Change can be a good thing.
That was never more evident than Friday night at French Field, where the new-look Kentlake High football team delivered its biggest win since 2003.
Behind an up-tempo offense that was led by the new faces of quarterbacks Caleb Saulo and Breton Medina along with brothers Stephon and Nuu Vaifale in the backfield, the Falcons ripped Kentridge 30-14 in a South Puget Sound League North Division showdown.
The Vaifale brothers combined for 194 yards and two rushing touchdowns (Stephon raced for 94 of those yards while younger brother Nuu added 100 more). Meanwhile, Saulo threw for 49 yards and added 55 on the ground, including a 1-yard touchdown run. Capping the night off was Medina, who relieved Saulo late in the second quarter and proceeded to throw two touchdowns to ice the victory.
It’s the first time since 2003 that Kentlake (2-0) has beaten Kentridge (0-2).
“I don’t want to make anything too big out of a win or a loss, but that sort of changes the balance of powers I think in this league,” said first-year Kentlake coach Chris Paulson, who was at Mount Rainier a year ago. “I’m so excited for our kids to get a win like that.”
Saulo and the Vaifale brothers all played at Mount Rainier last season. Medina is an out-of-state transfer, who showed plenty of tools Friday night despite being listed as the team’s backup quarterback.
“It’s kind of a weird deal how they really ended up here with Caleb moving over here before I even got the job,” Paulson said.
The Falcons were the beneficiaries of seven Kentridge turnovers, four of which led to 24 Kentlake points.
“They did a nice job tonight. I tip my hat to them,” said Kentridge coach Marty Osborn. “They played hard, took advantage of our mistakes and they won the game. They just executed tonight and beat us.”
Indeed the Falcons did execute. In fact, Kentlake’s no-huddle offense left the Kentridge defense little time to get set. In the first half, that quick tempo delivered big dividends.
Kentridge’s first turnover — a fumble at the 7:09 mark in the first quarter — led to a 1-yard touchdown run from Saulo, giving the Falcons an instant 6-0 lead. Moments later, Kentlake defensive back Ryan Archibald picked off an errant pass from Kentridge quarterback Caleb Smith. Six plays later, Stephon Vaifale rumbled in for an 11-yard touchdown, giving the Falcons a 12-0 lead in the first quarter.
Things went from bad to worse for Kentridge midway through the second quarter, when Kentlake’s Zac Cowan recovered another Charger fumble. Three plays later, Nuu Vaifale skirted around the left side for an 11-yard touchdown run of his own, this one giving the Falcons an 18-0 lead with 5:30 remaining in the first half.
Nuu Vaifale, however, wasn’t done just yet.
The 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore pulled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Medina with 27.7 seconds remaining in the half as Kentlake’s lead bulged to 24-0.
“We were just trying to prove to everybody that we’re not the weakest team in the league,” said Nuu Vaifale, who finished with 129 yards of total offense. “That we can do it no matter what.”
Kentlake pushed its lead to 30-0 on with a 75-yard drive on its first possession of the third quarter. Medina capped off the drive by connecting with Archibald for a 12-yard touchdown with 6:53 remaining in the quarter.
Kentridge added a pair of scores in the final 12 minutes — a 9-yard scoring run from Smith and a 62-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Jimmie Davis — but that’s as close as the Chargers would get.
“These kids just really bought into everything that we were selling in the offseason,” Paulson said. “We had 70 kids in the weight room every single day. We go at a pace where we push the kids hard, and they responded.”
Kentlake finished with 412 yards of total offense — 303 on the ground and 109 through the air — and 19 first downs. Overshadowed by Kentlake’s offensive eruption was a stellar performance by the defense. The Falcons held the Chargers to 155 yards of total offense (80 on the ground and 75 through the air). In addition, Kentlake forced Kentridge into the seven turnovers and held the Chargers to just seven first downs.
Kentridge was playing without starting running back Cameron McKernan, who missed the game due to an ankle injury he suffered in the first week against Auburn.
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