The Kentwood Conquerors will square off against the Curtis Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Curtis will take on a team with plenty of momentum: Kentwood extended their winning streak to five on Friday. The Conquerors took their game with ease, bagging a 48-14 win over Kentridge. With the Conquerors ahead 24-0 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
A big part of Kentwood's victory came down to the chemistry between Brandon Tagle and his top target Trevon Mayfield. Tagle threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns on only ten passes while Mayfield gained 120 total yards and a touchdown. Mayfield got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 59 yards.
Kentwood's run defense was locked in: Kentridge could only muster 3.5 yards per carry. While eight picked up at least two total tackles, Mayfield stood above the rest. He rushed for 66 yards and one TD, and also picked up 54 receiving yards. Kentwood's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 3.85 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 7.8 on average over their last five games.
Kentwood's defense didn't let Calvin Ibale, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank two different players for their defensive prowess: Lee'Andrew Rubin and Seth Seumalo, who each picked up 0.5 sacks apiece. Kentwood received some extra help from Macai Hensley-Siufanua, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.
Curtis never got on the board in their matchup two weeks ago, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Yelm last Thursday. They really took it to the Tornados for the full four quarters, racking up a 37-7 win. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' Washington football rankings (they are ranked 16th, while the Tornados are ranked 67th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Curtis, racking up 13 points in total. All came from Luca Niebergall: he went 3-for-3 kicking field goals for nine points, and 4-for-4 kicking extra points for an additional four.
Kentwood's victory bumped their record up to 7-2. As for Curtis, their win bumped their record up to 6-3.
Kentwood was taken down by Curtis 67-29 in their previous meeting back in November of 2018. Can the Conquerors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
