state semifinalist, found the end zone twice in the final 6:25 of Whittier’s Senior Day to knock off the host Wildcats 29-14.

“We had a great practice all week,” said Jim Rabbitt, who has coached KIPP since the program was founded in 2017. “We were as physical as we could be in practice because we know (Whittier coach) Kevin (Bradley) always has their guys ready to go. It was a battle to the very end. That was a tough, old-school, ground-and-pound kind of football game.”

While all but 13 of the 71 plays were rushes it was a pair of long Juan Setalsingh touchdown passes that provided KIPP (3-2) a 14-6. The second scoring toss was a 44-yarder to Joseph Tolentino with 11:05 left in the fourth.

On Whittier’s first play of the ensuing possession, Julien Acevedo-Torres went sweeping to the left when he ran into a roadblock.

“It was a step back from the corner and the linebacker came and grabbed my jersey, but I broke that tackle,” Acevedo-Torres said. “After that I was just thinking this is a touchdown.”

Indeed it was as the junior running back blasted untouched again 74 yards down the sideline for his longest run of the season. A Nolan Mann conversion pass to Nick Allen tied the game with 10:46 remaining.

Aided by a couple of Whittier penalties, however, KIPP went back to the run and ground out 58-yard drive to reclaim the lead on Victor Mafo’s second touchdown of the day.

The Panthers used an interception to set up its ensuing 39-yard drive that was capped with a Setalsangh run of 10 yards for the final score with 3:10 remaining.

“They were just enormous,” Bradley said of the visitors. “They are big, but there are no excuses. We had our moments, and we capitalized on it. But you can see why they are a (sectional champ) coming back with everybody. I feel bad they didn’t have an opportunity to go to the Super Bowl (last fall). It’s a senior team, and they were good. Take nothing away from them.”

Whittier had taken the first lead with a monster possession that began with 68 seconds left in the first quarter. Quarterback Niko Burke guided the Wildcats on a 14-play drive that featured two successful fourth-down runs. A 4-yard run by Burke wrapped up the 57-yard possession that lasted one second shy of 11 minutes.

“That’s what we like to do,” Bradley said. “We wanted to milk (the clock) because we didn’t want to give them the ball. Their two running backs were bigger than our line. Their line was the size of the Patriots.”

It appeared the Wildcats would take that lead into halftime after stopping a Setalsingh run at the Whittier 37. But the Panthers got a time out with 1 second left – despite Bradley’s pleas – and that paid off when Seltalsingh found Mafo at the goal line with a pass the receiver juggled then secured as he hit the ground. The conversion provided a 14-6 intermission lead for KIPP.

Whittier had averaged 378 rushing yards while winning its first two games by a combined 70-33. Saturday, however, the Panthers held the Wildcats to 169 yards on 30 attempts.

“I’m proud of my kids,” Bradley said. “We made it 14 points each…into the fourth period. We lost the game, but we learned a lot and we played tough.”

Up next: Whittier will play Shawsheen at noon Saturday.