Utilizingadominanteffort in all three phases of the game, Kingston cruised to its second straight Class 2A opening round playoff win last week with a 41-6 gridiron thumping of Sperry.
Now 10-1 on the season and thanks to their district championship, the Redskins earnedahomedateFridayfor aTop10stateshowdownwith Marlow for a trip to their first state semifinal since 2019.
“The kids came out fired up ready to play,” said head coach Brad Hill. “Our crowd was awesome and definitely gave us an advantage. It was such a great atmosphere. I felt like we controlled the pace of the game, and our defense did a great job controlling Sperry and scored as well with a pick six in the second half.
“We played really well in all areas and a lot of kids had the chance to get in and play in a playoff game. Our younger kids got some game reps and that only helps the program going forward. It wasreallygoodtogetasmany kids in the game as we did.”
After forcing a Sperry punt on the game’s opening possession,theRedskinstook over at their own two-yard line and proceeded to set the tone of the game with a 98-yard scoring march that culminated with a 27-yard touchdown toss from Reid Patterson to Blake Wise. Jaime Lewis’ extra point made it 7-0.
Kingston’s second drive was almost a carbon copy, covering 79 yards with Hudson Everhart hitting paydirt from 19 yards out less than two minutes into the second period.
TheRedskinswerestopped on downs at the visitors’ one yard line following a Sam Walker fumble recovery, but the defense quickly got the ball back. Patterson capped that 35-yard scoring march with a three-yard burst to make it 20-0 at intermission.
Hill’s troops immediately added to the lead on the first possession of the third frame when Patterson hit a wide-open Sam Walker for a 43-yard touchdown. Three minutes later they were in the end zone once more with an Everhart interception and nifty 57-yard return for the score.
Kingston’s final score cameona31-yardtouchdown run by Ethan Mowles on the firstplayofthefourthquarter tomakeitacommanding41-0 advantage.
Patterson had a strong game through the air, connecting on 14 of 20 passes for 241 yards. Eli Oliger was the leading receiver with six grabs for 81 yards. Sam Walker added three for 69 with Cash Walker catching two for 49 and Wise tossing in three receptions for 42 yards.
On the ground, Patterson was also the leading rusher with 72 yards on 12 carries. Everhart chipped in nine rushes for 55 yards with Mowles carrying three times for38yardsandCashWalker picking up 28 yards on one attempt.
With the first playoff triumph out of the way, the Redskins now focus on Marlow, whose only district loss came in overtime to top-ranked Washington five weeks ago.
“They are the best team we’ve played up to this point,” Coach Hill said of the Outlaws. “They are very physical and present a lot of fronts and coverages. They are an extremely talented football team that will be well coached. It should be a really good football game and it’s going to take a great effort.
“Everybody left in the quarterfinals is good enough to win it all. All teams left are either district champs or runner-up. Every game from here we have to play our best. Winningthedistrictprovided us with this opportunity to play at home and in front of our hometown with a chance to go to the state semifinals. We are excited about the opportunity.”