By Steve ruman

sports @vindy.com

WARREN

Time of possession!

Most coaches will insist that it’s a key ingredient to success. Control the clock, keep the opposing offense off the field and there’s a good chance of victory.

With this in mind, a quick look at some statistics would lead many to believe that Warren John F. Kennedy experienced a nightmarish season opener Saturday against Keystone, Pa.

The Eagles ran just 12 offensive plays in the first two quarters against the Panthers. They had possession of the ball just 3:55 of the half, including just 45 seconds of the first quarter.

Sometimes, statistics can be downright misleading.

In fact, Kennedy needed very little time in rolling to a 55-0 home win over Keystone at Mollenkopf Stadium.

The game, which was ruled an official contest, was shortened to just two quarters because of lightning.

Kennedy scored on six of its 12 offensive plays. They also benefited from a pair of Jacob Coates punt returns (45 and 34 yards) that went the distance.

Keystone was limited to just 53 total yards, including minus-39 rushing yards.

“Obviously, I’m happy that we came out and performed the way we did, but the team we were playing was not a very experienced team,” said Kennedy coach Jeff Bayuk. “We’re going to get a big challenge next week from LaBrae, and a week after that from Girard, and we know that.”

In addition to Coates’ three touchdowns, Kennedy scored on touchdown runs from Ross Nocera (2 and 3 yards), Evan Boyd (23 yards) and Dan McCartney (12 yards). Senior quarterback Ryan Lee threw just two passes — completions for touchdowns of 50 and 68 yards.

Keystone received the opening possession, and following a touchback the Panthers went 10 yards backward, and were forced to punt from their own 10. Coates returned the boot 45 yards and Kennedy never looked back. The Eagles scored 35 first-quarter points while running just five plays from scrimmage.

“We were excited to get the season started after going into Week 13 last year,” Coates said. “We feel like we have to finish what we started last year. We’re going to enjoy this win tonight then get ready for next week.

“What I did out there, it’s all because of my teammates setting things up for me. This was a true team effort.”

Keystone coach Dan Reed could only tip his cap to the Eagles.

“We’re young, we’re playing a bunch of freshmen and sophomores and we couldn’t physically match up with them,” Reed said. “They could have named the score. This was tough. They get a bad snap on a punt that goes 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage and make a positive gain of it.

“They were just more physical than us at every position.”

Ever the perfectionist, Bayuk found a black cloud in the final outcome.

“This is kind of troubling to me because our kids only played a half and our starters didn’t even play the entire half,” Bayuk said. “Coaches always find something to worry about, and that’s a big concern of mine. We have work to do in order to prepare for a tough schedule ahead of us.”