For a football program that prides itself on success, the Kentwood Conquerors entered the new season Saturday at Qwest Field with more than their usual share of question marks.
The most prominent of those questions was obvious: Who takes over in the backfield for graduated star Dimitrius Bronson?
That question was answered emphatically by Darrius Coleman and a host of other Conquerors Saturday evening.
Coleman rushed for 80 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, leading the Conquerors past Class 3A Kennedy, 28-14, in the fourth contest of the five-game Emerald City Kickoff Classic.
“We had a lot of question marks coming into the season … especially in our backfield,” Kentwood coach Rex Norris said. “They answered those questions. We didn’t panic (after getting behind 14-0), didn’t turn the ball over a lot and didn’t have too many penalties.”
The nonleague victory sets up a key early-season showdown for Kentwood, which will travel to Auburn for a 7 p.m. SPSL North opener on Friday night. The Trojans, who moved up from the SPSL 3A this season, upset seventh-ranked Federal Way last Thursday, 21-14.
That being the case, things still couldn’t have gone much better for the Conks in their season opener. And while Coleman came away with the points, he was far from alone in Kentwood’s new-look backfield-by-committee.
Joseph Banks, a sophomore transfer from Dallas, Texas, who sports Bronson’s old No. 30, also enjoyed a solid night, rushing for 95 yards on 11 carries. In all, the Conks rushed for 245 yards on 39 attempts.
Not bad for a team that was supposed to take a while in finding the backfield answer.
“It’s exciting,” said Coleman, who credited much of the backfield’s success to the offensive line, which was led by Hunter Blackmore and Nathan Herrick, among others. “I was nervous coming into the game. (My stomach) was jumping in knots.”
Early on, it appeared all the Conquerors were enduring a mild case of the butterflies as Kennedy bolted to a 14-0 first-quarter lead behind running back Tre Watson.
On the Lancers’ fourth play of the game, the speedy Watson slipped through the right side, fought through a one-armed tackle and zipped down the sideline for a 72-yard score. Just five minutes later, Watson capped a seven-play, 75-yard Kennedy drive with a 5-yard touchdown run around the right side.
Stunned?
“I anticipated (the Lancers) were going to run, but we didn’t practice against that,” Norris said of Kennedy’s variation of the wing-T. “We probably busted three defensive calls that first quarter.”
Kennedy’s first-quarter assault resulted in 203 total rushing yards in the first 12 minutes, 123 of which came from Watson.
But, as it has for the past two-plus decades, the Kentwood defense adjusted, yielding Kennedy just 62 yards of total offense the rest of the night.
“Once we settled down, I actually just let us play some of our basic defense,” Norris said. “Our kids were up to the task.”
Up to the task on both sides of the ball, too.
Down 14-0, Coleman delivered the spark Kentwood needed late in the first quarter, taking Kennedy’s kickoff 48 yards, down to the Lancers’ 32-yard line. Running backs Joe Angevine and Banks then combined for 27 yards on three carries, setting the stage for Coleman’s 5-yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to 14-7.
Kentwood continued its methodical comeback march on its next possession, going 55 yards on eight plays, highlighted by Coleman’s second score of the game, an 11-yard scamper to tie it at 14-14.
“Once they started going, we just couldn’t stop them,” lamented Kennedy quarterback Nolan Washington, one of the state’s elite players. “I guess we got comfortable and they took advantage of that.”
The Kentwood backfield continued to take advantage on its opening drive of the second half, alternating among Steven Warner, Banks and Coleman on the way to a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Coleman capped that one with a 5-yard score, giving Kentwood its first lead of the game, 21-14.
Third-year Kentwood quarterback Luke Angevine put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter, connecting with Danny Bounds on an 11-yard strike, pushing the lead to 28-14.
The Kentwood defense was just as impressive, keeping the multi-dimensional Washington from getting comfortable. Washington finished the game just 3 of 7 passing for 24 yards, and rushed for only 38 yards on 11 carries.
Of note, was the play of linebackers Henry Everett and Taylor White, who combined for two of Kentwood’s four sacks.
“They didn’t always get Nolan Washington, but they had him on the run,” Norris said.
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