Madill wins Marshall County Super Bowl

The 2022 football season is new in Kingston, with a new coach, new faces in the lineup, and a new offense and defense. Not only are the Redskins adapting to the all the new stuff, they are also trying to bounce back from a disappointing 2021.

However, with all this new, the Redskins opened their season on August 27 against a familiar opponent, making the short drive to Madill to face the Wildcats for the Marshall County Super Bowl. In front of a packed house at Blake Smiley Stadium, the young Redskins started off strong, but the Wildcats ultimately overpowered them, handing Kingston a 43-16 defeat to start the 2022 season.

Kingston won the toss and deferred, so the Redskins kicked off to the Wildcats to open the game. Three plays into the opening drive, Madill’s senior quarterback Tyler Rushing dropped back on third-and-six from his own 41. However, as he rolled right, he lost the handle on the football, and Kingston junior defensive end Delton O’Steen recovered for the turnover at the Madill 28.

In business early at the Madill 28, Kingston was unable to capitalize. The Redskins could only gain a net three yards in four plays and turned the ball over on downs at the Madill 25.

Madill struggled again, however,asaflagandatackle for loss by junior defensive end Aiden Donnell pushed the Wildcats backward. A poor punt by senior Stephen Sisco added insult to injury, and Kingston started its next drive at the Madill 40.

The Redskins started off looking like they’d figured things out on offense. On their second play, senior quarterback Klete Finley took a quarterback keeper up the middle then cut left andwasfinallybroughtdown at the Madill 17. Four plays later, an untimely offsides penalty by the Wildcats gave the Redskins a first-and-goal at the Madill 4.

A false start and tackle for loss forced Kingston backwards, but on third down, junior wideout Delton O’Steen got behind the Wildcat defense. Then, Finley overthrew the pass and the Redskins settled for a field goal attempt.

That attempt turned to disaster, however, as the right side of the Kingston line collapsed. Madill junior Derrick Adams-King swooped in and blocked the field goal and recovered the loose ball to end Kingston’s scoring threat.

Perhaps inspired by the big play on special teams, the Wildcatsoffensestartedmoving the football. Adams-King picked up the first Wildcats first down on a jet sweep out to the Madill 28.

Rushingthenfoundsenior Yovanny Robles for another first down on a slant. Four plays later, however, Madill bogged down again, and on fourth-and-one at the Kingston 49. Senior running back Holden McGahey could not evade Donnell in the backfield and was tacked for a loss at midfield, turning the ball over on downs to the Redskins.

Blessed with great field position once again as the first quarter came to an end, the Redskins still could not capitalize. This time, a run by Finley for no gain and two incomplete passes left the Redskins punting on fourthand- ten, and Madill got the ball back at its own 24 early in the second quarter.

With the change in quarters, however, came a change in performance by the Wildcats. Looking like a different team than the one that had bumbled around in the first quarter, Madill’s offense marched crisply down the field, highlighted by a 35-yard catch-and-run by Sisco that reached the Kingston 29. Covering 76 yards in nine plays, the Wildcats opened the scoring with a four-yard McGahey run to give Madill a 7-0 lead halfway through the quarter.

Down for the first time in the game, the Redskins were clearly off their game. Calling two timeouts before each of their next two plays, Kingston’s offense clearly had trouble getting it together.

It went from bad to worse

Holden McGahey, Aden Yanez, Derrick Adams-King, Anthony Rios and Tyce Pruitt hold the trophy after winning the Marshall County Super Bowl.

as Finley threw into coverage in the middle of the field and Madill’s Robles picked it off. Madill’s offense promptly capitalized, as the first play of the ensuing drive saw Rushing hitAdams-Kingdownthe right sideline for a 42-yard score, giving the Wildcats a 14-0 lead.

Kingston’s offense responded with another disastrous drive. Three plays netted a five-yard loss, and Kingston lined up to punt from its own 14. However, as O’Steen lined up to punt, senior Damon Rowe’s snap sailed impossibly far over his head and out the back of the end zone for a safety, extending Madill’s lead to 16-0.

On the ensuing free kick, Sisco had a big return down to the Kingston 37. From there, the Wildcats only needed one play. Robles ran past the Kingston coverage and Rushing hit him for the third Madill score of the second quarter, and a two-point conversation pushed Madill’s lead out to 24-0 with just under five minutes left in the first half. Neither team could makemuchgroundtherestof the half, and Kingston went into the locker room down 24-0 at half.

Afterhalftime,itwasmore of the same. Kingston went three-and-outtoopenthehalf and punted the ball back to Madill. Taking over at their own 26, the Wildcats needed only four plays to reach pay dirt again. Rushing found Sisco behind the Redskins’ defense for a 48-yard touchdown pass, and Madill led 30-0.

AfterKingstonwentthreeand- out again, it looked like it would be more of the same, and the Redskins punted again. However, Kingston’s Finley forced Madill’s Adams-King to fumble on the return and Kingston freshman Reid Patterson recovered at the Madill 27.

The turnover sparked the Redskins, as four plays later Tipton took a handoff 15 yards to score Kingston’s first points of the season. Finley’s run for two points trimmed Madill’s lead to 30-8.

Kingston’s defense came back to life after the score. Three plays after the ensuing kick, Rushing dropped back to pass on third-and-ten but O’Steen hit him as he threw, and the errant pass was picked off by Tipton for another turnover.

The return plus a personal foul penalty on Madill gave Kingston the ball on the Madill 35, and the Redskins looked ready to make a game of it. However, the offense went nowhere, and on third-and-nine Adams-King picked off Finley’s pass to end the threat. Three plays later, McGahey went up the middle untouched for a 60-yard touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 36-8 lead late in the third quarter.

With that score, it was all over but the shouting. Madill and Kingston traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats celebrated with the Marshall County Super Bowl trophy with a 43-16 win.

Kingston’s Finley had a terrible night passing, completing only six of his 23 attempts for 79 yards and three interceptions, with no scores. Madill’s Rushing, on the other hand, completed eight of his 17 attempts for 206 yards and three scores, with one pick.

Finley did make up some ground with his legs, leading the Redskins in rushing with 83 yards on 17 attempts and ascore,butMadill’sMcGahey led all rushers with 140 yards on 19 carries and two scores.

Madill had three different receivers with multi-catch nights and scores, Robles, Sisco and Adams-King, while onlyoneKingstonplayer,Damon Rowe, had two catches, and only gained 13 yards. Robles shone defensively, picking off Finley twice. Kingston’s Donnell was a rare bright spot on defense with multiple tackles for loss and the game’s only sack, while Tipton had the Redskins’ sole interception on the night.

Kingston Head Coach Brad Hill took the blame for the loss in his Redskins debut. He cited “poor play calls” as costing Kingston during those early first-quarter opportunities, but noted that his defense had played hard at the start. However, they were “tired and banged up and overwhelmed” in the second quarter, and that made the difference against “a good football team” in the Wildcats. Coach Hill said he is looking for his young team to improve as the Redskins move through their nonconference schedule.

Kingston hosts its home opener next Friday night against the Idabel Warriors for their season opener. Kingston defeated the Warriors 16-7 in Idabel last season, but the Redskins will have to work for their first win of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Harold “Bulldog” Henry Stadium.

EXTRA POINTS It may be a new offense, but it hardly looks improved. Finley’s passing performance in particular was dismal. He frequently threw into heavy coverage, and just could not connect with his receivers repeatedly. By comparison, he threw six interceptions all of 2021 - he threw half that number Friday night. Coach Hill was quick to take the blame on himself, stating that he didn’t get his team ready for the game, but something needs to change, or it will be a long season for the Redskins.

Defensively, the Redskins initially looked in control of the game. But that all changed in the second quarter, when Rushing starting bombing away. Kingston’s defensive backs were beaten time and again on deep routes, and if that doesn’t get fixed, then the offense had better turn it on in a big way.

The third failure Friday night was special teams. It’s unclear what’s wrong, but something awful is going on in the right side of the line on field goals. Madill rushers just blew by the line to easily block both Kingston attempts. And the less said about the punt attempt that led to the safety the better. Once again, if the offense is goingtosputter,theRedskins simply cannot waste scoring chances or dig themselves a hole with special team’s mistakes.

Now for the good news. These young Redskins never quit and kept fighting the entire game. While the results didn’t show up on the scoreboard, if they can limit their mistakes and keep that positive attitude, this team can win some games. And if they improve the way Coach Hill hopes they will, they may very well wind up being dangerous come playoff time. It’s certainly premature to bury them based on their performance Friday night.