Fresh off a huge 35-7 win over rival Madill in the Annual Marshall County Super Bowl, Kingston faces an even bigger assignment this Friday with two-time defending statechampFairviewcoming to town for the Redskins’ home opener.
Fairview, which has won the past two Class A state crowns with undefeated seasons, rolls in riding a massive 31-gamewinningstreak.The Yellowjackets also have one of the most acclaimed senior quarterbacks in the state with Jax Bernard.
Bernard has been the signal caller for Fairview since hewasafreshmanandsports a phenomenal 42-1 record and over 10,000 yards in total offense as a starter. That includes a 35-7 thumping last week of an Alva squad that knocked Kingston out of the playoffs a year ago.
“They are definitely a really good football team that is extremely well coached,” RedskinheadcoachBradHill said. “You don’t just win 31 games in a row by accident, no matter what class you are in. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the state, regardless of class. Maybe the best we see all year long. We’re always looking for a good non-district test and this is definitely that. It could also very well be the first time we have ever played them in football, which is kind of neat.
“It should be a fun game. They are going to test you everywhere with their athleticism. They won the sprint relay state championship last spring and have speed all over the field. Their receivers are talented, they bring a lot of pressure with their defense and make dynamic playswiththeirspecialteams as well. This will give us a great indication of where we stand. We are going to have to play four solid quarters to win because its going to be a fight all the way.”
The Redskins got off to a solid start to the season with last week’s 35-7 victory but didn’t really break things open against Madill until after intermission.
Reid Patterson hit Eli Oliger with a 20-yard scoring strike for an opening quartertouchdownandBlake Wise chipped in a nine-yard touchdownrunthreeminutes into the second. That proved to be enough for a slim 13-7 halftime lead following a defensive stand late in the half.
Two scoring drives in just over four minutes of the third periodmadeitacommanding advantage and the Redskins wereabletocruisehomefrom there.
Patterson notched the first score on a nifty 42-yard scamper and Parks Ratzlaff added the second with a twoyard plunge.
Kingston finished off the scoring with Sam Walker’s five-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter as the Redskin defense put the clamps on, limiting Madill to 235 yards of total offense for the game.
Throughtheair,Patterson completed 11 of 17 for 175 yards with Oliger snagging five of those passes for 99 yards. Patterson was also the team’s leading rusher with 78 yards on eight carries as Ratzlaff tallied 54 on 11 attempts.
“I thought we came out motivated in the second half and calmed down a little after an emotional first half,” Hill commented. “We talked through some things and made some adjustments. We came out with a lot of energy and played a lot better. We came out and ran the ball well and once we had a little breathing room the kids kind of relaxed.
“We did a good job of being multi-dimensional offensively with five touchdowns from five different players. Defensive coordinator Ray Richards and our defensive staff came up with a great game plan and played really well all night.”