Dobbs Ferry QB Kearns Leads High Flying Eagles

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Kevin and Jackson Kearns (photo by Stephen O'Leary)

October 15, 2025

By Tom Pedulla—

Dobbs Ferry senior quarterback Jackson Kearns is enjoying a dream season in leading the high-flying Eagles to four victories in their first five games.

He is shredding opposing defenses by air, passing for 734 yards and seven touchdowns. Using the wing-T offense that he has operated since he was in the Dobbs Ferry Youth Football League, he is equally lethal by land. He has rushed for 344 yards and 10 scores. Add an interception return and his 18 touchdowns trail only Brayden Richardson, Sleepy Hollow’s dynamic running back, for the Section One lead.

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“He’s been a little bit of a highlight reel. He’s made some incredible throws,” said Coach Joe Cox. “It really feels like the engine driving the car.”

Ryan Mohl and Dylan Ravage represent his primary targets. Mohl, a senior, has accounted for more than 300 receiving yards with two touchdowns. Ravage has snagged four passes for scores.

The 5-9, 170-pound Kearns benefits from an exceptionally strong support system. His grandfather, Fred, helped establish the Dobbs Ferry Youth League that benefitted his grandson and other members of the varsity so greatly.

“He comes up to me before every game and just tells me to play great. It helps my confidence a ton when he’s there and supporting,” Kearns said. His father, Kevin, works as an assistant to Cox.

“I’ve been learning the game from both of them since I was a little kid,” Kearns said. “It’s been helpful the whole season. The whole coaching staff has so much knowledge about the game, and it helps me improve. Every week, I learn something new.”

Since he was old enough to play tackle football, Kearns has manned the quarterback position every year except last season. The team had a greater need for him to be a running back and he excelled there.

At this late stage of his career, the senior possesses a coach’s knowledge of the wing-T, an old school attack rarely seen any more but one that serves the Eagles incredibly well at every level. “You have to have your eyes up and the fakes have to be good, and the blocks have to be good technique,” Kearns said. “But it’s not too complicated.”

Not too complicated when you have been taught the system so well and practiced so hard. “I just kind of break every play down into small details that I take back to practice and do it hundreds of times over and over again,” he said.

Kearns could not be more passionate about football. “He absolutely loves it,” Cox said. “There is no place he would rather be than under center on a Friday night. We’re just really excited for him and excited to see him having success.”

The coach also praised the signal-caller’s leadership. “He’s out here pushing everybody,” he said. “He has a way of making those around him better.”

Kearns is not sure whether he will attempt to play in college. He has a laser focus on this season as the Eagles soar despite a more difficult schedule than they faced in the past. If they keep winning, they should be able to finish with the second seed behind powerful Bronxville and have the potential to open the postseason with two home games.

As sweet as his individual statistics are, Kearns treasures team success above everything else. “I’ve been playing with these guys forever,” he said. “We want to make one last run.”

Defenses are learning how hard it is to deny him—and them.

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