The dust settled on the South Puget Sound League North football playoff picture: Kentlake is No. 1, Kentwood is No. 2, Tahoma is No. 3 and Kentridge plays Curtis Tuesday in a pig-tail game | Prep Sports

Published 12:43 pm Monday, October 31, 2011

As the dust settled on the gridiron at the end of the night on Oct. 28 the South Puget Sound League North Division playoff picture became clear.

One thing was certain at the start of the night: Kentlake would be the No. 1 seed out of the North as it beat Kent-Meridian 47-3 on Oct. 27 to complete its first undefeated regular season since 1998.

Tahoma and Kentwood were both assured of playoff berths. It just wasn’t clear which seeds they would get.The Bears were assured no less than the three seed with a 48-17 victory over the Rams of Mount Rainier on the road on Oct. 27, finishing the season at 6-2 in the SPSL North, a dramatic improvement over the 2010 season.

The last time Tahoma went to the playoffs was 2008, according to head coach Tony Davis.

“Getting to the playoffs is an important step for us,” Davis wrote in an email. “Our group of seniors has been through a lot.They have met the expectations we have set and have been great representatives of our program on and off the field. The contributions of a strong sophomore class have also been important to the team.”

It was all settled, though, with the matchups between Kentwood and Kentridge as well as Auburn versus Auburn Riverside.

Mitchell Cox scored the winning field goal for the Conquerors (6-2, 7-2) with less than two minutes left in the game, putting them up 23-22 after they had trailed 22-7 at halftime to the Chargers.

Kentwood Head Coach Rex Norris said much could be taken away from the come-from-behind victory over Kentridge.

“We learned that we are resilient,” wrote Norris in an email interview. “We learned that we can  make adjustments with input from everyone. Some of our defensive adjustments were suggested by the defensive linemen. We are not big but we are a tough team.”

Meanwhile, Auburn Riverside beat Auburn 30-23, helping Kentridge earned the No. 5 seed and a spot in a pigtail game against Curtis Tuesday night after the Reporter’s deadline.

If Kentridge wins, it will take on Kingco No. 1 Woodinville at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Pop Keeney in Bothell.

With the win, the Conks earned the No. 2 seed out of the North thanks to its win over Tahoma earlier in the season, setting up a game at 7 p.m. Saturday against Gig Harbor at French Field which put Tahoma at the No. 3 spot with a game on the road Saturday against Union High.

Kentlake will host Mariner at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at French Field.