First came the “scoop and score” for a touchdown off of a blocked field-goal attempt.
Then came the 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Behind big play after big play Friday night at French Field in Kent, No. 5 Bothell throttled fourth-ranked Kentwood 49-14 in a Class 4A state tournament opener.
In a game that was expected to go down to the wire, the Cougars deflated the Conquerors’ hopes on a pair of plays – a 60-yard blocked field goal returned for a touchdown by Danny Wilson Jr. to end the first half, and an 88-yard kickoff return for a score by star Luke Proulx to begin the third quarter.
“Instead of going into halftime up 14-10, it’s 21-7,” Bothell coach Tom Bainter said of Wilson’s return. “Then we get the kickoff return (to start) the second half, and I think that took a lot of wind out of their sails. That hurt them a lot.”
With the win, Bothell (9-2) advances to play the winner of Saturday night’s Arlington/Bellarmine Prep game in the second round of the state playoffs. The loss was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect season for Kentwood (10-1).
“If you would have told me a week ago (that we would go) 10-1, have some kids step up like Mikell Everette, Dalton Blackmore and Jason Boyce … I would have taken that in a heartbeat,” said Kentwood coach Rex Norris.
Regardless, the loss was tough to swallow, Norris admitted.
“It’s too bad that we kind of added to the mystique of the KingCo,” he said.
Since 2000, the KingCo has gone 13-3 against its SPSL counterparts during state tournament competition.
Kentwood was hoping to change that trend Friday night, but simply could not stop the big play. In addition to returning a kickoff for a score, Proulx also ran for 126 yards and two more touchdowns on 17 carries. The Cougars also received a huge play on defense from Wendell Galvan, who added a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Kentwood turned the ball over four times in the loss, resulting in 21 Bothell points.
The backbreaker, however, remained the two plays by Wilson and Proulx.
“That was such a huge momentum swing,” said Kentwood’s Boyce, who had five receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. “We hit that field goal and it’s 14-10, which is more reasonable than 21-7 … then they come back out with the kickoff return.”
Proulx could not have been happier.
“It was a great momentum swing,” he said. “Danny Wilson with the perfect scoop and score.”
Bothell took a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Proulx and a 12-yard pass from Braden Foley to Galvan. The Cougars appeared to have the game well in hand, until Kentwood responded with a strong second quarter. Kentwood cut the deficit to 14-7 after Mikell Everette connected with Boyce on an 8-yard touchdown play at the 5:48 mark. Kentwood then forced Bothell into a 3-and-out, and proceeded to march down to the Cougars’ 9-yard line with 33 seconds left in the half, setting the stage for Wilson’s return on the block by Ryan Romeis.
Kentwood actually went into the half with more total yards of offense than Bothell (206-144), but it hardly mattered as the Cougars produced big play after big play. The theme continued in the third quarter with Proulx’s kickoff return, which was followed by a Kentwood fumble moments later. Bothell turned the fumble into a quick touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Foley to Trent Sewell, pushing its lead to 35-7.
Between Bothell’s final play of the second quarter – Wilson’s return – and Galvan’s 65-yard interception return for a score to end the third, the Cougars had ripped off 35 unanswered points to break open the game.
“We’ve done it to other teams,” said Norris. “It was several turnovers in a row, and that’s going to defeat a lot of football teams.”
Kentwood’s Everette finished with 86 yards rushing on 21 carries while James Hatfield added 50 yards on eight carries. Kentwood finished with 310 yards of total offense, 163 of which came in the second quarter. Bothell finished with 275 yards of total offense (146 on the ground and 129 through the air).
BOTHELL 49, KENTWOOD 14
Bothell 14 7 28 0 — 49
Kentwood 0 7 0 0 — 14
First quarter
B: Luke Proulx 3 run (Jon Mercer kick) 6:01
B: Wendell Galvan 12 pass from Foley (Mercer kick), 2:58
Second quarter
KW: Boyce 8 pass from Everette (Hagstrom kick) 5:48
B: Danny Wilson Jr. 60-yard blocked field goal return (Mercer kick) .33
Third quarter
B: Proulx 88 kickoff return (Mercer kick) 11:48
B: Trent Sewell 13 pass from Foley (Mercer kick) 5:04
B: Proulx 4 run (Mercer kick) 1:22
B: Galvan 65 interception return (Mercer kick)
Fourth quarter
KW: Lonzell Young 9 run (Hagstrom kick) .23
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