Kingston knocks out Hugo to advance

Friday night, Kingston hosted its second-round playoff game, which once again featured a familiar opponent, the Hugo Buffaloes. The last two seasons, Redskins and Buffaloes had opened their seasons against each other in a home-and-home series, and the Redskins had dominated both of those games. Hugo’s 41-13 win at home against Spiro in the first round set up the rematch. Social media before the game was alive with comments that Hugo was comparing the 2019 rematch as a reprise of the movie Rocky 2, where Rocky finally knocks out Apollo Creed to win the title. However, while the matchup proved to be a heavyweight bout, those comments proved to not be prescient, and Kingston knocked out the Buffaloes 22-12 to advance to the third round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

The teams took the field in the coldest conditions the Redskins had played in all year, with the temperature right around 40 and a cold north wind bringing the wind chill down to the mid-30s. The rain which had plagued the area finally tapered off, but the muddy conditions were ripe for an old-school knock-down dragout brawl. Kingston took the opening kick, and delivered a set of body blows with its running back troika of senior Tanner Showalter, junior A.J.McKinney, and sophomore Brandon Watson, but could never quite get a knock out punch. The opening drive took 10 plays and 6 minutes to travel 52 yards, but stalled out on a failed fourth-down conversion on the Hugo 29.

The teams exchanged punts, then Hugo’s offense caught fire on the Buffaloes’ second drive, highlighted by a long pass from Hugo’s senior quarterback William King to senior receiver Jordan Barker for 36 yards down to the Kingston 18; Barker came open when his defender slipped and fell on the muddy field. King eventually took the ball into the end zone on a quarterback keeper, and Hugo took the first lead 6-0 near the end of the first quarter.

The Redskins struck back quickly. Kingston freshman Karson Daniel returned the Buffaloes’ ensuing kickoff to the Hugo 46. The first play of the second quarter saw Watson break free from the Hugo 32 and reach pay dirt to give the Redskins their first lead, 7-6.

The defenses then came to play, as Hugo’s next drive died on its own 35, as King’s attempt to convert a fourth and short was stopped by junior linebacker Bryant Watts behind the line of scrimmage. Four plays later, after an untimely holding call cancelled another Watson touchdown, Hugo forced the Redskins to turn it over on downs, as junior quarterback Jase Hayes could not connect with sophomore receiver Braden Matchen on fourth and eleven from the Hugo

36. Hugo proved unable to move the ball and punted back to the Redskins, who then used the remaining 6:47 of the half to move 50 yards in a drive that ran out of time, and the teams went to halftime still 7-6.

As the wind strengthened during half, it seemed that the teams would rely more on the run, but Hugo came out throwing. King connected on two long passes, one a 33-yarder to junior Kris Akins, and the other a 49-yard touchdown to senior Marquelle Lennox, giving the Buffaloes back the lead early in the third quarter, 12-7.

Kingston came back out, much like Rocky, bloody but ready for another round. Starting at their own 13, the Redskins began a methodical drive with only one big gainer, a 33-yard strike from Hayes to junior tight end Matthew Hawkins to the Hugo 32. After that, it was a steady dose of Watson pounding the ball until Hayes took a quarterback sneak into the end zone from 2 yards out, and Kingston, with a two-point conversion pass from Hayes to Hawkins, now led 15-12.

After Lennox mishandled the kick and was tackled at the Hugo 6 to start their next drive, the Buffaloes came out throwing again, but this time could not catch fire. King went 1 of 5 passing on that drive, which only advanced because of a third down converted by a Kingston pass interference penalty, and the Buffaloes had to punt the ball away. Punting into the wind, Hugo senior Kaleb Shaeffer only managed a short punt for a net 13 yards.

Taking over at the Hugo 37, Kingston’s offense stepped up and delivered a knockout punch. Pounding the ball with McKinney, Showalter, Watson and Hayes on the ground, the Redskins drove to the Hugo 15. On fourth and two from the 15, Hayes called his own number, and his tough run on a quarterback keeper up the middle broke through all the way to the end zone and Kingston extended its lead to 22-12 late in the third quarter.

Backs against the ropes, the Buffaloes kept throwing punches. A great kickoff return by Lennox set up Hugo at midfield to start the drive, and a pass from King to sophomore Tayshon Richardson moved the ball to the Kingston 37. A King scramble to the Kingston 26 put Hugo near the red zone. But then King and his receivers went cold, and four incomplete passes (and a Kingston offsides penalty) later, Hugo turned it over on downs at the Kingston 21.

Hugo’s defense proved that it was still in the game, and three Watson runs could not move the chains. Junior Matthew Flesher’s punt flipped the field, and the Buffaloes were stuck back in their own territory at their own 43. Hugo’s ensuing drive proved snake-bitten, as the Buffaloes’ first play was an eight-yard loss when senior Jamaar Scroggins mishandled the handoff on a reverse.

Two plays later, a scrambling King hit senior receiver Antonio King for an apparent 65-yard touchdown, which was called back for an illegal-procedure penalty, as Hugo left the left tackle uncovered at the line of scrimmage.

Hugo eventually turned the ball over on downs.

The Redskins, trying to run out the clock, turned the ball over on downs at the Hugo 11, and the Buffaloes came out with one last chance to make a game of it.

Hugo moved the ball both on the ground and through the air against the Kingston defense, until the Buffaloes faced a fourth and 6 on their own 48.

King completed a pass over the middle to Richardson for a first down, but Kingston senior Tyler Blanchard came in from behind and punched the ball out, and junior Jarron “Boomer” Morgan recovered the fumble at the Redskins’ 35 to end Hugo’s final threat with 2:44 to go.

The Redskins picked up a first down on a facemask penalty, and then it was time for the victory formation and victory celebration as the Redskins won a 22-12 dogfight to advance in the playoffs and bookend the Buffaloes’ season with losses in Kingston.

Hayes was 3 for 8 passing for 42 yards to lead the Redskins. Watson led the Redskins with 128 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown.

Hawkins led the Redskins’ receivers with 40 yards on 2 receptions and a two-point conversion.

On defense, Watts led all tacklers with 12 stops, while senior defensive lineman Caleb Yeager recorded the Redskins’ only sack of the elusive King on the night. Overall, Kingston dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 36:01 versus Hugo’s 11:59.

Kingston head coach Tommy Bare thought his Redskins did “a good job of sticking to [their] game plan,” despite the opportunities to get frustrated “after falling behind” to a very talented Hugo team.” Coach Bare lauded the way his team “pulled together and came away with a victory” while also avoiding injuries.

Kingston (11-1) advances to the state quarterfinals for the second straight year.

This time, instead of a long road trip, Kingston hosts the undefeated defending state champion Sperry Pirates (12-0) on Black Friday, with a trip to the state semifinals on the line. This is a matchup of the teams’ Week 3 matchup in Sperry, where the Pirates dominated most of the game and won 37-15.

Kickoff the day after Thanksgiving is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Harold “Bulldog” Henry Field.

Extra Points

This game featured a couple of puzzling issues for Hugo. First, Hugo had consistent trouble getting the play in on time, to the point where the Buffaloes had to use all their time outs to keep from getting delay of game penalties. This continued to the point where Hugo, trying to come back and needing to preserve its timeouts, burned its last one with 7:49 left in the game. This would be more understandable except that Hugo runs a no-huddle offense. As a football coach, if you’re running a no-huddle, hurry-up style attack and you can’t get your play called on time on a consistent basis, it might be time to do something different.

Hugo’s other issue was play selection. The Buffaloes’ quarterback, William King, is plainly a superior athlete, with size, speed and agility to spare. He has an incredibly strong arm, as displayed on the 65-yard touchdown pass that was called back in the fourth quarter, on a pass that traveled 50 yards in the air while he was scrambling for his life.

However, his accuracy is inconsistent (to be fair, Hugo’s receivers didn’t help him out at all, dropping multiple passes that hit them in the hands). Despite these issues, Hugo called passes at least two-thirds of its offensive play, many of them when the game was still very winnable. While Buffaloes runners only picked up 18 rushing yards on their 16 total carries, it seems like running King more, out of a read-option or similar setup, would have given Hugo better overall results.

Contrast Hugo’s approach with Kingston’s. Redskins runners gained 256 yards on 55 carries. On a cold, windy night where both quarterbacks struggled with accuracy, Kingston’s running game kept King and his big arm off the field effectively for three entire quarters. That difference in the teams’ approach ultimately made a big difference in this game.

The Redskins clearly have their work cut out for them on Black Friday. Sperry is undefeated for a reason; the Pirates have averaged over 50 points per game on offense, over 11 points more than the 39.5 the Redskins have averaged. Likewise, Sperry’s defense has been outstanding, averaging only 8.08 points per game surrendered, versus 9.33 points for Kingston. In fact, Kingston’s 15 points against Sperry in Week 3 matches the highest total the Pirates have surrendered all season; Beggs in Week 10 matched that total, and the 10-2 Golden Demons are still playing this weekend too, and for good reason. The Redskins showed in Week 3 that they could play with Sperry, but they also showed that turnovers and untimely penalties will doom them if they can’t avoid them Friday night.

Regardless of the outcome, the game Friday night will be historic. While Kingston has been to the state quarterfinals three of the past five years (this year, 2018 at Beggs, and 2015 at Haskell), the Redskins of previous years had been through a long drought of advancing this far in the playoffs. As part of that drought, it appears (as of the information available at press time) that this is the first home game in this round of the playoffs for the Redskins in at least thirty years. This will also be the last home game of the year for the Redskins even if they win, so if you want to see your Redskins play in their home stadium, you’d best come out to the game Friday night.