As the playoffs approach Kentwood continues its first-place run in the South Puget Sound League North football race while the rest of the teams in the division battle it out for the rest of the post-season berths.
Kentwood holds off Auburn Riverside
Though the Ravens held the Conquerors to their lowest offensive output of the season, it proved to be enough Oct. 18 as Kentwood shut out Riverside 24-0.
Chance Kalua-Fuimaono started the scoring off with a 10-yard touchdown run for Kentwood in the first quarter.
Conks quarterback Dane Manio handed off to Dominic Lindstrom who punched it in from six yards out in the second quarter.
Mitchell Cox, who also kicks extra points for Kentwood, hit a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 17-0 after the Conks defense blocked a 34-yard field goal attempt by the Ravens’ Brandon Starks earlier in the period.
Kentwood capped the scoring off with a 25-yard pass from Manio to Terence Grady.
Kentwood takes on Kentlake Thursday at 7 p.m. at French Field.
Kentlake breaks away from Tahoma
By the end of the first half Oct. 19 it looked like the match up for the third spot in the SPSL North between Kentlake and Tahoma was going to be a shootout.
Turns out the Falcons had a blowout in mind instead, as they came from behind in the second quarter to put together a 49-22 victory.
Down 22-14 in the second period with less that five minutes on the clock, Kentlake quarterback Steffin Church threw a 23-yard strike to Marshall Jones after Jordan Laurencio returned the Tahoma punt from midfield to the Bears 25. Church pitched the ball to Nu’u Vaifale who bounced it outside for the two point conversion to tie the game at 22-22.
With less that two minutes left in the first half, the Falcons scored twice, first on a 65-yard Laurencio punt return then with 10.1 seconds left on a 16-yard pass from Church to Caleb Mathena to make it 36-22 Kentlake.
From there, the Falcons never looked back as they tacked on another 13 points in the second half, while the defense held the Bears scoreless from there on out.
Church finished the game 10-for-18 passing with five touchdowns and 229 yards.
Laurencio ran the ball seven times for 163 yards and a touchdown while Mathena ran the ball nine times for 95 yards.
Jones caught four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns while John Morasch hauled in two passes in the second half, both for touchdowns.
Defensively, Vaifale led the Falcons with 12 solo tackles, while Kentlake sacked Tahoma quarterback Shane Nelson five times in the game.
Kentlake takes on Kentwood Thursday at 7 p.m. at French Field.
Tahoma travels to Thomas Jefferson Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Kent-Meridian dismantles Mount Rainier
A 52-6 victory over Mount Rainier Oct. 19 kept Kent-Meridian in the hunt for the fifth playoff spot out of the north, setting up a showdown with Kentridge Friday night.
In the first quarter the Royals scored 14 points then began to run away with the game in the second when they posted 28 points on the board to go up 42-0 at halftime.
Kent-Meridian rolled up 423 of offense, split almost equally between the ground game and in the air, with 206 yards passing and 217 rushing.
Quincy Carter carried the ball 11 times for 91 yards and three touchdowns in addition to going 12-for-14 passing for 206 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Cartez Green pulled in six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown to go along with four carries for 73 yards and a score.
Jaycob Kuhman led the Royals defensively with four tackles and two tackles for a total loss of 24 yards.
With the win, the Royals improved to 3-4 in league play.
Also at 3-4 is Jefferson, which K-M lost to in the third week of the season.
The Royals will need help from the Bears from Tahoma who travel to Federal Way Friday night to take on the Raiders.
K-M will also need to defeat league rival Kentridge, something it hasn’t done since 2005.
The Chargers lost a close game, meanwhile, to the Raiders Oct. 18 as Jefferson pulled out a 12-6 win to hang onto its playoff hopes.
If Kent-Meridian wins and Jefferson loses, the Royals will earn the right to compete in the play-in game against the fifth team out of the SPSL South division. According to Kent-Meridian Coach Brett Allen, if the Royals make the playoffs, it will be their first appearance in 15 years.
