Friday, October 2 | 6:00 PM | John F. Kennedy Campus
There’s history here.
When Abraham Lincoln travels to the Bronx to face John F. Kennedy Campus on Friday night, it will be more than another PSAL 4A game. It is a rematch of last season’s playoffs, when Lincoln ended JFK’s season with a 51–36 victory. Now they meet again, but under different circumstances. JFK enters the matchup at 3-1, while Lincoln comes in at 1-2, and both teams are coming off victories that helped settle things down after difficult losses the week before.
JFK Has Quietly Put Together a Strong Start
Don’t let the record get lost in the shuffle. Kennedy has won three of its first four games, including a 36–20 win over Monroe-Woodbury, a 32–12 victory over Stuyvesant and last week’s 24–7 win over Brooklyn Tech. The lone loss came against Erasmus Hall, 43–6. That Erasmus result showed JFK there is still a gap between playing well and competing with the top of PSAL 4A. Friday gives the Knights another opportunity to show where they fit.
JFK has done much of its damage on the ground. Jeremiah Senat gives the Knights a dual-threat presence at quarterback, while sophomore running back Joseph Adjei Afriyie has emerged as another weapon in the backfield. Defensively, linebacker Livon Correa has been one of the early leaders for a unit that has held three of its four opponents to 20 points or fewer. The formula isn’t complicated: run the football, control possession and make opponents earn everything.
Is Lincoln Starting to Turn the Corner?
Lincoln desperately needed last week’s performance. After being shut out 42–0 by Eagle Academy II, the Railsplitters responded by putting 40 points on the board in a 40–24 victory over New Dorp. It was Lincoln’s first win of the season and, perhaps more importantly, finally gave its offense something to build on. Transfer quarterback Michael Misla put up over 2oo passing yards and threw four touchdowns. All purpose running back Mekhi Negron was on the receiving end of one of those touchdown passes. Defensively, Somari DeCoteau and Jason Deonarinesingh, and Amyr Ivory did their part to limit the New Dorp offense.
Now comes the test. Was that simply a good night against New Dorp, or was it the beginning of Lincoln finding its identity? We may get that answer Friday. Lincoln is a program accustomed to being relevant late in the season. And while a 1-2 start isn’t where the Railsplitters wanted to be, PSAL football is rarely decided in September. The next few weeks matter much more.
The Rematch Factor
JFK doesn’t have to search very hard for motivation. The last time these programs met, Lincoln scored 51 points and eliminated Kennedy from the 2025 PSAL 4A playoffs, 51–36. That doesn’t determine what happens Friday. Rosters change. Teams evolve. But players remember.
Kennedy gets the rematch at home with an opportunity to show that this year’s team has taken another step. Lincoln gets an opportunity to remind everyone that one difficult start doesn’t erase the type of program it has been.
What to Watch
The first question is whether Lincoln can slow down JFK’s running game. Kennedy wants to control the game physically and stay ahead of the chains. If Senat and Adjei Afriyie consistently create manageable second and third downs, JFK can dictate the tempo.
For Kennedy, the challenge will be handling a Lincoln offense that looked completely different against New Dorp than it did the week before. The Railsplitters went from being shut out against Eagle Academy II to scoring 40 points seven days later. If Misla can recreate his production from last week and Negron can be a threat in the run and pass game, the balanced offensive attack might be too much for JFK to handle.
And then there is the fourth quarter. This feels like the type of game where somebody may eventually have to make a play when everyone in the stadium knows exactly what is coming.
More Than Just Another Friday Night
Eagle Academy II has established itself at the top of the PSAL conversation, but underneath the top tier there are still plenty of questions waiting to be answered. Where does JFK belong? Is Lincoln ready to make its move? Friday night gives us a chance to learn a little more about both. Last November, Lincoln had the final word.
Friday night in the Bronx, JFK gets another shot.
