Kingston falls short, loses claim to train trestle

This Friday night, two days before Halloween, the two schools in Marshall County renewed their football rivalry in the Marshall County Super Bowl. This year, Madill traveled the short distance down US 70 to Kingston to take on the Redskins. With Madill already eliminated from the playoffs, and Kingston facing almost certain elimination even if the Redskins won, the teams were playing for pride and bragging rights. That turned into a back-and-forth epic struggle, and the Wildcats eventually prevailed 36-35.

The Wildcats won the toss, and bucking current conventional wisdom, elected to receive. Madill’s first drive turned out not to be very promising, as three plays picked up four yards, and Madill was forced to punt.

Backed up to their own 17 by a personal-foul penalty on the punt, Kingston began with the offensive struggles that have plagued the Red skins all season. Gaining three yards on the drive, Kingston went three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Wildcats.

The Wildcats took over at their own 40 and looked to turn the great field position into points. However, a holding penalty on first down backed up the Wildcats to a first-and-22 at their own 28, and Madill’s offense could not dig out of the hole, punting the ball away to Kingston three plays later.

The Redskins could not do anything this drive either. Three plays only gained eight yards, and Kingston punted the ball away again, this time pinning Madill at the Wildcats’ 13.

Pinned deep, Madill finally got its offense moving. Madill finally picked up a first down, the first of the game for either team, with a five-yard run to convert third down by junior tight end River Shaw on a direct snap. That third-down conversion energized the Wildcat attack, and Madill marched down the field for the game’s first score, as senior quarterback Kendall Robertson ran it in on a quarterback keeper from the Kingston 14, giving the Wildcats a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

After Madill kicked off, Kingston started the ensuing drive at its own 34, and the Redskins offense finally began working with some help from the Wildcats, giving Kingston its first third-down conversion with an offsides penalty on third-and-five. Kingston marched down the field but faced fourth-and-goal from the Madill 4. The Redskins went for it, but when junior quarterback Klete Finley dropped back to pass he had multiple rushers come through his line, and senior Tito Gomez and junior Adan Yanez ended the drive with a sack, turning the ball over on downs.

Taking over at their own 10, the Wildcats wasted little time adding to their lead. Robertson picked up a first down with his legs to the Madill 20. Sophomore running back Rey Gomez picked up another first down to the Madill 30. After another four-yard pickup by Gomez, Robertson found a big hole on the right side on a quarterback keeper and shot through Kingston’s defense for a 66-yard score, giving Madill at 14-0 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Kingston junior Devin Tipton found a seam down the right side, returning the kick 45 yards to the Madill 35. On first down, a pass interference flag on Madill moved the ball to the Madill 20. From there, Kingston needed only three plays to score their first touchdown, as senior running back Brandon Watson took it in from 13 yards out, trimming the Madill lead to 14-7 halfway through the second quarter.

Kingston’s defense stiffened on the next drive, forcing another three-and-out from the Wildcats. After the punt, Kingston took over at their own 38, and the offense again showed some life. Senior fullback Grant Holmes plowed through the line for 23 yards on the first play, losing his shoe in the process. From there, it was Watson and Finley on the ground, with Watson taking a handoff on third-and-four through a huge hole 22 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Sophomore Rhett Coble’s extra point kick was blocked, however, by Madill’s Shaw, and Madill retained a slim 14-13 lead late in the first half.

Madill took over at its own 28 with 2:52 in the half and started a methodical march down the field. Six plays, plus a Kingston pass interference penalty, gave the Wildcats the ball at the Kingston 9 with 5 seconds left, and then Robertson found Shaw wide open in the end zone for the game’s first passing score, giving Madill a 21-13 halftime lead.

Kingston received the opening kick of the second half, and senior Hayden McKinney returned the ball 30 yards to the Madill 48. With great field position, Kings ton’s offense took advantage, as Watson took a pitch on the first play of the half 25 yards to the Madill 23. Two plays later, Finley found senior wideout Brayden Matchen at the Madill 2. Watson took it in from there for his third score of the night, and Finley found senior tight end Brycen Ellisor for the two-point conversion, and the ballgame was tied at 21 two minutes into the second half.

Kingston quickly had another chance, as Coble’s ensuing kickoff caromed off the chest of a Wildcat, and Kingston senior Vinny LaClair recovered the loose ball at the Madill 30. Finley found McKinney for a 14-yard gain, and after Holmes was stopped for no gain on first down, Watson carried the ball to the Madill 10. However, on third-and-four, the play clock was running out on Kingston, and the Redskins called a timeout. During the timeout, in perhaps the most unusual moment of the evening, Madill Head Coach Chad Speer came out on the field and went into a tirade at the officials for reasons that were unclear from the press box. For his trouble, Speer earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and then was ejected from the game. The ill-timed rant gave Kingston a first down at the Madill 3, Watson carried it in from there for his fourth touchdown, and Kingston took its first lead of the game, 28-21 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.

On their next drive, the Wildcats didn’t appear to miss their head coach, as Robertson marched Madill down the field. The Wildcats covered 75 yards on 11 plays, and Robertson took it in himself on another quarterback keeper, this time from 17 yards out, and the game was tied at 28 late in the third quarter.

McKinney mishandled the kickoff this time and was only able to return the kick to the Kingston 8. From there, the Redskins put on the kind of drive Kingston fans have been used to in prior years, with pounding runs chewing up the clock, the only pass play being a 37-yard pass to Ellisor to the Madill 15 to start the fourth quarter. Watson did the rest of the damage from there, carrying the ball five times, finishing the drive off with a one-yard touchdown, his fifth of the game, giving Kingston a 35- 28 lead with 9 minutes left.

Madill nearly had another disastrous kick return, as freshman Eli Vinson had the ball go off his hands, and Kingston sophomore Josh Ellis apparently recovered the loose ball for the Redskins. However, the referees ruled that Madill had recovered the loose ball, and the Wildcats retained possession at their own 13. On Madill’s third play of the drive, the Wildcats looked to be in business, as Gomez took a short pass and broke free for a long run deep into Kingston territory. However, Kingston senior Cole Morgan caught him from behind and forced a fumble that sophomore Sammy McNeil recovered at the Kingston 28. Another unsportsmanlike conduct flag on Madill after the play gave the Redskins the ball on their 43 after the turnover.

With great field position, the Redskins were looking to put the game away, but back-to-back sacks of Finley by sophomore Zeke Rodriguez and then Shaw on second and third downs stalled the drive, and Kingston was forced to punt with less than six minutes left.

On the first play of what would turn out to be their final drive, yet another unsportsmanlike conduct flag on Madill backed the Wildcats up to their own 19, where they faced first-and-24. Robertson promptly picked up a first down with a long pass to junior Stephen Sisco at the Madill 45. Madill drove the ball to the Kingston 30, but the Wildcats then lost 10 yards on back-to-back delay of game and false start penalties. On third-and-eleven from the Kingston 40, Shaw made a leaping catch over the middle, and then rumbled down to the Kingston 11 for a 29-yard gain. Four plays later, Robertson took the ball in on another keeper for his fourth rushing touchdown from a yard out with 40 seconds left.

Trailing 35-34, the Wildcats decided to go for two and try to win the game instead of facing overtime, and Robertson found Sisco in the end zone for the two-point conversion to give Madill a

36-35 lead. With only one timeout left, the Redskins were unable to do anything on a desperate attempt at a final drive, and the Wildcats and their fans celebrated a 36-35 victory.

Finley led all passers with 7 of 11 completions for 140 yards. Watson led all rushers with 153 yards on 25 carries, 5 of them for scores. McKinney was the game’s leading receiver, collecting 69 receiving yards on his 4 catches.

Defensively, sophomore Aiden Donnell led the Redskins with 14 tackles, with junior Damon Rowe chipping in 11 and McNeil, McKinney, and sophomore Rafe Patterson each recording 10. McNeil also recovered a fumble, as did LaClair. However, the Redskins were unable to stop the Madill rushing attack, yielding 285 yards on 38 carries, for a 7.5 yards per carry average, and four touchdowns.

Kingston Head Coach Tommy Bare noted “we are playing well on offense, and at times well on defense. However, you have to play four quarters of solid football in order to have an opportunity to win.”

Kingston (2-4 district, 4-5 overall) is now eliminated from the playoffs. The Redskins finish out their 2021 campaign at home this Friday against the Dickson Comets (1-5, 1-8). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM at Harold ABulldog” Henry Field. This game will also be Senior Night for Kingston; details as to the ceremonies are not available at press time but will undoubtedly occur before the game.

EXTRA POINTS

One takeaway from this game is the outstanding performance from Madill senior Kendall Robertson. Robertson virtually carried his Wildcats to this victory on his back. His final stats had him at 12 for 19 passing for 121 yards and a score, and 17 rushes for 177 yards and four touchdowns; he averaged over 10 yards every time he carried the football. Robertson, more than any other single player on the field, earned this victory for Madill.

Once again, however, this game highlights a key defensive issue for Kingston. The Redskins simply cannot handle a skilled running quarterback, as losses to Sulphur, Pauls Valley and now Madill would attest. On the streaming broadcast, color analyst and former Kingston standout Rylee Holmes noted that it looked to him like the linebackers were slow to react to running plays, especially off a zone-read. That makes sense, especially when you consider how many sophomores play linebacker for this Redskins’ squad. Hopefully, the extensive experience they have gained this year will stand them in good stead in years to come. Kingston simply must improve at this position if the Redskins hope to return to the playoffs in 2022.

Coming into this game, Kingston needed two of three things to happen to remain alive for the playoffs. The Redskins had to win out, and needed either Pauls Valley (4-2, 5-4) to lose to Dickson or Lone Grove (5-1, 6-2) to lose to Little Axe (0-6, 0-8). None of those things happened, as Pauls Valley drilled Dickson 42-14, while Lone Grove routed Little Axe 50-0. Thus, while the loss to Madill would have knocked Kingston out of the playoffs in any event, with the Pauls Valley and Lone Grove victories, both the Redskins and Wildcats were effectively playing for pride in this game.

Around the district, the district championship will come down to the final week. Plainview (5-1, 6-3) defeated Sulphur (5-1, 6-3) 28-12 Friday night. Lone Grove’s win over Little Axe results in a three-way tie atop the standings with only one game to go. Sulphur hosts Lone Grove this weekend, while Plainview travels to Pauls Valley. If Lone Grove wins, then the Longhorns win the district regardless of the other results, as they would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over both Plainview and Sulphur. On the other hand, if Lone Grove loses, and Plainview wins, then Plainview wins the district over Sulphur with the head-to-head tiebreaker. On the other hand, if Sulphur beats Lone Grove, and Pauls Valley beats Plainview, then Sulphur wins the district.

The intensity of this game was obvious, both on the field and in the stands. It drew a huge crowd for both sides and featured great moments such as the two schools’ bands coming together to play the national anthem. As Kingston drops back to 2A and Madill climbs back to 4A next year, this matchup will no longer be dictated by the district schedule, as it has the last two years. One can only hope that the administrations at both Kingston and Madill can agree to keep this rivalry alive as a nondistrict game, for all that it means to those wearing the Redskins’ red and white or the Wildcats’ black and gold.