Friday night, the #4 team in Class 4A, the Kennedale Wildcats (9-0, 4-0), had to fight like ?wildcats? to win against an inspired Alvarado Indian team. {{more}}
There are the records and then there is the game, not to be confused. Alvarado (2-8, 2-2) is the proof.
Kennedale did pull out the win 30-28 in the last two minutes of the game but it was not ?Kennedale?s game?.
The Wildcats who average almost 500 yards a game had 240 yards for the night. Kennedale starters played the whole game, not just a half. The Cats’ defense, who had been allowing less than 10 points a game, gave up 28, the most all season. And Kennedale had to make a last minute comeback to win the game.
Kennedale opened in typical fashion, scored first in 6 plays ending in a RB Juwan Washington one yard run. But a little unsettling was that Kennedale had started the drive with two consecutive losses before moving down the field.
Head Coach Richard Barrett, a veteran of Alvarado/Kennedale games and perhaps sensing the things to come, elected to go for 2 and QB Jake Michener (Sr, 6’2, 170 lbs) took it in for a 8-0 score.
Kennedale scores again in the first quarter, driving down the field but fighting for every yard. On the drive, Alvarado forces the Wildcats into 2 fourth and long situations. Both times, Barrett gambles and the Cats get the down. The touchdown comes on a 36 dash by Washington. Another two point conversion by Michener makes it 16-0 with just 35 seconds left in the 1st quarter.
The Indians immediately threw cold water on Kennedale?s celebration when Alvarado RB Adrian Hendrick returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards and a score. Alvarado elected to go for one and the score at the beginning of the 2nd quarter is 16-7.
The battle begins in earnest. Alvarado just as often wins the line and moves the ball on Kennedale as Kennedale does, often stopping the Wildcat offense for no gain.
A telling sign is when facing another 4th down and long situation, Barrett elects to punt. Kennedale has punted only 5 times all season and that was usually with the reserves in the game.
This one goes Kennedale’s way however, when Alvarado muffs the catch and the Cats recover the ball deep in Alvarado territory. Two plays later, Washington takes it in on a 7 yard run and Zane Kottiwitz kicks the extra point. The Cats take a solid 23-7 lead into halftime.
Juwan Washington played well, scoring 4 touchdowns in the game while rushing for 196 yards, but giving credit to the Alvarado defense many of his 27 rushes were for short or no gains.
If the first half belong to the Wildcats, the Indians took over in the 2nd, scoring 20 unanswered points and taking the lead at 27-23 with 2 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game.
Alvarado did it in convincing fashion, controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and blocking a rare Kennedale field goal attempt. The Wildcats did not help themselves by accumulating 10 penalties for 99 yards.
Alvarado?s RB Austin Morreil had a good game by finishing with 188 yards and two touchdowns. Adrian Hendrick, who had the 95 yard touchdown in the first half, rushed for 89 yards and another touchdown.
The Kennedale defense did stop two crucial attempts by Alvarado to go for 2-point conversions.
It is how you finish that counts.
When the Indians scored their last touchdown for their first lead of the game, pandemonium broke out on the Indian side lines. On the other side, it was shock. With just barely 2 minutes left, Kennedale was down by 4 and had to have a touchdown. The Cats running game had been throttled this half and Kennedale was not a passing team.
In the game of chess being played by the coaches, Alvarado elected to short kick the ball, not an on-sides but just short enough to keep the ball away from Kennedale deeps Derrick Williams and Juwan Washington.
As luck would have it, the ball went to the sure hands of TE Chance Bishop (Sr, 6?6, 295 lbs) who carries the ball for 20 yards to the Alvarado 40. With a short field, Kennedale?s offense steps up. Thirty seconds and three plays later Washington runs for 29 yards and Kennedale?s final touchdown. Kottwitz?s kick is good and Kennedale leads 30-27.
Kennedale’s ensuing kickoff is deep and Alvarado, with 1:59 left on the clock, is forced to go almost 80 yards. The Indians, short on time outs, are forced into passing. They do make one first down but in the end they never cross the fifty as the Kennedale defense stops them cold and Alvarado?s upset bid runs out of time.
For the game, Senior Derrick Williams (5?6, 130 lbs), had 16 tackles and was chosen as the Kennedale? MaxPreps ?Defensive Player of the Week.? Senior Juwan Washington (5?7, 171 lbs) was selected as both the ?Offensive and Overall Player of the Week.?
Kennedale’s final game of the regular season is against Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis (0-9, 0-4) Saturday, November 8 at 1 p.m. at Fort Worth Farrington Field. Playoffs will start the following week.
TEAM STATS
|
Alvarado |
Kennedale |
| Total yards |
281 |
240 |
| First downs |
20 |
12 |
| Rushes/Yds |
49/246 |
39/240 |
| Average rush |
5.02 |
6.15 |
| Comp-Att-Int |
5-12-0 |
0-3-0 |
| Pass yards |
35 |
0 |
| Comp pct |
41.67 |
0 |
| Punts |
2 |
2 |
| Punting Yards |
54 |
79 |
| Punting Average |
27 |
39.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
1-0 |
0-0 |
| Penalties-yards |
6-35 |
10-99
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|
ALVARADO
| Receiving |
Rec |
Yds |
Yds/Catch |
TD |
| Cres Land |
1 |
13 |
13.0 |
0 |
| Gabriel Morris |
1 |
12 |
12.0 |
0 |
| Jax Isclaw |
1 |
11 |
11.0 |
0 |
| Aaron Estes |
2 |
-1 |
-0.5 |
0
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|
KENNEDALE
| Rushing |
Att |
Yds |
Yds/Att |
TD |
| Ronald Hayes |
5 |
46 |
9.20 |
0 |
| Juwan Washington |
27 |
196 |
7.26 |
4 |
| Jake Michener |
5 |
-1 |
-0.20 |
0 |
| Cody Gillespie |
2 |
-1 |
-0.50 |
0
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|
