Kingston slides in a win to open district season

After a winless nonconference schedule, the Kingston Redskins opened their district schedule at home against the Atoka Wampus Cats. The Wampus Cats had also struggled in their nonconferenceschedule,with big losses to Class A Ringling and 2A Lindsay, but had won their final game against 2A Antlers, 36-22. After a backand- forth struggle in the September 23 game, the Redskins finally won their first game of 2022 in a dramatic 24-21 finish.

Kingston’s first possession showed promise, as the Redskins overcame a holding penalty that backed them up to 1 st-and-24 after their first play, converting on third down to keep the drive alive. However, three plays later, the offense had bogged down, and Kingston was forced to punt.

TheWampusCats’offense was initially derailed by selfinflicted problems. After losing a net one yard after their first two plays, sophomore quarterback Peyton Pugh hit senior Jace Jackson for an apparent81-yardtouchdown. However, an illegal shift cancelled the big play, and Atoka punted the ball away deep in their own territory two plays later.

The punt gave Kingston great field position at the Atoka 45,andseniorquarterback Klete Finley went to work. The Redskins converted a fourth-and-two to keep the drive alive on Finley’s fourth straight quarterback keeper, but then the offense stalled again. Finley’s fifth straight keeper picked up only a yard to the Atoka 31, then his second-down pass to Tipton fell incomplete. On third down, Kingston’s coaching staff pulled out a trick play, and sophomore Eli Oliger attempted a wide-receiver pass which also fell incomplete. Finley’s fourth down attempt also was incomplete, and the Redskins turned it over on downs at the Atoka 31.

The Wampus Cats and Redskins finished out the first quarter in futility, as both offensive units went three-and-out to close out the period. Kingston’s Delton O’Steen punted for 49 yards on the first play of the second quarter, pinning Atoka deep at their own 17.

As has happened so often to the Redskins this season, the change to the second quarter energized their opponents. Atoka’s offense suddenly came alive, converting on third-and-17 and thirdand-12 to keep the chains moving. On third-and-five from the Kingston 20, senior fullback Sean Allen capped off the 9-play, 83-yard drive with the game’s first score, putting the Wampus Cats up 7-0.

Unlike their prior games, however, the Redskins managed to get their offense started as well. Senior running backDevinTiptonfound some daylight, and on the drive’s third play secured a handoff that threatened to get away from him and then scooted right for a 39-yard gain to the Atoka 13. Two plays later, Finley found O’Steen for a 13-yard touchdown pass, and the Redskins had tied the score at 7 with five minutes left in the first half.

Atoka’s offense responded. Jacksonwasinsertedatquarterback, and he exploded for 58 yards to the Kingston 10 on a quarterback keeper on the second play of the drive. Despite an illegal procedure penalty that cancelled senior Tyrell Hill’s run for a touchdown on the ensuing play, the Wampus Cats finally scored when Allen took a fullback diveandplowedinfromseven yards out, giving Atoka a 14-7 lead with just over two minutes left in the half.

Kingston’s hopes for a score to end the half got a big shot in the arm when Finley received the short Atoka kickoff and fought through tacklers to the Atoka 42 to open the drive. Runs by Finley and Tipton ground down the field to the Atoka 19, and on fourth-and-five from the Atoka 19, with time running out, Finley hit McNiel for his second touchdown pass of the night to tie the game at 14.

As they opened the second half with the football, the Wampus Cats picked up an initial first down as Jackson, lined up again at quarterback, gained 11 yards on their first play on a keeper. However, the offense stalled, and on third down Atoka brought Pugh back in at quarterback, but he then flipped to Jackson for a halfback pass. Tipton picked off the errant throw at the goal line, ending the Atoka threat. However, Kingston’s offense stalled again after an initial first down, and the Redskins were punting again.

Taking over at their own 30, the Wampus Cats started driving again behind Pugh at quarterback. Pugh hit Jackson for a 25-yard gain early in the drive, and then followed that up with a 28-yarder to senior Andrew McCall to the Kingston 13. Four plays later, Pugh took a quarterback sneak into the end zone from two yards out, to give Atoka a 21-14 lead with 3:31 left in the third quarter.

It was the Redskins’ turn to be pinned deep when Finley misplayed the ensuing kickoff and was only able to return it to his own 6. Kingston was able to put together a 9-play drive that pushed deep into Atoka territory. However, the drive stalled at the Atoka 30, and there Kingston turned it over on downs when Finley’s pass on fourth-and-11 fell incomplete to start the fourth quarter.

Opening the fourth quarter with the football, the Wampus Cats started off going backwards. After Jackson picked up an initial first down with a ten-yard carry, Atoka then lost ten yards on the next play with an illegal-block penalty. Kingston junior Aiden Donnell recorded an eight-yard loss with a sack, and then Jackson lost 12 yards on a quarterback keeper when he kept running backwards and finding only Redskins. This led to an Atoka punt from their own 10 on fourthand- 40, and Kingston got the ball back with great field position when McCall’s punt went out of bounds at the Atoka 40.

Down 7 points and needing a drive, Finley put one together for the Redskins. He hit Oliger for a 26-yard gain to the Atoka 14, and then three plays later fought through Wampus Cats for a ten-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper to even the score at 21, with 8 minutes left in the game.

Atoka took over at their own 14 on the next drive, and looked to retake the lead. Pugh led the Wampus Cats to the Kingston 22 in eight plays, but there the wheels came off. Junior Tallen Barrett took a pitch around right end but Kingston freshman Reid Patterson stripped him of the football, and O’Steen recovered to end the Atoka threat.

Takingoverattheirown22 with a chance to take a lead, Kingston’s offense ground to a halt. The Redskins went three-and-out, and Atoka’s Jackson returned the ensuing punt to the Kingston 22, but another ill-timed Atoka penalty pushed the Wampus Cats back to their own 49 with 45 seconds remaining in regulation.

Atoka’s coaching staff was not interested in overtime, and Pugh dropped back to pass on first down and aired it out down the left sideline, looking for sophomore Ayden Middleton. However, he only found Kingston’s Tipton, who returned his second interception to the Kingston 43. Penalties on both teams - a holding on Kingston during the return, and a late hit after the play by Atoka - moved the ball to the Kingston 48 with 32 seconds left.

Fighting for one last chance at a win during regulation, Finley initially struggled, throwing three straight incompletions to open the drive. However, the third drew a defensive pass interference flag on Atoka and kept Kingston’s drive alive. Finley then hit Oliger over the middle at the Atoka 25 with 23 seconds left. Runs by Tipton and Finley pushed the ball to the Atoka 17, and Kingston called its last timeout with 3 seconds left. Freshman kicker Jaime Lewis drove the ball through the uprights from 35 yards out at the final gun, and the celebration was on as Kingston celebrated its first win of the season, 24-21.

Finley led the Redskins in passing, completing 6 of his 13 attempts for 88 yards and two scores, with no interceptions. While Atoka’s Pugh led all passers with 91 yards on his 3 of 5 passing, healsothrewtheinterception that set up Kingston’s gamewinning drive. Tipton led all rushers with 131 yard on 12 rushing attempts. Atoka’s McCall led all receivers, picking up 56 yards on his two catches. Defensively, Tipton added to his highlight reel, picking off two Atoka passes (one from each quarterback), and the Redskins also forced a fumble, while avoiding turnovers of their own on the night.

Next Friday, the Redskins (1-0 in district play, 1-3 overall) travel to Coalgate (0-1, 0-4) to face the Wildcats, who are coming off a 32-28 loss at Marietta. Kickoff in Coalgate is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

EXTRA POINTS Kingston’s win was not only the Redskins’ first win of the season, but Lewis’s kick sailing through the uprights gave the Redskins their first lead of the season. The next step of course is to actually lead during the game.

Atoka made plenty of mistakes which kept the Wampus Cats from winning. At least two Atoka scores were called back because of penalties, and Atoka’s turnovers led directly to Kingston’s opportunity to retrieve a victory Friday night. While the Redskins deserve plenty of credit for causing those mistakes, and for exploiting the opportunities they provided, they cannot depend on their opponents being so accommodatingastheseason wears on.

Kingston’s offense continues to give signs of life. While there was plenty of futility, Finley was occasionally able to hit receivers when it mattered the most; both of his first-half completions were for touchdowns. The biggest issue the offense has is consistency; Kingston cannot consistently move the football, and that hampers the Redskins when it comes to putting points on the board.

It was gratifying to see Devin Tipton finally break loosethisseason. He’salways appeared to have the tools to be a fast, shifty runner, but this game he was able to actually show off those moves and record long runs of 39 and 48 yards. If he can carry enough of the rushing load (without it all falling on Finley), this offense will clearly function better, and that can only be good news for Kingston.

Finally, after years of ineffective placekicking, freshman Jaime Lewis appears to have solved that problem for years to come. His 35-yard game-winner would’ve been good from 45, and that is an incredible kick for a high school kicker. Kingston’s coaching staff clearly has faith in him, as the final drive turned into a setup for that kick, and now we can all see why.