Ronnie Flowers had been waiting for this opportunity.<\/p>\n
Friday night at a packed French Field, the moment finally came for the second-year Kentwood High senior.<\/p>\n
Flowers intercepted a pair of passes, the second of which he returned 55 yards in the fourth quarter to seal ninth-ranked Kentwood\u2019s 19-7 victory over Auburn in a South Puget Sound League North Division game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got an opportunity to come back and play, and I took that opportunity,\u201d said Flowers, who was granted a fifth year of eligibility before the season began due to a family hardship by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. \u201cAt first, I thought I should just bat (the ball) down (on the 55-yard interception returned for a touchdown). I hadn\u2019t scored in so long, my self-pride got into me and I wanted to score more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has been a long road for Flowers, who just two years ago was an up-and-coming running back who coach Rex Norris noted had \u201call-state\u201d potential. Knee injuries and \u201cfamily issues\u201d wipe away two straight years, Flowers said.<\/p>\n
After two trying years, Friday night couldn\u2019t have gone better for the former running back, who has since been moved to defensive back to protect a left knee that\u2019s not quite 100 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a comeback story for him,\u201d said Norris. \u201cTwo knee injuries, a fifth year (of high school), and he\u2019s a great kid. He\u2019s gone through all kinds of adversity and life changes, but he stuck with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flowers\u2019 big play helped Kentwood (4-0 in league, 5-0 overall) end Auburn\u2019s SPSL North winning streak at 27 games. Auburn (4-1, 4-1) has won the last two SPSL North titles. Kentwood\u2019s win helped set up another showdown between unbeatens. The Conquerors will play Kentlake (5-0, 5-0) at 7 p.m. Oct. 8 at French Field. The Falcons knocked off Tahoma Friday night, 33-21.<\/p>\n
In a defensive showdown between the SPSL North\u2019s two highest scoring teams, turnovers proved to be the difference. Auburn turned the ball over five times while Kentwood gave the ball away just once. In addition, all three of Kentwood\u2019s touchdowns came off of Auburn turnovers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t win a game like that by making mistakes,\u201d said Auburn coach Gordon Elliott. \u201cAnd we made many more mistakes than they did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Auburn\u2019s first mistake came on its third play from scrimmage, when Kentwood\u2019s Visa Thach scooped up Austin Embody\u2019s fumble at the Trojans\u2019 33-yard line. Eight plays later, Kentwood\u2019s Mikell Everette ran in from 5-yards out to give the Conquerors a 6-0 first-quarter lead.<\/p>\n
Auburn didn\u2019t respond until its first drive of the second quarter, marching 80 yards on 16 plays, and chewing up nine minutes of the game clock along the way. Auburn quarterback Max Pratt capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, giving the Trojans a 7-6 lead that would last until the decisive fourth quarter. It was the first time all season that Kentwood had been behind.<\/p>\n
The tone for the final 12 minutes was set on Auburn\u2019s first play from scrimmage, when Kentwood\u2019s Taylor Kempf picked up a Pratt fumble at the Trojans\u2019 44-yard line. The turnover led to an Everette 7-yard touchdown run that gave the Conquerors a 12-7 lead with 9:44 to play.<\/p>\n
Auburn had three more chances to re-take the lead, but turned the ball over each time, the last two of which were interceptions by Flowers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am just glad I got this opportunity to come back. Both years we\u2019ve played Auburn when I was here, they beat us. And to get them back means a lot,\u201d Flowers said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to get any sleep tonight. I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tightly contested game between the SPSL North\u2019s highest-scoring offenses (Kentwood came in averaging 53 points per contest, and Auburn 42) was a defensive struggle throughout. Kentwood finished with 256 yards of offense and 13 first downs. Everette led all running backs with 93 yards on 18 carries. Auburn finished with 172 yards on the ground \u2013 200 total \u2013 on 38 carries.<\/p>\n
Auburn hadn\u2019t lost an SPSL North game since Sept. 1, 2005, when the Trojans fell to the Conquerors, 14-7. That also was the last time Auburn has been held to as few as seven points in a league game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were probably the best team we\u2019ve faced so far. They stacked the line, and that\u2019s something new for us,\u201d said Auburn running back Alphonse Wade, who was held to 56 yards on 14 carries. \u201cWe didn\u2019t take care of the details, and made too many mistakes. Those are the things that determined the outcome of the game.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ronnie Flowers had been waiting for this opportunity.
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