Kingston drops Homecoming in Holderville

This past Friday was one of those hallowed fall traditions in Kingston, that of Homecoming. The parade, the floats, the crowning of the King and Queen are all part of the fall experience in southern Oklahoma. This year, with concern about COVID-19 cancellations having waned, Kingston scheduled Homecoming for late in the year as it had generally done in the past. This Friday night, senior quarterback Klete Finley was crowned Homecoming King and senior Kamry Bohanon was crownedHomecomingQueen in a pre-game ceremony.

After all the pageantry, therewasincidentallyagame to play. The Holdenville Wolverines cametotown,andthe winner would take over sole possession of second place in the district and have a leg up hosting a first-round playoff game with two more games to play. The Redskins gave a valiant effort, but ultimately fell short, as the Wolverines left Kingston with a 30-20 win in their pocket.

The opening drives for each team gave no hint of the fireworks to come. Holdenville went three-and-out, gaining zero net yards after two offensive penalties had backed the Wolverines up 10 yards. Kingston’soffensewas marginally better, also going three-and-out, but netting five yards without any penalties. TheWolverinesfollowed up with another three-andout - this time with only one five-yard penalty - and after the punt it seemed that the teams were settling in for a defensive struggle.

However, Kingston’s offense went to work. Junior Delton O’Steen had a big carry, picking up the first offensive first down of the game with a 14-yard run up the middle. Finley found sophomore Cash Walker for a 21-yard gain, and three plays later, Tipton took a jet sweep 15 yards down to the Holdenville 5. However, the next play, Finley lost the handle on the football on a quarterback keeper up the middle, and Holdenville senior Tatum Sanford fell on the loose ball in the end zone for a touchback, ending the promising drive.

As though they had been prompted by the Kingston success, the Wolverines’ offense - a variation of a run-heavy wishbone-type attack - finally got out of its own way and started moving the football. With tough runs by junior quarterback Izaia King, and junior running backs Cy Tiger and Cash Carter, the Wolverines methodically drove the eighty yards down the field, and Tiger took a handoff the final yard for the game’s first score. After Holdenville failed at the two-point conversion, the Wolverines led 6-0 in the second quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, junior kicker William Bowen apparently attempted a unique onside kick (a pop fly that sailed all of 10 yards in the air), Kingston freshman Eli Dougherty gathered in the ball at the 50. With that great field position, the Redskins wasted no time in hitting back. Alternating runs by Finley and Tipton drovedowntotheHoldenville 23, and there Finley found junior Sammy McNiel, who beat double coverage in the end zone to give Kingston its only lead of the game, 7-0 midway through the second quarter.

Holdenville roared right back. After picking up a first down at the Kingston 49, King kept the ball and ran around left end untouched for a 49-yard score. This time the two-point conversion was good, and Holdenville led 14-7.

The Redskins came out after another short kickoff ready to strike back. However, the Wolverines had other plans. The first play of the ensuing drive, Finley looked to pass to the left but noonewashomeexceptHoldenville’s Carter, who took the interception to the house for a 46-yard touchdown on the return. Another two-point conversion gave Holdenville a 22-7 lead.

Kingston looked to make up for this disappointment with a final scoring drive in the half. Finley moved the offense down the field and drove Kingston all the way to the Holdenville 9 with 30 seconds left. However, the next snap was on the ground, backing Kingston up to the 15. Kingston could not dig out of the hole, and on fourth-and-11, Finley’s pass for Tipton in the end zone was too long and incomplete. Holdenville took that 22-7 lead into halftime.

The second half started with another frustrating drive for Kingston. The Redskins marched into Holdenville territory, reaching as far as the Wolverine’s 27, but there the drive went backwards. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the Redskins were stopped on third-and-two backed up the offense and forced a punt.

Holdenville came back out and promptly added to its lead. The drive, highlighted by Carter’s 41-yard run from the Kingston 46 all the way down to the 5, ended when Sandford punched it the rest of the way in from there, and a two-point conversion run by Tiger extended the Holdenville lead to 30-7.

A failed onside kick by Holdenville gave the Redskins’ offense great field position at the Holdenville 47, and new life late in the third quarter. The first play of the drive, Cash Walker gathered in a Finley toss for 24 yards. Two more Tipton runs, plus a pass interference penalty on the Wolverines, moved the ball to the Holdenville 6, and Tipton toted it the rest of the way, scoring Kingston’s second touchdown of the night. After a rare missed extra point from freshman kickerJaimeLewis,Kingston trailed 30-13.

Kingston immediately tried and failed at its own onside kick, but Holdenville could do nothing with the great field position, turning the ball over on downs at the Kingston 45 after four plays. Kingston’s offense immediately responded, helped out by roughing the passer and pass interference penalties on the Wolverines, and the fifth play of the drive saw Tipton scoring his second rushing touchdown of hte night, trimming Holdenville’s lead to 30-20 early in the fourth quarter.

Holdenville’s next drive didn’t score, but perhaps more importantly, it did chew over 5 minutes off the clock, as 7 plays - with one of them repeated three times after both teams exchanged penalties - picked up 29 yards to the Kingston 26, where the Wolverines turned it over on downs again. Kingston took over with :45 left on the clock, down two scores and needing a score, but the offense was unable to deliver. Kingston drove down to the Holdenville 21, but multiple penalties and incomplete passes backed Kingston up to the Wolverines’ 40, and there Kingston turned it back over to Holdenville on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-29 with just over a minute left.

Given yet another gift, Holdenville’s King took the offense on his own shoulders andledanotherscoringdrive. He needed only two carries and an untimely Kingston personal foul to pick up the 60 yards for antoher touchdown, and Holdenville’s lead was now 36-20 with less than a minute remaining.

Kingston high school competed in the 2022 OSSAA XC Regionals Class 3A at Waurika High School on Saturday, October 22. Senior Brycen Ward placed second over-all in the 5K run with a finish of 17:43. Andrew Backentoes came in second for the Redskin team with a timeof21:42,DamonRowein at 23:03 with Dawson Holder closely behind at 23:40 and Keller Idleman finishing this weekend with 26:30. Leading for the girls' team in the two-mile run and placing twenty-fourth over-all was Emily Backentoes with a time of 15:08. Coming in second for the Lady Redskins was Tabitha Arnold at 15:43, KamryBohannonwith16:05, Emily Bellettini finishing at 16:18, Paytyn Short quickly behind her at 16:50, Mia Moore with 17:09 and Elley Holder with a 17:13 time finish. Both Brycen Ward and FreshmanEmilyBackentoes qualified for the State Meet in Edmond Santa FE, Oklahoma on October 29th.