On Friday night, Monroe rallied from behind in the second half to defeat J.F. Kennedy of Iselin, 20-13. The victory was the second straight for the Falcons and raised their record to 3-2. Monroe’s win was also the 7th straight versus Kennedy since 2001. The Mustangs still leads the series that dates back to 1984, 13-9.
Falcons Win 7th Straight in Series over Mustangs
MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ – On Friday night, Monroe and J.F. Kennedy met in a Big Central Conference Crossover match-up at Hugh P. Walsh Stadium in Monroe Township. The Falcons had to rally from behind to defeat the Mustangs by the score of 20-13 in the first meeting between the two schools since 2019. Monroe defeated Kennedy for the 7th straight time since 2000. The Mustangs still lead the series 13-9.
Senior QB Brandon Macaluso led the Falcons to victory with two TD passes and a rushing touchdown. Falcons’ wideout Logan Richter caught two TD passes. Anthony Salesi intercepted a Kennedy pass late in the third quarter to preserve a 14-13 lead. Dylan Driz led the Mustangs’ defense with 21 total tackles including 13 for loss. Aiden Roche intercepted a Monroe pass to set up the Mustangs’ first score and tie the game at 7-7 going into the intermission.
The Mustangs then took their first and only lead of the game when senior QB, Richie Trotman hooked ulp with wideout Lee Tobon for a 55 yard scoring pass to go up 13-7 with 5:19 left in the third. The Falcons rallied back down the field on their next drive and scored on a 17-yard pass from Macaluso to Richter. Placekicker Tommaso Demetria tacked on the extra point for a 14-13 lead with 1:50 to go in the third.
On Kennedy’s next offensive possession, the Mustangs turned the ball over when Monroe’s Salesi got in front of JFK wideout Grant Lorenzten for an interception along the Falcon sideline with 8 seconds to play in the third. Monroe then cashed in the turnover when Macaluso scored on a QB keeper from a yard out with 9:11 to play in the game for the final 20-13 margin.
With the victory, Monroe won its second straight game to improve to 3-2 overall and in the Big Central Conference. J.F. Kennedy, which has already surpassed last year’s win total dropped to 2-3 overall and in the BCC. The Falcons and Mustangs were rivals in the early days of the Greater Middlesex Conference.
Monroe and J.F. Kennedy played each other almost every year from 1984 to 2003. The Mustangs won 13 of the first 15 meetings. The two schools have only played each other four times since 2003. Friday night was the first meeting between Monroe and Kennedy since 2019, and only the second in the last 17 years. Monroe has won the last 7 meetings since 2000. Check out the Falcons-Mustangs rivalry at a glance.
| Year | Winner | Winning Score | Loser | Losing Score |
| 1984 | J.F. Kennedy | 14 | Monroe | 0 |
| 1985 | J.F. Kennedy | 22 | Monroe | 0 |
| 1986 | J.F. Kennedy | 40 | Monroe | 7 |
| 1987 | Monroe | 14 | J.F. Kennedy | 3 |
| 1988 | J.F. Kennedy | 14 | Monroe | 7 |
| 1989 | J.F. Kennedy | 44 | Monroe | 0 |
| 1992 | Monroe | 26 | J.F. Kennedy | 20 |
| 1993 | J.F. Kennedy | 41 | Monroe | 18 |
| 1994 | J.F. Kennedy | 39 | Monroe | 14 |
| 1995 | J.F. Kennedy | 35 | Monroe | 21 |
| 1996 | J.F. Kennedy | 37 | Monroe | 0 |
| 1997 | J.F. Kennedy | 34 | Monroe | 8 |
| 1998 | J.F. Kennedy | 62 | Monroe | 0 |
| 1999 | J.F. Kennedy | 46 | Monroe | 0 |
| 2000 | J.F. Kennedy | 19 | Monroe | 10 |
| 2001 | Monroe | 28 | J.F. Kennedy | 13 |
| 2002 | Monroe | 40 | J.F. Kennedy | 7 |
| 2003 | Monroe | 28 | J.F. Kennedy | 20 |
| 2006 | Monroe | 50 | J.F. Kennedy | 28 |
| 2007 | Monroe | 33 | J.F. Kennedy | 12 |
| 2019 | Monroe | 10 | J.F. Kennedy | 7 |
| 2024 | Monroe | 20 | J.F. Kennedy | 13 |
- Rivalry began in 1984.
- Both teams didn’t play each other in 1990 and 1991, 2004 and 2005, from 2008 to 2018, and from 2020 to 2023.
- J.F. Kennedy leads the series 13-9.
- J.F. Kennedy has outscored Monroe 570 to 334 all-time or by an average of about 26-15 per game.
- J.F. Kennedy won the first 3 meetings from 1984 to 1986.
- Monroe first won in 1987.
- J.F. Kennedy won 13 of the first 15 meetings from 1984 to 2000.
- J.F. Kennedy has the longest winning streak in the series with 8 straight from 1993 to 2000.
- Monroe’s longest winning streak in the series is 7 (from 2001 to the present).
- Monroe and J.F. Kennedy have only played each other 7 times since 2000. The Falcons and Mustangs played each other for the first time since 2019, and only the 2nd time in the last 17 years.
- Most points scored in a game: 62 by J.F. Kennedy in 1998 (won 62-0).
- Monroe scored 50 in a game in 2006 (won 50-28).
- J.F. Kennedy has 6 shutouts in the series. Last shutout was in 1999.
- Monroe has never shut out J.F. Kennedy. Fewest points allowed by Falcons vs. JFK was 3 in 1987.
- Monroe has held Kennedy under 15 points in its last three wins (33-12 in 2007, 10-7 in 2019, and 20-13 in 2024).
- Largest margin of victory: J.F. Kennedy won by 62 in 1998 (62-0).
- Monroe’s largest margin of victory was 33 in 2002 (40-7).
