Staff file photo / Neel Madhavan Warren JFK’s Antonio Smith runs the ball during the Eagles’ regional championship victory over Danville. Kennedy faces Newark Catholic tonight in the state semifinals.

WARREN — John F. Kennedy football coach Dom Prologo has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

His Eagles are in the Division VII state semifinal for the third consecutive season, but that’s not all he’s thankful for.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be the head coach at Kennedy and have the type of kids we’ve had here,” Prologo said. “We’ve got great senior leadership, and it seems like we have that every year. I know I sound like a broken record because I get to say that every year, and not every coach gets to do that.

“On a personal note, I’m thankful that I’ve got a family at home that’s as supportive as they are about me coaching. This job takes a lot of time away from them, especially my wife, for letting me do this for the 30 years of our marriage. So that’s pretty special.”

JFK’s foe Saturday night is one it has become all too familiar with in recent years — Newark Catholic.

The Eagles defeated the Green Wave 20-13 in the state semifinal in 2020, but lost 14-7 last season thanks to four turnovers.

“They haven’t really changed a whole lot and neither have we,” Prologo said. “So there’s a lot of familiarity from both programs with each other. Bottom line (tonight(, you should see both teams in a physical football game. Whoever wins up front has a great advantage in winning the game. It’s a line of scrimmage game. Turnovers (as well), if we can win up front and protect the ball, I like our chances (tonight).”

The Green Wave are led by experienced senior running back Mason Hackett, who Prologo calls the best tailback JFK has seen all year. Receiver Grant Moore is also a threat in the passing game.

“(Hackett) is a year older and a little bit bigger,” Prologo said. “I want to say he’s put on 15 pounds. He’s a special player. (Moore) is dynamic, and he’s a good-sized kid who runs great routes and catches the ball well. Their size up front is a little bit of a concern, too, but we’ve seen that all year.”

The Eagles haven’t changed much, either. JFK is still a team that prides itself on its physicality, its ability to run the ball and its stout defense.

In 2020, the Eagles relied on the heroics of former standout Cam Hollobaugh. Last year, JFK’s explosive run game, led by former star Antwan Brown, was limited by the Green Wave’s defense.

This year, JFK is a little more multidimensional on offense with a plethora of weapons, including Caleb Hadley, Aidan Rossi, Antonio Smith, Thomas Easton and a handful of others.

“The (first) year, we may have been more of a one-man show (on offense), for lack of a better term,” Prologo said. “Last year we were a little bit more diverse, and this year we’re a lot more diverse. Defensively, I think we’re the same team we’ve seen the last three years.”

The familiarity both teams have with one another aids both teams. Prologo said they each exchanged three sets of game film, but both teams also have the 2020 and 2021 matchup films to utilize to scheme things up.

“I think there’s some things that we’re planning on doing offensively that we’ve seen the last couple years that we may not have seen on game night,” Prologo said. “So if you’re a team that doesn’t do a whole lot of different things, it gives us a better understanding of what we should have done that night and maybe we’re going to try to do it this year. Defensively, it forces us to look at what maybe would have been there. Looking at it and saying, this should have been there, we should have done it. It’s causing us to talk to our kids about doing those little things.”

JFK and Newark Catholic kick off at 7 p.m. at Red Rider Stadium in Orrville for a spot in the Division VII state championship game.

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com