Rivalry at a Glance – Perth Amboy vs. J.F. Kennedy

PERTH AMBOY, NJ – On opening night of the 2025 season, J.F. Kennedy traveled down Route 27 and Route 35 to Waters Stadium to take on Perth Amboy in a Big Central Conference crossover.  Kennedy, which plays in the BCC’s United Silver Division, was looking to break a four-game losing streak to the Panthers from the BCC’s Liberty Gold Division.  These two schools were in the BCC Liberty Gold until the Mustangs moved down to the United Silver a year ago.

Opening night of the 2025 season was the 25th all-time meeting between the two schools.  The very first meeting between the two schools in 1966 ended in a scoreless tie.  J.F. Kennedy leads the series at 15-9-1 after shutting out Perth Amboy, 36-0 at Waters Stadium. 

Before the Mustangs’ opening night victory, Perth Amboy had won four straight and 5 of the previous 6 meetings.  From 1971 to 2016, J.F. Kennedy had won 14 of 17 meetings, including nine straight from 1971 to 1994.  Since the formation of the Big Central Conference in 2020, the Panthers have won 3 of 4 meetings.  Kennedy’s last win before opening night was in 2016.

Take a look at the history of the Perth Amboy-J.F. Kennedy rivalry below:

Year	Winning Team	Winning Score	Losing Team	Losing Score
1966	Perth Amboy	0	J.F. Kennedy	0
1969	Perth Amboy	18	J.F. Kennedy	6
1970	Perth Amboy	14	J.F. Kennedy	6
1971	J.F. Kennedy	6	Perth Amboy	0
1972	J.F. Kennedy	22	Perth Amboy	7
1973	J.F. Kennedy	7	Perth Amboy	0
1974	J.F. Kennedy	16	Perth Amboy	0
1978	J.F. Kennedy	17	Perth Amboy	14
1979	J.F. Kennedy	21	Perth Amboy	0
1980	J.F. Kennedy	7	Perth Amboy	0
1981	J.F. Kennedy	7	Perth Amboy	0
1994	J.F. Kennedy	50	Perth Amboy	20
1995	Perth Amboy	26	J.F. Kennedy	14
2010	J.F. Kennedy	17	Perth Amboy	14
2011	Perth Amboy	20	J.F. Kennedy	12
2012	J.F. Kennedy	21	Perth Amboy	13
2013	J.F. Kennedy	44	Perth Amboy	6
2014	J.F. Kennedy	21	Perth Amboy	0
2015	Perth Amboy	6	J.F. Kennedy	3
2016	J.F. Kennedy	42	Perth Amboy	7
2017	Perth Amboy	12	J.F. Kennedy	7
2022	Perth Amboy	10	J.F. Kennedy	8
2023	Perth Amboy	35	J.F. Kennedy	7
2024	Perth Amboy	27	J.F. Kennedy	9
2025	J.F. Kennedy	36	Perth Amboy	0

• First Meeting:  1966 (Game ended in a scoreless tie).  Perth Amboy won the next two meetings in 1969 and 1970.
• All Time Series Record:  J.F. Kennedy leads 15-9-1
• J.F. Kennedy Dominance:  The Mustangs won 14 of 17 meetings between the two schools from 1971 to 2016, including 9 straight.
• Perth Amboy Dominance:  The Panthers won four straight before losing to Kennedy on opening night.
• J.F. Kennedy’s Last Victory:  Was in 2016 (won 42-7) before winning 36-0 on opening night.
• Big Central Conference Era:  Since the formation of the BCC in 2020, Perth Amboy has won 3 of 4 meetings by a combined score of 72-60, or by an average of 18-15
• Longest Winning Streak:  Kennedy won 9 straight from 1971 to 1994.  Perth Amboy won four in a row from 2017 to 2024.  
• No Meetings:  The two schools didn’t play each other in 1967, 1968, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982-1993, 1996-2009, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
• Scoring:  J.F. Kennedy has outscored Perth Amboy by a margin of 406-249 all time.
• Points Per Game:  J.F. Kennedy has outscored Perth Amboy by an average margin of 6.6 points per game (16.2 – 9.6)
• Max Points Scored:  J.F. Kennedy scored 50 in a win over Perth Amboy in 1994 (50-20).  Perth Amboy scored 35 in a victory over JFK in 2023 (35-7).
• Largest Margin of Victory:  Delaware Valley has the largest margin of victory at 38 with its 44-6 victory in 2013.  Perth Amboy’s largest margin of victory was 28 in 2023 (won 35-7).
• Closest Margin of Victory:  Perth Amboy defeated J.F. Kennedy by two, 10-8 in 2022.
• Shutouts:  J.F. Kennedy has 8 while Perth Amboy has none.
• One-Score Games:  There have been twelve games decided by one score (8 points or less).
• Single-Digit Games:  There have been twelve games decided by 9 points or less.