Kennedy Catholic upsets Curtis in Washington 4A football playoffs: 3 takeaways
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Kennedy Catholic coach Pat Jones has heard the talk all year that the 4A NPSL wasn't competitive.
That sentiment is sometimes paired with how much of a juggernaut the 4A SPSL is.
But it was the NPSL that got the last laugh Friday night with the 10th-seeded Lancers taking down seventh-seeded Curtis, 37-34, to move on to the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
"Our league takes a lot of abuse where people don't think the NPSL is very good and the SPSL gets talked up a lot, but we think we've got some pretty good teams, too," Jones said.
Up by three points with a little more than five minutes left in the game, junior defensive back Landen Kahai made the play of the game, intercepting a pass from Curtis quarterback Rocco Koch that set up a Lancers' touchdown.
That touchdown gave Kennedy Catholic a two-score lead, the first by either team in the game.
Running back Indy Jones rushed for 92 yards, scoring three touchdowns for the Lancers on runs of five, 25 and one yard. Mason Moriarty had a 54-yard rushing touchdown and quarterback Devon Forehand connected with Cam Mattingly late in the game for a 12-yard touchdown.
Koch threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns with a rushing touchdown for the Vikings. Wide receiver Xavier Ahrens was on the receiving end of three of those touchdowns from Koch.
The win pits Kennedy Catholic against Lake Stevens in the Class 4A quarterfinals next week – a rematch of last year's state championship game won by the Vikings, 24-22.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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IN A TALE OF TWO OFFENSES...THE WING-T WINS
Running its offense out of both the Air Raid and Wing-T, Kennedy Catholic has options when it lines up.
Friday night against Curtis, it was the Lancers' running game that got to show off with four of their five touchdowns coming on the ground.
"(Running back Indy Jones) was a 1,000-yard back and was the player of the year in the North Puget Sound League, so we kind of have the best of both worlds (on offense)," Pat Jones said.
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ONE MORE PLAY
With Koch at quarterback and playmakers surrounding him, Jones said they told the team this week that Curtis was going to make plays.
Part of that message was to not get down when the Vikings did make a play and to make just one more than them.
"(Koch) is a great football player. He is awesome," Jones said. "You can never stop everything, so you pick the things you want to stop."
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PLAY OF THE GAME A MEMORABLE ONE FOR KAHAI
That interception late in the game helped set up the Lancers to win the game, but for Kahai, it had a little extra meaning.
Kahai, a transfer from Curtis, made the biggest play of the game against his former school.
"I was guarding my guy, saw the QB roll out and it looked like he was about to throw it – he tried to throw it out, but I just went for the ball and picked it," Kahai said. "It's special because a lot of the people and players at Curtis were doubting me. Transferring and going against my old school and getting the game-winning pick means a lot."
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Photo by Vince Miller
Photo by Vince Miller
Photo by Vince Miller
Photo by Vince Miller
Photo by Vince Miller
Photo by Vince Miller
