Kellenberg football tops St. John the Baptist on controversial call on final play
Kellenberg's Ryan Kuntz gains yards after a catch against St. John the Baptist during a CHSFL football game in Uniondale on Saturday.. Credit: /Derrick Dingle
A game of inches.
Kellenberg led St. John the Baptist by four points with 13 seconds left. On the final play, Cougars quarterback Maurice Scott threw a pass to Jahmad Jackson near the sideline. Jackson hauled in the ball at the 17-yard line, made a defender miss and dived toward the goal line. The Cougars signaled touchdown, but after more than 10 seconds of discussion, the officials marked Jackson just short.
The celebration began for Kellenberg, but debate sparked among everyone in attendance.
“He got in the end zone,” St. John The Baptist coach Phil Alba said. “The official blew the call, but they are human and it’s part of the game. The message to the kids was, 'I'm proud of them, I love them and they deserved to win but didn’t.' ”
FINAL: Kellenberg 14, St John The Baptist 10. Maurice Scott found Jahmad Jackson who was marked just inches short of the end zone as time expired. Unreal…… there is a lot of debate on if he crossed the goal line. pic.twitter.com/z7D6vdMuuK
— Jared Valluzzi (@jared_valluzzi) September 27, 2025
Host Kellenberg defeated St. John the Baptist, 14-10, to pick up its first victory of the season in a CHSFL AA-1 game that came down to the final play on Saturday afternoon.
“Their guy made a great play and made our first guy miss,” Kellenberg coach Eric Messie said. “Then our guy hit him on the goal line. It was a bang-bang play, but he was marked short, and that was the difference.”
Will Auerbach of Kellenberg (1-4) made the game-saving tackle as the Firebirds escaped with a homecoming win in front of a large and energetic crowd.
“I knew I had to make that tackle. I saw him catch the ball and I came in pursuit and I was able to make that tackle right on the goal line,” Auerbach said.
This game was a defensive battle from the opening kick. Jayden Osmani kicked a 29-yard field goal on the opening drive for St. John The Baptist (2-3). Those were the only points of the entire first half.
Late in the third quarter, Kellenberg finally broke through. Facing fourth-and-9, quarterback Daniel Licari found Brandon McCabe for 11 yards to extend the drive and set up the Firebirds in the red zone.
Moments later, sophomore Brendan Barkley cashed in from 8 yards out to give Kellenberg a 7-3 lead with 11:04 left in the game. Barkley finished with 101 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
On the ensuing drive, Kalen Percer broke free for a 55-yard rushing touchdown, but it was called back. The Cougars regrouped with strong runs from Scott and Percer. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Kellenberg 25, Scott connected with Percer over the middle for a touchdown to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead with 6:59 left.
Kellenberg returned to the ground game. Barkley ripped off runs of 15 and 17 yards to spark the drive. A few plays later on third-and-3 from the 25, Licari hit Nick Rugen for 12 yards. That set up Barkley’s 1-yard score with 1:50 left for a 14-10 advantage.
Scott led the Cougars on a two-minute drill down to the Kellenberg 32, but the Cougars were marked just inches short on the final play.
Kellenberg came alive in the second half and Barkley led the way.
“Just working hard and bringing what we do in practice to the field,” Barkley said. “We just needed to hit hard and get in the end zone and we did.”
And St. John the Baptist fell inches short.
