Kingston Conquers Coalgate

This weekend saw the arrival of the first real cold front of the fall, and temperatures in Kingston fell from the low 90s earlier in the week to a crisp 54 degrees at kickoff Friday night. After crowning senior Abigail Hawkins as 2019 Homecoming Queen before the game, the Redskins welcomed the winless Coalgate Wildcats to Kingston and warmed up the home crowd with a blazing-hot performance, sending the Wildcats home stinging from a 62-6 loss.

The tone for the game was set on the first play, when Kingston junior Jarron “Boomer” Morgan took the opening kickoff to the house to put the Redskins up 6-0 before they had even taken an offensive snap. Coalgate responded with a three-and-out and senior Sam Kingston, pressured by Kingston junior Matthew Hawkins, shanked his punt and Kingston took over at the Coalgate 41. Junior quarterback Jase Hayes immediately connected with senior receiver Tyler Blanchard for 34 yards, and three plays later Hayes took it up the middle for a one-yard touchdown, making it 13-0 Kingston.

Another three-and-out from Coalgate, and then junior Colton Robinson returned the punt to the Coalgate

36. Three plays later, Hayes rolled right on play action, couldn’t find a receiver, and just scrambled into the endzone for his second rushing TD of the game, and Kingston was up 20-0.

Coalgate sophomore Gavin Blue returned the kick to his own 41, and the Wildcats looked to be in business. Two plays later, freshman quarterback Tison Franklin, under pressure from Hawkins and junior Jesse Rose, threw an errant pass that Robinson picked off at the Coalgate

45. Coalgate’s defense held and forced a turnover on downs, and Coalgate got the ball back at its own 47.

Back in business, Coalgate proved unable to move the ball again, and punted back to Kingston. Sophomore running back Brandon Watson took a first-play handoff through a gigantic hole up the middle and went the distance, scoring from 63 yards out to make it 27-0 Kingston.

After both teams traded drives without either getting a first down, Coalgate had another bad punt from Sam Kingston, but the Redskins narrowly avoided disaster when the short kick ricocheted off a blocker and was recovered by junior Matthew Flesher at the Coalgate 21. Set up there, Hayes threw a play action pass to a wide-open Hawkins in the end zone to make it 34-0.

Another futile Coalgate drive led to another punt, and this time Robinson returned the punt to the Coalgate

29. Two plays later, Watson found another huge hole up the middle for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 41-0 Kingston. Kingston would score twice more in the first half on a Blanchard punt return 70 yards down the right sideline, and then junior Dakota Beshirs sacked Franklin and forced a fumble that Flesher scooped up and returned into the end zone, and Kingston led 54-0 at half. Kingston’s reserves played heavily in the second half and would still outscore the Wildcats’ starters 8-6 in the second half. Coalgate finally ended the shutout when Franklin tossed a 21-yard pass to Blue to make the final margin 62-6.

Hayes led the Redskins in passing with 3 completions on 5 attempts for 69 yards and a touchdown. Watson led all rushers with 95 yards on only 4 carries, two of them for long touchdowns. Kingston’s leading receiver was Blanchard, with 44 yards on two catches. Sophomore Grant Holmes led Kingston with 9 tackles, and Beshirs recorded the Redskins’ only sack.

Kingston Head Coach Tommy Bare was pleased with another district win, where his team came out healthy, citing another outstanding team effort where the Redskins improved in all three phases of the game, including scoring on offense, defense and special teams. Coach Bare noted that some of our younger players stepped into a game situation and played well.

The Redskins move to 3-0 in district play, and 5-1 overall. Kingston remains in a three-way tie with Comanche (3-0 district, 5-1 overall) and Lindsay (3-0, 5-1) for the District 2A-8 lead. After falling to Davis (1-2, 1-4), Dickson (2-1, 2-4) falls to fourth place, with Davis leading the also-rans in fifth place. This week is Fall Break in Kingston, and the Redskins go to Marietta Thursday night to face the winless Indians (0-3, 0-6) in another district contest. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Marietta.

Extra Points

The Redskins’ defense continues to shine. Coalgate’s offense proved unable to pick up a single first down in the first half, and their offense gained a net minus 16 yards for the half. Coalgate only crossed midfield once in the first half, when the Wildcats’ drive started at the Kingston

47. That drive picked up a net of four yards before Coalgate inevitably punted. While the competition matters - there’s a reason the hapless Wildcats are winless this season - it is good to see the Redskins dispatch this kind of team with ease.

The Redskins also have cleaned up their penalties. The brutal flag parade against Davis seems like much longer than two weeks ago. These Redskins aren’t shooting themselves in the foot every third play with drive-killing penalties on their offense and drive-extending penalties on their defense. While there were nine accepted penalties against Kingston overall, many of those were against reserve players after the game was completely out of hand. That kind of discipline is crucial for an extended playoff run.

Also improved are the turnovers. Hayes has found his footing at quarterback and hasn’t thrown an interception since the Sperry game in Week

3. The Redskins offense doesn’t require him to carry the squad, and he’s done a much better job of playing within himself. In a way, that’s a microcosm of the way the whole team has played. Good, sound, disciplined football will carry Kingston a lot further than one might have guessed watching the first four games of the season.