By Candy Taman

JFK senior Kyle Calairo was the difference in Saturday morning’s muddy victory versus Southern High at their home field.

Calairo was on the receiving end of a Ricky Brown 40-yard touchdown pass for the only score of the game as the Islanders remain in third place in the IIAAG Football League at 4-2.

A key read by head coach Mike Pangelinan caused Brown to audible on the line and take advantage of a gap on the defense leaving the score at 7-0 in the 3rd quarter.

Defense was the name of the game at the muddy Dolphins field. Inclimate weather played a big part causing both offenses to struggle with possession of the ball.

Mud would not permit a solid grip on the ball which caused both teams to fumble multiple times. Southern’s defense, as expected, applied the needed pressure against a young line in JFK. Linebacker Dominick Flores and Cameron Calloway came up big for Southern combining for four fumble recoveries, giving them the edge over JFK.

Offensively for JFK, Marcus Manglona and Sage Garcia put in the ground work down low, and up top quarterbacks Nolan Chamberlain and Ricky Brown found targets Tyler Pangelinan, Stephen Guererro and Kyle Calairo. Defensively, it was Garcia leading the attack recording 12 tackles along with senior defensive tackle Antwon Palacios causing havoc in the Dolphins back field.

For the south side, the QB duo of Napu Topasna and Dylan Parke kept the offense alive behind a heavy offensive line. The Southern “Swarm” defense stepped up in the 4th quarter capitalizing on JFK’s bad field position inside their 10. A sack by Southern’s Eyan Dimla put JFK at the 1-yard-line and their lead at jeopardy. After a punt and a short offensive series by Southern, JFK’s lonely safety Cris Naputi secured the win for JFK off an interception.

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