Kingston Roars Into District Play, Blows Out Plainview

Friday night saw Kingston opening district play, hosting the Plainview Indians. Kingston came into the game 3-0, having dispatched three 2A opponents with relative ease, but with questions about how well the Redskins would adjust to the level of competition their first year in Class 3A. The Indians promised to be the kind of test that would answer many of those questions. While Plainview was winless coming into the game, the Indians had played two 4A opponents and the Pilot Point (Texas) Bears, and after their huge 2019 season that saw them losing in the 3A state title game, the Indians were picked to repeat as district champs this year. This Friday, however, while Plainview put up a struggle early, Kingston dominated the second half, and answered many questions about how well the Redskins would play in Class 3A with a 49-14 whipping.

The Indians came out early punching hard. On Plainview’s third play from scrimmage, on third-and-ten, sophomore quarterback Morgan Pearson escaped from a near-sack and his wobbly pass connected with junior wideout Dax Price, who had slipped behind the defense and found himself all alone for a 65-yard touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, Plainview led 8-0 early in the first quarter.

Kingston’ offense went to work with a methodical drive. The Redskins took 15 plays to drive 45 yards, but the drive stalled at the Plainview 19 with three straight incomplete passes, and Kingston turned it over on downs. Kingston’s defense was ready this time, however. A low snap and tackle for loss gave the Indians a third-and-fifteen from their own 34, and Pearson’s pass intended for Price was badly overthrown and Kingston senior Jarron “Boomer” Morgan picked off the pass and returned it for an apparent touchdown, but a personal foul penalty during the return brought it back to the Kingston 40, where the offense took over.

Kingston’s offense came back with another methodical, pounding drive, featuring several tough runs by junior running back Brandon Watson, who opened the drive taking a pitch for 16 yards into Plainview territory. Moving the ball entirely on the ground, the Redskins took 11 plays and nearly six minutes of game time to cover 60 yards, and senior quarterback Jase Hayes punched into the end zone with a quarterback sneak. Senior tight end Matthew Hawkins caught Hayes’ pass for the two-point conversion, and the score was knotted at 8-8 early in the second quarter.

Plainview was not done, however. Plainview’s first play was a 52-yard run by senior Hunter Young that went all the way to the Kingston 12, but was called back on an illegal shift penalty.

The next play, Pearson hit a streaking junior Jeston Gilliam for a 44-yard completion to the Kingston 25. Four plays later, Young took a third-down carry up the middle for a fouryard touchdown, but Hayes blitzed on the conversion attempt and took Young down in the backfield to hold the score to 14-8, Plainview.

Kingston’s offense quickly responded. The third play of the drive, on third-and-four from midfield, Hayes hit Hawkins on a play-action pass that he carried to the Plainview 31.

Two plays later, senior fullback Matthew Flesher took the ball up the gut for a 28-yard touchdown, and the extra point kick gave the Redskins their first lead of the game late in the first half, 15-14.

With three minutes left in the half, Plainview took over at its own 48, and looked to add more points. Plainview drove all the way to the Kingston 29, but then disaster struck the Indians’ offense. On third-and-eight, Pearson faced pressure and scrambled back and to his right where he ran into Hawkins, whose hit forced the ball loose.

The fumble was then recovered by senior defensive lineman Jesse Rose at the Plainview 47. While Kingston was unable to score in the 21 seconds remaining when the Redskins recovered the ball, the Plainview miscue foreshadowed how the second half would go.

The third quarter was all Kingston. The Redskins took the opening kick and pounded the ball mostly with Watson and Flesher down to the Plainview 20.

A play-action pass to junior wideout Hayden McKinney moved the ball to the Plainview 3, and Hayes took it in from there on a quarterback keeper, expanding Kingston’s lead to 22-14.

Trying to recover momentum, Plainview’s Pearson instead committed a series of errors, which gave Kingston control of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Pearson, back to return, fumbled when hit by “Boomer” Morgan, and Kingston junior Cole Morgan recovered the ball in the end zone to make it a 29-14 Kingston lead.

Three plays later, Pearson made another mistake, as his overthrown pass was picked off by Kingston senior Colton Robinson, putting the Redskins back in business at the Plainview 37.

A steady diet of pounding runs by Watson softened up the Indians, and then on fourth-and-five from the Plainview 6 a pitch to Watson turned into a reverse to “Boomer” Morgan who scored to extend Kingston’s lead to 35-14.

Three plays into the next drive, Pearson dropped back to pass on third down, rolling right under pressure, and threw a desperate pass as the Kingston rush closed in. He had overlooked Kingston’s linebackers, however, and his errant pass went straight to Kingston junior Grant Holmes, who took the ball to the house, 38 yards away, and Kingston was now up by four scores, 42-14.

Kingston’s starters added one more score, with Hayes finding Hawkins on a playaction pass for a 78-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and then Kingston=s reserves brought the game home with a 49-14 victory.

Hayes led the Redskins passing, completing seven of his eleven attempts for 142 yards and a touchdown, adding two more touchdowns on the ground. Watson led all rushers with 112 yards on 21 carries. Hawkins led all receivers with 111 yards on five receptions and a touchdown.

Defensively, Kingston senior linebacker Bryant Watts, playing with his broken right hand in a cast, led the Redskins with 8 tackles. Kingston’s defense surrendered 172 total yards, but forced five turnovers, including turnovers on four consecutive drives between the end of the second quarter and the end of the third quarter, when the game turned decisively in Kingston’s favor.

Kingston Head Coach Tommy Bare enthused about how his team “scored in all three phases of the game, which is outstanding.” He credited his coaches, who “did a great job of making adjustments” during the game, and his players who carried them out.

Overall, he was pleased with being able to come out of the game healthy after “a great win to start district play.”

Kingston (1-0 in district play, 4-0 overall) takes its undefeated record on the road next week to face the Lone Grove Longhorns (1-0, 3-1), who are coming off a 47-7 thrashing of Pauls Valley (0- 1, 2-2). Kickoff in Lone Grove is scheduled for 7:00 Friday night.

EXTRA POINTS

Kingston and Lone Grove are not the only teams in District 3A-2 who blew out their opponents this last week; the Sulphur Bulldogs (1-0, 2-2) demolished the winless Little Axe Indians (0-1, 0-3) 63-0. Madill (1-0, 2-2) was the other winner in district play, ruining Homecoming for Dickson (0-1, 0-4) with a 24-14 victory.

Plainview (0-1, 0-4) is plainly not the team that went to the state championship game last year. A glance at the roster reveals only five seniors on the team, and the Indians clearly need their younger players to step up.

Chief among those is Pearson, their sophomore quarterback. He is clearly the best athlete on the team, but his repeated mental errors - four turnovers on four consecutive drives - put Plainview in a hole the Indians could not climb out of. He must improve his ability to take care of the football for the Indians to have any kind of success this season.

One matter of interest to football nerds is the decision by a team that wins the toss to receive the opening kick or defer that decision to the second half. While once coaches almost universally chose to receive (and thus, in theory, get one more drive for their offense), the modern consensus is to defer, thus giving your offense the ball to open the second half.

The impact of this decision could be seen in this game. Plainview won the toss, and chose to receive the opening kick, which the Indians turned into an early eight-point lead. However, when Kingston came out for the third quarter already up 15-14, the Redskins drove down and scored again to extend their lead to 22-14, putting them in charge of the game.

The pressure this placed on Plainview’s offense to get the Indians back into the game undoubtedly contributed to the flurry of turnovers as the Indians pressed - and fell further behind - as the third quarter went on.

To be clear, it is unlikely that the decision not to defer changed the outcome of the game; however, it had an undeniable impact and led, in part, to Kingston=s ability to rout Plainview in the third quarter.

During the game, there were a couple of reminders of just how tenuous life is during 2020. First, it was reported on social media during the game that Oklahoma City public schools were halting all fall athletics, including football, beginning Monday due to COVID-19.

Putnam City and Millwood have since followed suit. So far, Kingston has avoided a similar halt, but one wonders just how long our good luck will hold.

More importantly, there was an announcement at halftime that Kingston assistant coach Jared Hayes, a 2013 Kingston graduate, has been diagnosed with cancer.

What a powerful reminder for all of us to treasure every moment we have with our families. The entire Kingston community will be keeping the Hayes family in their thoughts and prayers.