Redskins roar into playoffs with blowout over Marietta

All good things come to an end, and that is as true for football season as it is anything else. This Thursday was the last game of Kingston’s regular season, and on Senior Night, after the seniors were honored, the Redskins hosted the Marietta Indians. Kingston was already locked into third place in the district, and the Redskins were playing solely for pride. Marietta was already eliminated from the playoffs, and all the Indians could accomplish with a win is avoid a last-place finish in the district. However, the Redskins brought their A game, and rolled into the playoffs with a 55-0 victory.

Marietta lost control of the game on the opening drive. Kingston took the opening kick, picked up five yards on an offsides penalty before they could even snap the ball, and then senior Devin Tipton took a jet sweep 48 yards for atouchdownontheRedskins’ first official offensive snap. Just 17 seconds into the game, Kingston led 7-0.

Marietta’s first drive did not have the same success. While the Indians were able to pick up a first down when freshman quarterback Luis Rodriguez picked up 9 yards on a quarterback sneak to convert a fourth down, just two plays later he mishandled a snap and Kingston junior Reid Patterson recovered the loose ball at the 50.

Kingston was unable to do much with the ensuing drive, however, as back-to-back holding penalties in the red zone backed up the Redskins and forced a missed field goal attempt. Marietta then followed up with a three-andout and punted the ball back to Kingston.

Kingston’s third drive started off poorly, with yet another holding penalty backing up the Redskins. However,seniorquarterback Klete Finley picked up 16 yardsonaruntotheMarietta 40, and freshman running back Logan Stephens picked up 14 more to the Indians’ 26. Then, Finley dropped back and found a wide-open Cash Walker who walked in for Kingston’s second score, giving the Redskins at 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The ensuing kickoff just deepened Marietta’s hole. SophomoreCadenErwinhad a good return, bringing the ball out to the Marietta 37, but as he went down Kingston junior Sammy McNiel stripped the ball free, and Tipton recovered the fumble for the Redskins. While Finley was sacked on Kingston’s first play, he promptly found freshman Parks Ratzlaff for a 29-yard reception, and a horsecollar tackle by Marietta moved the ball to first and goal at the 7. Two plays later, from the Marietta 4, Finley took it in for Kingston’s third touchdown, extending the lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter.

The Indians’ offense continued to struggle, and after three plays lined up to punt on fourth-and-ten. However, a bad snap kept Marietta’s Erwin from being able to get off the punt, and Kingston took over on the Marietta 32. This drive, Ratzlaff did nearly all the damage with two receptions, for 22 yards to convert third-and-thirteen, and then for an 11-yard touchdown on third-andeight. After the extra point, it was Kingston 28-0 halfway through the second quarter.

Marietta responded with the Indians’ best drive of the night. Rodriguez struggled with accuracy on his passes, but a pass interference penalty gave Marietta a first down, and then he found senior Easton Ballard wide open for a 34-yard reception to the Kingston 9. However, the Redskins’ defense stiffened, and three plays later Rodriguez’s fourth-down pass was deflected by Tipton and fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs at the Kingston 6.

With 94 yards to go and just 2:36 left in the half, Finley and the offense went to work. While the Redskins initially struggled to move the ball, Finley found Cash Walker for a 56-yard reception, which put Kingston at the Marietta 21 with 22 seconds left. Two plays later, Finley dropped back but was forced from the pocket, and scrambled fifteen yards for anotherKingstontouchdown as time expired. With the extra point, Kingston went into half up 35-0.

The second half was more of the same. After Marietta went three-and-out on the Indians’ first drive of the second half, Kingston’s starters drovebackdownthefieldand Tipton scored from four yards out to make it a 41-0 lead. That brought in Kingston’s reserves, and the backups added a thirty-yard scoring run from backup quarterback Reid Patterson and a 74-yard run for Stephens to end the third quarter, and with a running clock in the fourth quarter, Kingston’s seniors celebrated their last regular-season home game with a 55-0 victory.

Finley was the game’s leading passer, completing 9 of his 11 attempts for 186 yards and two scores. Cash Walker led in receiving yards with 82 yards and a score on his two receptions, while Ratzlaff led in receptions with 3 for 62 yards and the other touchdown. For once, Finley did not lead the team in rushing, as Tipton had 107 yardsandtwotouchdownson his 9 carries and Stephens had 108 yards and a score on his 5 carries. The Redskins’ defense held Marietta to a total of 101 yards on the ground on 34 carries, and the Indians only completed 2 of their 11 passes for 52 yards; Finley had more passing yards than Marietta had in total yards on the night.

Kingston (5-2 in district, 5-5 overall) goes on the road for the first round of the playoffs, traveling to Lindsay (5-2, 7-3) this coming Friday night, The Leopards earned the right to host this game by taking second place in District 2A-3. Kickoff in Lindsay is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

EXTRA POINTS Around the district, Davis (7-0, 9-1) won the district with an undefeated record, after the Wolves beat sixthplace Tishomingo (2-5, 4-6) Friday night. Holdenville (6-1, 9-1) took second place, beating seventh-place Lexington (1-6, 1-9) 44-8. Atoka (4-3, 5-5) secured fourth place and the district’s final playoff spot by beating fifth-place Coalgate(2-5,2-8)41-0.Marietta (1-6, 2-7) finished last in the district, as Lexington had the head-to-head tiebreaker, having won their only game of the season against the Indians. Davis hosts Frederick (5-2, 7-3) Friday night, whileHoldenvillehostsCommunity Christian (5-2, 6-4). Atoka travels to Washington (7-0, 10-0).

It should be obvious to any observer, but the Redskins’ playoff hopes rest on the shoulders of Finley. Kingston’s leading rusher and passer on the season is the engine that makes this offense go. As he has improved this season, the Redskins have become a much tougher team to beat than they were early in the season. He will need another great game Friday night in Lindsay for Kingston to advance to the second round.

Finally, in retrospect, Kingston’s losses seem far more forgivable now than they felt early in the year. While losing their first three games - and losing them badly - was definitely alarming to the Redskins faithful, those losses aren’t so bad now. Both Idabel (6-1, 7-3, 2nd place in District 2A-6) and Hugo (5-2, 7-3, 3rd place in the same district) are in the playoffs this year, as are the two district opponents (Davis and Holdenville) that beat Kingston. The only loss that isn’t going to the playoffs is Madill (2-5, 4-6, 6th place in District 4A-4), and that type of rivalry game is always unpredictable. Overall, it has been a pretty good season for Kingston football, with more yet to come.