Labor Day weekend generally marks the end of the lake season in Marshall County, but for football fans, Friday night is just another reason to flock to their favorite team’s stadium. The Redskins faithful came to Kingston Friday night to see their team play, but rather than their hopedfor win, saw the Redskins drop to 0-2 with a 26-7 loss to the Idabel Warriors.
Idabel started off with the football, but Kingston’s defense came out ready to play. Idabel’s junior quarterback Waylon Phillips led his offense to midfield, but the Redskins pushed back, and Idabel was forced to punt.
Kingston’s offense came out proving that last week was no fluke, as the Redskins struggled to move the football. This struggle intensified when, on the first play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Klete Finley and senior running back Devin Tipton mishandledanexchangeand put the ball on the ground, which Finley recovered for a 7-yard loss. Three plays later, junior punter Delton O’Steen lined up to punt but fought to handle a high snap, managing a rugby-style kick that netted the Redskins only 14 yards, giving Idabel the ball on the Kingston 38.
Kingston’s defense proved up to this early challenge. Kingston held early, and while Phillips appeared to hit sophomore Ravian Larry for a 30-yard gain on thirdand- eleven, a holding penalty negated the big gain, and the Warriorswoundupwithanet loss of 16 yards on the drive, punting from their own 45.
The defenses locked down, and Kingston punted to the Warriors after once again going three-and-out. The Warriors fared no better, and they lined up to punt on 4th down at the Kingston 49. However, Idabel’s punter mishandled the snap, and then was hit by Kingston junior Rafe Patterson as he tried to punt and lost the ball altogether. Kingston freshman Eli Dougherty scooped upthelooseball,andrumbled deep into Idabel territory, where he also fumbled, but Kingston freshman Parks Ratzlaff recovered the second fumble at Idabel’s 25, putting Kingston’s offense in prime scoring position.
Sadly, Kingston’s offense remained mired in the mud. Three plays netted Kingston 3 yards, and the Redskins elected to go for it on fourthand- seven. Finley rolled right looking for a receiver but found nothing but Warriors. Idabel junior A.J. Smith sacked Finley, knocking the ball loose, and junior Joseph Gibson recovered for the Warriors, ending the Kingston threat as the first quarter expired.
With the change to the second quarter, Idabel did not take long to change the game. On third-and-twelve, Phillips found sophomore Matrail Lopez deep, and Lopez beat double coverage to score a 76-yard touchdown. The extra point gave Idabel a 7-0 lead.
Kingston’s offense had no answer, and after Finley was sacked again on third down, the Redskins punted again. The Warriors started a methodical drive on the ground and in the air but appeared to stall on third-and-twentythree at the Kingston 43. However, Phillips found Larry in the middle on a screen pass, and he took it to thehouse,expandingIdabel’s lead to 14-0 halfway through the second quarter.
Kingston’s offense continued its ineffectiveness, and after three plays netted four yards, the Redskins were punting again. Idabel took over at the Kingston 45 and spent 4 minutes moving the ball closer to Kingston’s end zone. Kingston forced a fourth-and-goal from the Kingston 2, but Phillips hit Lopez on a swing pass for Idabel’s third TD of the second quarter. On the extra point attempt, senior Damon Rowe provided Kingston’s sole highlight of the second quarter, blocking the kick, and keeping Idabel’s lead at 20-0 as the teams went into halftime.
Neither team moved the ball early in the third quarter, and the teams exchanged punts. Kingston’s second drive of the third quarter, however, was different. Starting at the Idabel 40 thanks to a nice punt return by Tipton, Kingston’s offense finally showed signs of life. WhiletheRedskinsstruggled mightily, converting four fourth downs on the drive, their thirteenth play of the drive saw Finley hit O’Steen foran8-yardtouchdownpass, ending the shutout near the end of the third quarter with Kingston trailing 20-7. The Warriors’ response looked more like they were trying to get Kingston back in the game. Backed up to their own 13 with a holding penalty, Idabel still managed to move the ball out to their own 37. But there, Phillips was unable to handle a shotgun snap, and sophomore Isaac Hahn recovered the loose ball all the way back at the Idabel 19, giving Kingston a golden chance to close the gap.
The offense, however, was unable to take advantage. Three plays picked up four yards, and Kingston faced fourth-and-six at the Idabel 15. Finley’s throw to Tipton on fourth down was too high, and the Redskins turned the ball over on downs. Idabel picked up a first down on the Warriors’ ensuing drive, but then Phillips mishandled another shotgun snap and Hahn was there again for Kingston to recover, this time at the Idabel 24.
Once again, Kingston’s offense squandered another opportunity to make the Warriors pay for their mistakes. Three plays gained four yards, and on fourthand-six Finley tried to force a pass to O’Steen, but the pass bounced off one of the four Warriors covering him and fell incomplete, ending yet another Kingston threat.
Taking over at their own 20with5:37left,theWarriors put the game away. Phillips guided his team 80 yards in 7 plays, and Idabel’s Smith endedthedrivewithatwelveyard run for a touchdown. A failed two-point conversion left Idabel up 26-7 with just over two minutes left. Kingston was still unable to do anything with that brief period, and the Warriors left Kingston with a 26-7 victory in their pocket.
Idabel’s Phillips led all passers with 224 yards and 3 scores,completing15ofhis21 attempts; Kingston’s Finley, by comparison, completed 10 of his 20 attempts but for only 49 yards and a single score. While neither team’s rushing attack shone overall, Idabel’s Lopez torched the Redskins both on the ground, picking up 86 yards on his 5 carries, but especially in the air, scoring twice on his 8 catches for 146 yards. Meanwhile, the Redskins as a team rushed for a net 6 yards on 25 carries. Kingston’s primary highlights of the game were the three recovered Idabel
The Kingston Redskins had their second loss of the season on September 2 when they fell to the Idabel Warriors.
fumbles, which yielded not a single point.
Kingston Head Coach Brad Hill credited Idabel’s “talented players” for their win. He blamed his offensive struggles on the continued effort to learn a new offense, with new reads, and predicted that the offense would improve as the season wears on. He was pleased with the improvements of his defense and special teams and wants his players to “keep their heads up and get ready for the district schedule.”
Kingston (0-2) finishes its nonconference schedule out this Friday on the road at 1-1 Hugo, which comes off a 52-21 shellacking from the BeggsDemons.TheRedskins will then have a bye before beginning district play on September 23. Kickoff Friday night in Hugo is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and Coach Hill and the Redskins hope that they can pick up a win and some momentum heading into the district schedule.
EXTRA POINTS While the defense showed improvement this week, big plays still are the Redskins’ bane. The two long touchdown passes Phillips threw in the second quarter completely changed the game, which otherwise was a hard-nosed slugfest. Kingston’s defense must cover better on the back end to keep its anemic offense in the game.
Speaking of the offense, this week’s effort was hard to watch.Kingston was unable to pick up a single first down by any means until halfway through the third quarter, during the Redskins’ sole scoring drive. Kingston also did not convert a single third down on the night. Those failures put even more pressure on the Kingston defense to come up with plays, which they did time and again.
Once again, the spotlight is on Finley. Completing less than half of his passes, Finley averaged only 2.33 yards per attempt, with his long completion being the 8-yardtouchdowntoO’Steen. Watching the game, it appears that Coach Hill is right, and Finley and the rest of his offense have yet to master the new offensive playbook. At least this week saw no interceptions thrown; when you’re grasping at straws, any improvement is better than nothing.
Klete Finley prepares to throw the ball down the field during the Kingston v Idabel game.