WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – In February, Dom Prologo stepped down as the head coach of the Kennedy football program. In three years, he guided his team to three straight regional titles and a playoff record of 14-3 – which is the best in JFK history by a head coach.
A month later, Damon Buente – formerly an assistant at JFK – was named the head coach of the Eagle program.
“Buente states, “I’m [very] lucky to pick up the torch at a program like JFK. I’m excited to get to work with our team.”
The Eagles are seeking their ninth straight playoff appearance and have improved each year in the win column since 2017.
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From an offensive standpoint, the unit will be designed and coached by Luke Stucke and Mo Green. “I have the utmost confidence in them,” Buente points out. “Together, they’ll teach the priorities of the spread. We’ll rely on some returning offensive linemen and a deep quarterback room. The offensive line is always the last unit to gel during summer, so I’ll try my best to work closely with them.”
The Eagles return quarterback Caleb Hadley, lineman Michael Bartoe as well as plenty of backs and receivers in Antonio Smith, Devonte Taylor and Thomas Easton.
The defense will be led by Chris Dirando. “He has experience in familiar systems,” indicates Buente. “So, the transition should be smooth. We’ll be led by some returning defensive linemen and secondary members. We’ll see lots of position battles, especially at linebacker.”
Marcus Komara, a junior defensive back, was named to the second-team All-PTC a year ago.
“Our expectations are to prepare our tails off for a very competitive and hungry Champion team in week one,” says Buente.
Within JFK’s first six weeks, the Eagles will be matched against four teams that won 9-games or more in 2022 including the state champion South Range Raiders on September 1.
Warren JFK Eagles
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Damon Buente, 1st season
2022 Record: 13-2 (3-1), 2nd place in the PTC
Last 5 Years: 47-18 (72.3%)
Home Field: Mollenkopf Stadium
League: Portage Trail Conference
Base Offense: Spread
Base Defense: 4-3
Returning Starters
Offense: 5
Defense: 5
2022 Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 28.5
Scoring Defense: 12.2
2022 Results
New Bremen 38 Eagles 6*
Eagles 21 Newark Catholic 7*
Eagles 22 Danville 21*
Eagles 35 Southern 0*
Eagles 13 Springfield 6*
Eagles 37 Fairport Harding 9*
Eagles 50 Southeast 0
Eagles 44 Cleveland Central Catholic 8
Eagles 33 Rootstown 0
Mogadore 28 Eagles 14
Eagles 28 Marlington 7
Eagles 20 Sandusky Perkins 12
Eagles 22 Garrettsville Garfield 21
Eagles 37 Delta 12
Eagles 44 Champion 14
*-playoff
2022 Portage Trail Conference Standings
Mogadore – 4-0 (12-1)
Warren JFK – 3-1 (13-2)
Rootstown – 2-2 (7-4)
Southeast – 0-3 (4-6)
St. Thomas Aquinas – 0-3 (0-8)
2023 Schedule
Aug. 18 – Champion
Aug. 25 – Garrettsville Garfield
Sept. 1 – at South Range
Sept. 8 – at Sandusky Perkins
Sept. 15 – Marlington
Sept. 22 – Mogadore
Sept. 29 – at Rootstown
Oct. 6 – St. Thomas Aquinas
Oct. 14 – at Cleveland Central Catholic
Oct. 20 – at Southeast
