For nearly 12 full months the Kingston Redskins and most of their fans have pretty much had Friday, November 21 fully circled on their calendars.
That day arrives this week with a chance at redemption in the Class 2A-1 state quarterfinals when the Redskins once again play host to Marlow for a berth in the playoff Final Four.
Most remember in that same situation a year ago the Redskins played toeto- toe with the perennial power Outlaws for four full quarters before suffering a heartbreaking 27-21 seasonending loss.
Kingston set up the rematch in dominant fashion once again last week by dominating throughout in a 49-14 thumping of Sperry in round one.
“We were excited to be at home once again because we worked all year for that opportunity,” head coach Brad Hill stated. “We had such a great crowd. The energy in the stadium was just outstanding from the beginning. Our offensive line did a great job opening holes and our veteran guys did a good job getting the lead. Our younger guys came in and ran really hard. We played really well up front. The defense was just phenomenal once again.”
The Redskin high-powered offense was on full display from the start as they racked up a whopping 534 yards on just 44 plays from scrimmage as the Pirates never had an answer. Rushing the football was the catalyst of that attack once more as 384 yards came on the ground with 10 Redskins all recording carries.
Reid Patterson led the charge with 10 totes for 80 yards while Parks Ratzlaff tallied a portion of his ultraefficient night with 70 yards on just five carries. Two of those rushes went for touchdowns and he also added a 67-yard scoring grab on his only pass reception.
EthanMowlescontributed 63 yards on four carries, Boen Proctorranseventimesfor59 yards, Koewyn Young had 45 yards on a pair of totes while Logan Stephens rushed six times for 35 yards.
Four of Patterson’s six pass completions went for touchdowns as he tallied 135 yards through the air.
Ty Jones caught two of those scores for 34 yards, Jaksyn Martin had two grabs for 25 yards with one touchdown as well.
The challenge definitely heats up this week with the 9-1 Outlaws, who much like Kingston, have many of the same pieces from the classic battle a year ago.
Marlow’s defense has been nothing short of stellar as they have yielded a grand total of 45 points in 10 contests, including six shutouts. The Outlaws’ lone loss was a 21-14 district verdict to defending state champ Washington. In its playoff opener, Marlow rolled past Mount St. Mary, 49-6.
“It’s the state quarterfinals so everyone is really good that is left,” Coach Hill added. “Marlow is really well coached and a really good team. They haven’t given up many points at all this year and about half of those came inonegame.Theyhaveagood quarterback, a good line and a big, tough running back. They are very similar to last year and their athleticism jumps out at you on tape. They are very diverse. We are going to have to tackle extremely well and be ready for the tricky stuff they sometimes do.
“Last year it went right down to the wire and we are expecting another great game. It’s going to be a war. We have a lot of seniors that want to keep playing football. This opportunity is what we did all the offseason work for. Our kids invested a lot to get this game at home. I am expecting a great football game.”