So far, Kinkaid Varsity Football has had a season of ups and downs. After starting off the season with a 2-0 record with dominant wins over out of conference opponents – Westbury Christian and Loomis-Chaffee – Kinkaid has gone 3-3 in their past six games, losing to Shadow Creek, Episcopal, and Concordia Lutheran. Fortunately out of these losses, the only game that counted towards their SPC standing was the Episcopal game. Kinkaid is still in the race for their 29th SPC title with a 3-1 record in conference play. Here is an analysis of the last two games and predictions for the future.

Opponent: Concordia Lutheran

Date: Oct. 13

Score: 51-52 Concordia Lutheran

Analysis: Coach Larned said that Concordia Lutheran was a “very tough, talented team” and that they were unlike any team they had played. They were very efficient in their running game and their offense was complicated. Overall, Kinkaid’s offense played very well, and the defense failed to contain their high powered offense.

Opponent: Episcopal School of Dallas

Date: Oct. 20

Score: 35-6 Kinkaid

Analysis: Before the game, Coach Larned said that although ESD is a good, athletic team, Kinkaid can beat anyone they play when they are playing their best. Kinkaid played exceptionally, their defense held ESD to just six points while the offense got the job done, scoring 35 points.

Opponent: Houston Christian

Date: Oct. 27

Score: 28-6 Kinkaid

Analysis: Going into the game, Houston Christian had very weak defensive records with an average of 14.4 points scored per game and 31 points scored on them. Their defensive struggles, along with their poor offensive output are the main factors contributing to their 2-6 overall record and 0-4 conference record. Kinkaid, on the other hand, scores an average of 41.5 points per game and allows 25.6 points per game. The high powered offense combined with the stout defense led to a strong win.

Moving forward, Kinkaid has one more regular season game left against Kinkaid’s rival, St. John’s. The Falcons secured a spot in the SPC championship with a win over Houston Christian. Based on statistics from this season, we made projections for the remaining games:

Opponent: St. John’s

Date: Nov. 3

Projected Score: 35-28 Kinkaid

Analysis: St. John’s should be a tougher opponent than Houston Christian. They have a 4-3 record (1-3 conference record) as of Oct. 25. St. John’s has a very good defense, only allowing around 15 points per game; however, they let Episcopal score 49 on them. St. John’s has a slightly worse offense than us, with an average of  35.8 points per game. St. John’s looks to be our most comparable opponent to date. We expect this game to come down to the defenses. If we can hold them to less than 21 points and our regular speedy offense, we have a very good chance of beating our cross town rival. Kinkaid and St. John’s have played 3 of the same teams, Houston Christian, Episcopal and ESD. St. John’s going 1-2 and Kinkaid going 2-1. We held Episcopal to 37 points while SJS let up 49, both of us losing and scoring roughly the same amount of points (KHS, 27 and SJS, 28). Against ESD, St. John’s lost 13-21, while we won 35-6. We predict a hard fought, close, rivalry game. Although the win will not come easily, we think Kinkaid is capable of getting the job doneas long as the offense continues to thrive.

Opponent: SPC Championship Game (most likely against Episcopal)

Date: Nov. 11

Projected Score: 45-42 Kinkaid

Analysis: Unlike our past prediction, this one is a little harder to judge. Because it’s the championship we’re throwing out all the statistics and focusing on the game at hand. Episcopal beat us earlier in the season, but we kept it close for three quarters. EHS has always been hard to beat, but we have won the battle several times before. It is hard to forget two years ago when we beat EHS in the championship by converting on several consecutive onside kicks. Expect a championship with a lot of unorthodox play calling. This game will come down to the wire and my completely biased prediction is 45-42 Kinkaid.